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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 1, 2011 - 09:33am PT
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Okay, as I sit here at my desk in Dalkey (Ireland) with writer's block, I can appreciate certain things.
As a ‘minimal’ surfer (Santa Cruz, Monterey), I think that sharks are beautiful, awesome in a way. Just don’t get messed up with one.
Snakes, my biggest phobia. But, jeez, to survive with no arms or legs must be an achievement. Hats off to those reps.
And rattlers. As I understand it, rattlers are one of the most advanced (evolution wise) snakes on the globe. Those buzzworms are smarter than some snakes, except for…
enter your choice
bankers
lawyers
journalists
Republicans
Yeah and Dems
financial experts
economists
politicians in general
climbers (okay, just joking, except if you are in one of the above categories)
But I am getting off route. Back to the buzzers, and indeed, any actual snake.
I certainly have had enough encounters with the buzzworms, as I know many of you Taco Standers have. But aren’t they ‘beautiful’ in their own right.
Just don’t put one in my sleeping bag.
Or my helmet.
http://news.yahoo.com/snake-helmet-ark-player-startled-serpent-213831045.html
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 1, 2011 - 09:45am PT
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That's a snakey way of making fun of my thread, Dingus. But I know you get my gist. Of all the times, the one that has stood out is when Jim Keating and I were headed up to Snake Dike, scrambling over the little headwalls, and came, literally, face to face with a coiled rattler.
No, Dingo Boy (of H108 fame), I don't like to be around them at all. But, venom aside, they aren't that bad (in fact, it's the only snake meat I have eaten. Unctuous).
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bobinc
Trad climber
Portland, Or
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Springtime in Deep Springs Valley (about 25 miles east of Big Pine) was a heads-up time because of the new rattlers. One had to assume they would be about almost anywhere around the lawn area of the college, where I was a student in the early 80s. ONe time I was nursing a bad sprained ankle so on crutches. I wasn't looking where I was going and realized I was just about to lurch right onto a baby rattler. Instinct dictated dropping the crutches to take evasive action. Fair enough... but then I put full weight on the bad wheel. The pain was probably more than getting hit by the snake. I was lucky-- the snake seemed oblivious to my thrashing about and slithered off as I tried to recover some equilibrium.
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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i've come across some disturbing buzzworm information of late. sawyer, when you lay down a thread you have to take what comes.
first, one of the guides out at josh let out that there is no health insurance that covers rattlesnake bite. geez, i thought it'd be a standard deductible. you keep hearing reports of treatments in the $25,000 range.
then i had a veterinarian client. he has a ventura county practice and gets a couple cases a week of dogs bitten by rattlesnakes. the problem, he said, is that a vial of antivenin produced in the u.s. with complete FDA bells and whistles goes for about $900. to treat a dog, you only need about one. standard treatment for a homo sapiens involves around 30. he said he sends people to mexico when he can. the potion only costs about a tenth of the price here.
okay, facts of life, or life hanging by a thread. at least the going information is that only about half the bites inject, and if they don't inject, you're home clear.
so i'm camping at HV a couple weeks ago and there's a morongo local and his family in the next site and we seem to have lots to talk about. he grew up out there, did a share of climbing, and would work occasionally as a guide for herpetologists who want to come and do field trips. so, i ask him, where do you go for some reliable encounters with reptiles?
this brought the following recital: he got bit, alone in the backcountry, about three miles out of morongo valley. he knew it was a serious bite, and he immediately treated himself with a poultice of jimsonweed. the flowers and roots are poisonous, yes, but the leaves and stems were a traditional treatment going back to the native americans. he went to the hospital in palm springs and basically spent all his time arguing that he didn't want the antivenin. he said he got this from his experience with herpetologists, who told him that allergic reactions to antivenin can be as fatal as the venom itself. (!!) he said he stood his ground, referred them to viel information on the internet, and sweated through the ordeal for a few days, walking away unscathed. he thinks it saved his life.
who knows about any of this?
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 1, 2011 - 10:45am PT
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That's a good post Tony.
Hey everyone in Taco Land, I am just admiring a creature I'd just as soon as not meet. And for those who have had an unpleasant experiences, my condolences/commiserations/whatever (i.e. bites, hey Hank, your's was not envenomed, was it? The bite from the wood pile in Sonora when you were a youngster).
