Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_05.02.08 - Index

22A | THEPRESS.NET RECREATION MAY 2, 2008
The hiss of hazardous materials
It’s May. The preheat switch has
been fl ipped, and East County adventurers
will soon be baking with the rest of
the muffi ns in our convection-free oven
known as Central Valley. Smart hikers
are packing increasingly more fl uids for
the trail. They’re also
TAKE IT
OUTSIDE
GER
ERICKSON
packing more caution.
They round a
bend and scan the trail
ahead. When rock
climbing, they don’t
grab a handhold until
they’re certain what’s
up there. Why all the
caution? What are
they looking for? You
guessed it: rattlers.
Popular mythol-
ogy puts the Northern Pacifi c rattlesnake
on the ornery quotient somewhere
between James Carville and Attila the
Hun. The reality is more prosaic. Sure,
the rattler wields a fearsome set of fangs,
but it’ll use those fangs on a human
only if it senses a threat, and only at
close range. The overriding principles in
dealing with a rattlesnake: be aware and
remain calm. And by all means, do not
go up and try to pet it.
First you need to spot the snake and
identify it as a rattler. A rattler’s cunning
camoufl age patterns and colors make
A rattlesnake glares from the bramble along Mt. Diablo’s Back Creek. Since
snakes fi ne-tune their body temperature by alternating sun with shade,
hikers should not let their guard down anywhere on the trail.
it hard to spot even at close range. As
you round a bend or crest a hill, make a
visual sweep of the stretch of trail ahead
before diverting your attention to scenic
splendor. And watch where you sit. You
might have company.
Chances are you’ll run across
another slithering creature out on the
trail, a creature that has paid a heavy
price for its resemblance to the rattler:
A young gopher snake consents
to a photo-op at the Los Vaqueros
Interpretive Center. Hikers and campers
who take it upon themselves to
kill rattlesnakes (an illegal activity)
sometimes mistake the non-venomous
gopher snake for the rattler.
the non-venomous gopher snake. The
key to distinguishing it from the rattler
lies in the head and tail. The rattlesnake’s
head is a large, triangular wedge, and its
tail ends in the rattle. The gopher snake’s
see Outside page 23A
Photos by Ger Erickson