5 Tips For Hiking In Rattlesnake Season | Trail Safety

Howdy Folks so today we're in Eastern Washington up in the high mountain deserts we're just outside of the little town of Quincy Washington this is the ancient Lakes it's a series of lakes that go through the valley here and eventually feed down to the Columbia River and just a beautiful hike it's incredibly hot out so we've got the ridiculous hat and the silly sunglasses on but trying to stay cool and enjoy the hike I thought this would be a great opportunity to have a little discussion about rattlesnakes and what you should do in the event that you do encounter a rattlesnake on the trail more importantly I wanted to share my five tips to Rattlesnake safety tip number one rattlesnakes like the heat right there are cold-blooded animal as many of you know which means on the hot days they're gonna get out and they're going to lay out in the sun and try and soak up as much of that warm energy as they possibly can the key number to focus on is 80 degrees Fahrenheit at 80 degrees Fahrenheit rattlesnakes become more active that means they come out of their their hiding place they wake up from their naps and they spread themselves out across the hot rocks or the path anywhere that they can catch the sunlight so keep an eye on 80 degrees Fahrenheit means you're going to probably run into rattlesnakes tip number two baby rattlesnakes are born in the fall contrary to popular belief and like most other snakes rattlesnakes are unique in the fact that their babies are actually born they're not hatched that's right it's kind of a strange thing but rattlesnakes don't lay eggs rattlesnakes give birth to live baby snakes and that typically happens in the early onset of The Fall season which means out on the trail the babies are going to be spread out all over the place in the fall so keep an eye out for baby rattlesnakes babies are kind of tricky because obviously they're a much smaller snake it's going to be harder to see but also their rattle hasn't fully developed yet which means you're not going to be able to hear them as effectively as you could an adult rattlesnake tip number three use your eyes and your ears chances are you're going to be able to see and hear a rattlesnake before you inadvertently run into one on the trail a rattlesnake wants to stay as far away from you as you do from it so they're going to give you every opportunity possible to say here I am please don't step on me and that's going to give you every opportunity to respect the rattlesnakes area give him a little bit more space and walk around him on the trail so use your eyes and you're going to look around in front of you make sure you don't see anything that looks like a stick that isn't really a stick and use your ears and you're going to listen for that distinct rattle warning to the snake users when he says here I am tip number four invest in a nice set of trekking poles or at a bare minimum find a nice walking stick along the trail not only are trekking poles or a walking stick a fantastic tool to use when you're out on a hike for stability and support but there are also a great tool to use for tapping and checking bushes and sticks and logs along your path to make sure you don't have any unsuspecting snakes hiding on the other side of them it's always a great idea when you're trekking through an area that you're unfamiliar with and you can't see your feet you're going to want to tap the surfaces of the Rocks Tap along bushes make sure you tap sticks and branches along the way give the snakes the opportunity to Scurry on out of your way tip number five make sure you know where you're sitting before you sit I know it seems kind of obvious but after you've been out hiking for a few hours and you decide it's time to take a break have some lunch most of us we throw our pack down we sit down and we relax well in snake territory that could be the last time you have a nice break make sure you fully inspect the area prior to sitting down you're going to want to tap around the rocks in any low-lying brush or debris that may be around to make sure there aren't any snakes taking a nap where do you plan on having lunch the last thing you want to do is sit down to take a bite out of your sandwich and something takes a bite out of you instead all right well here's a bonus tip so I guess it's tip number six utilize the power of the internet and do a little investigation about which snakes you might possibly be running into for the area you plan on hiking in there's nothing wrong with doing a little bit of research before you get out there to enjoy the trail so until next time folks and stay safe and keep walking

Channel: Northwest Walking

Views: 11,146

Keywords: rattlesnake safety, hiking in snake country, how to, how to hike, how to hike with snakes, hiking in the desert, trail tips, NorthWestWalking, Northwest Walking, northwestwalking, NWWalks1, NWwalks, don't get bit, snakes suck, rattlesnake bite

Id: ZWzYvNl_M58

Length: 5min 19sec (319 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 24 2023