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dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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I've ran into a few here in San Diego, Santee boulders seams to be a favorite spot of theirs, hanging out right on the trail many times too,
From my experience it appears that the rattlers would prefer to just stay away from hunmans. I'v had a couple close calls where I stepped just a few feet from one that could strike, but instead he/she preferred to just rattle and warn me to stay back. At least we have that going for us, not like a sidewinder that will chase after your ass.
The stories about bites sure sound ugly.
I saw an episode of "I shouldn't be Alive" about a year ago that told a story about a guy who got bit and was stuck out in a desert cabin waiting for a frind for three days before he got some help. By the time his buddy showed up his arm was falling apart and was about 4 times it's normal width. He said he had been hallucinating and losing all sense of reality.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Well, granted he was an idiot.
But what makes you certain that prompt treatment would have guaranteed a different outcome, locker, my friend?
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Radish
Trad climber
SeKi, California
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If it wasn't for RattleSnakes, Poision Oak, Scorpions, Trantulas, ticks and all, everybody would be everywhere in the woods. They help us keep the weak away........
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Barefoot running was my brilliant idea one morning over on the east side. We camped over by the hot tubs and one morning I decided to do my run barefoot. 4 miles from camp and midstride I realize I'm about to step on a 3 foot rattle snake. I had sort of zoned out letting my mind wander, which I tended to do on long runs. Eek.. adjust stride in midair and I missed the snake by less then an inch.. Thankfully I was moving fast and it was morning and the snake was slow.
No more barefoot running for me, though likely it would have gotten me above the ankle if I had actually stepped on it. Still though.. total heebee jeebees.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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your forget to mention preachers,
as the asswipe christians who peddle their shit
whaa????
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Lovegasoline - that site you posted set off all my alarms on the computer. TROJAN HORSE BLOCKED.
Maybe this means something to the smart computer folks:
Infection Details
URL: http://www.kingofforwards.com/wp-include...
Process: file://C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\...
Infection: js:IFrame-DL [Trj]
Think twice before you click it, and if you don't have good computer protection you may want to make sure your machine is okay.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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your right john!
that should have read AND the ass wipe christians..
I guess I just don't understand why you are posting that on this thread. There are lots of threads about religion and such to post your opinion about on. We try to keep threads on topic. This one is about rattlesnakes.
I'm also curious because that was your second post, after posting to the missing girl thread. Do you perchance know that missing girl? Email me through this site if you want to talk private. I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble. You just click on my ID over on the left of my post and follow that if you want to talk.
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jstan
climber
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I got no odd behavior when I opened that link on my Mac.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Okay.. got it.
How did you find supertopo? Do you climb?
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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thats cool man. I just got a funny feeling and wanted to check. when someone new starts out on a thread about a missing girl and seems to have a background with the area, it set off bells. So just checking.
Welcome to the forum.
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 1, 2011 - 03:22pm PT
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Hey guys and gals, this is about the reptiles, though I did invite comments about the human sort I suppose. I cringe every time (and it's been a long time) since I heard that rattle. But still, I have the utmost respect for those creatures.
Now for the human kind... ad nauseam.
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Josh Higgins
Trad climber
San Diego
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Last month my friends and I climbed Tahquitz by headlamp. On the hike in, my buddy stepped on a rattler and was struck on the shoe. He yelped and jumped, and we all had a good scare. Luckily, it didn't penetrate the shoe or that would have brought our festive night to an end prematurely!
Those little guys are beautiful, but they blend in so well with the ground that it's easy to accidentally step on them. Especially living here in SD. I've had some close encounters, and have many friends with similar stories, but the only person I know who has actually been bitten admits it was his fault for playing with the little guy.
Josh
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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I've never thought rattlesnakes were all that smart, even when compared to other snakes.
Racers and Kingsnakes eat rattlers, which is probably I don't see rattlers very often anymore in my yard ( but I see kings and racers all the time )
I've only seen one this year, and I almost stepped on him ( twice, once just walking by, and the second time after I went back to get the camera. He was tough to see laying on the edge of the shadows ) And no, I wasn't wearing shoes.
I kept snakes in my mis-spent youth, including one rattlesnake ( Southern Pacific Rattler, not to be confused with the Union Pacific, or BNSF ).
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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Rattlesnakes can be bad news, However they're actually pretty docile critters. We don't look like food to them, so usually they think they are being preyed on and react appropriatly. Fortunatly most bites are not fatal, but due to poor training and info get mis-treated.
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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the southern pacific rattlesnake, along with the northern pacific rattlesnake, all became union pacific rattlesnakes with the merger.
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