Re: Rattlesnakes in Tehipite Valley
Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:55 pm
Hi
On trips from the mid-seventies through the eighties I encountered approx 1 per year. My record for a single trip was 4 encounters. (It did make up for a couple of dry years.) That trip was up the trail from Road's End through Paradise Valley and Woods Creek. Two were below Mist Falls and two were near Woods Creek. I was a little surprised to see so many along such a popular trail. Especially since I have been up the notorious Middle Fork Canyon from Tehipite to beyond Simpson Mdws and didn't see a single one. During that Middle Fork trip, there had been some unseasonably heavy storms that caused the river to flood much of the trail forcing me to travel a significant distance X-country with much bush-whacking and boulder hopping. I expected to see a snake at any moment, but didn't see a single one! I did see one on a subsequent trip down Goddard Creek just before the final drop to the Simpson Mdw area. I guess my experience has been that if I'm expecting to encounter them, I usually don't. However, if I let my guard down and don't really expect to see any, well, I have had more than a few surprises. I love snakes, though, and if you give them enough space, they will nearly always back off.
On trips from the mid-seventies through the eighties I encountered approx 1 per year. My record for a single trip was 4 encounters. (It did make up for a couple of dry years.) That trip was up the trail from Road's End through Paradise Valley and Woods Creek. Two were below Mist Falls and two were near Woods Creek. I was a little surprised to see so many along such a popular trail. Especially since I have been up the notorious Middle Fork Canyon from Tehipite to beyond Simpson Mdws and didn't see a single one. During that Middle Fork trip, there had been some unseasonably heavy storms that caused the river to flood much of the trail forcing me to travel a significant distance X-country with much bush-whacking and boulder hopping. I expected to see a snake at any moment, but didn't see a single one! I did see one on a subsequent trip down Goddard Creek just before the final drop to the Simpson Mdw area. I guess my experience has been that if I'm expecting to encounter them, I usually don't. However, if I let my guard down and don't really expect to see any, well, I have had more than a few surprises. I love snakes, though, and if you give them enough space, they will nearly always back off.