[pct-l] Illegal Contacts and Rattlesnakes

[magicalnexus at yahoo.com (Magical Nexus)]

FYI, I have hiked the Southern sections for the past five years, usually begining at Campo and walking up to Idyllwyld and sometimes further.

I have encountered several dozen groups of illegals. I almost was trampled by a pack of them at Lake Moreno as they passed through at 3am.

On one occasion I felt uncomfortable when three males showed up when I was hiking with my son between Long Canyon and Burnt Rancheria. It wasn't the two migrants who were obviously kind people trying to get where they needed to go that made me uncomfortable. It was the guy who was guiding them who was obviously dangerous. It was a tense moment but it passed.

I have never encountered illegals beyond the head of Chariot Canyon as most of them seem to break away from the PCT at that point and head for Julian to catch the bus into Escondido.

The best rule of thumb I can think of is to avoid lingering in places like the stretch from Campo to Lake Moreno, the I-8 bridge, the foot of the climb after Boulder Oaks, the creek crossing above Long Canyon and the forested stretches before Burnt Rancheria. All of these places are where they hole up for the day.

I have seen nearly as many INS agents as I have illegals. I have woken up to their helicopters nosing about my camp area and doing night patrols, I have had them walk through sites I have camped at and I have walked around corners and found them parked in their trucks in places where they are invisible until you step in front of them...

I suggest that you keep moving until you get into Chariot Canyon, use stealth camping techniques to get yourself off the trail and out of site - and be quiet when you do stop. Don't cook and eat in the same place you sleep, etc.... Of course there is strength in numbers so leave Lake Moreno with the rest of the crowd if you are truly nervous.

I do carry an oversized folding knife but I would not recommend carrying firearms.

With respect to Rattlesnakes, they are a fact of life on the trail and are one of the more common varieties of snake one can encounter out there. There are several subspecies and they are as variable in temperment as they are in color and markings. Crotalus Mitchelli, or the Speckled Rattler is particularly attractive as they seem to have adopted the color scheme of the lavender and orange quartz bearing rocks in Long Canyon. There are also Diamond Backs (Crotalus Atrox) and both Diamond Back and Speckled Rattlers tend to be high strung, meaning that they put on a show if surprised. There are also Southern Pacific Rattlers(a subgroup of Crotalus Viridis) which are distinctive in that each marking is surrounded by a white pattern about one scale width wide and I have encountered them from San Georgino Pass to the Southern Sierra, particularly around Agua Dulce. As you get to the Mojave desert you can encounter another variant of Crotalus Viridis, the so-called Mojave Green rattler as
 well as an unrelated rattler called the SideWinder. North of Mt Whitney to Canada in the lower altitudes (under 7000ft) one can encounter the Northern Pacific rattler which is a fairly mild creature.

All of these animals are rarely over four feet long. The Sidewinder rarely gets over two feet long. The largest animal in the list is the Diamond Back which can get well over seven feet long - take a look at the skins in the Lake Moreno info station at the campground - really big animals.

Diamond Backs can be territorial and will put on a show of rearing, rattling, hissing and waving their fangs at you. The Speckled will also rattle like an idiot, I have encountered them in Long Canyon, sitting a foot or so off the ground in a bush - thermoregulating - and had them go off on me when they were ten or fifteen feet away and in no danger of me stepping on them at all. I have encountered Diamond Backs at the foot of the climb from Scissors Crossing to Warner Springs...

The rule of thumb is that a snake can strike about one third the length of its own body. Really large animals can be surly and may rush you. Give them room and remember it is a bluff.... a four foot animal has about a 15 inch strike range.... not particularly intimidating.....

There is some aura of "special danger" with respect to the Mojave Green because they have a neuro-toxic venom rather than a cytotoxin like most rattlers. They don't get very big in the desert. A three footer would be large for the subspecies. There is even some evidence that there has been cross breeding with other subspecies of Crotalus Viridis that is changing the venom profile of Northern and Southern Pacific rattlers. All three are from the same group, just different subspecies. There are nine subspecies of Crotalus Viridis...

The usual "bitten by a rattlesnake" situation has two main profiles. One involves drunk young males with something to prove who push their luck and the other goes something like this.... One has a rock in his/her shoe, seeks a convenient place to sit down and marches over to an overhanging rock or log. One doesn't know there is a snake under the stone or tree and aproaches so deliberately and quickly that the snake chooses not to rattle (yes, they don't always rattle) and takes a defensive posture. Then one reaches down to untie ones shoes and gets bitten on the hand or at sometime later in the process. So look before you sit.

With respect to dealing with a bite, it can go several ways. Rattlesnakes can controll their venom load per bite - to them it is precious commodity that is necessary for eating and can't be replaced unless they feed. So the question if one is bit is whether the bite was "dry", had a little venom or was a full on attack. One will know fairly quickly by watching the wound for tissue breaking down and there will be pain. A rattlesnake bite can be crippling as it attacks soft tissue. It is appropriate to seek medical attention immediately. Bites to the extremities are easier to contain than those to the body- if one is bitten anywhere other than the hand or foot, it is a doubly serious matter with bites to the face, neck or body being potentially fatal in a fairly short window of time.

Logistics around this can be quite difficult given the nature of the PCT....so consider carrying GPS and a shortwave radio. I always do, just in case I find a downed hiker or get hurt myself when hiking solo.

Anyway, keep your camera ready, rattlesnakes can be very interesting and make a great photo op. 

There are many other beautiful reptiles on the trail including desert phase banded kingsnakes(which eat rattlers), rubber boas (endangered and rare), whipsnakes, rosey boas and many others. The lizards can also be quite entertaining....

Tedster


---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway - Enter today