Rattlesnakes and Other Climbing Friends
Hi Steph,
I hope that you do not mind me contacting you but I have a question to ask you. I am very lucky to come to america to climb in Red Rock Canyon, Yosemite and Joshua Tree in november but am really concerned about the rattlesnakes is this something that you have had issues with and is it something that I need to worry about? And thank you for being such an inspiration. Maybe it was a silly question but being from south of france the worst thing I have to worry about is scorpions or the ants invasion lol
thank you,
Cristal
Hi Cristal,
It’s not a silly question, and the good news is you may encounter many critters in the southwest in winter….including scorpions! Well maybe that’s not such good news. The bad news is that I have come across several rattlesnakes in Joshua Tree and Yosemite. I haven’t met any in Red Rocks, but they definitely live there too.
Normally rattlesnakes like to sit out in the sun on cold days, and every once in a while that happens to be in the middle of a trail or at the base of a climb. However in over 20 years of tromping around these places, I have not accidentally stepped on one, so I think the odds are pretty low. Just keep your eyes open and usually you’ll spot the snake before it’s too late to avoid an undesired meeting. That’s why they have the rattle–they don’t really want to meet you either.
The most horrific meeting I’ve had is with black scorpions in Yosemite: I only see them at night on the trail when hiking with a headlamp. They are 2 or 3 inches long!!! which is extra horrifying when I think of all the nights spent on the ground or on a ledge in a sleeping bag!!! Blech!!! We have to stop talking about this now or I’ll never leave my house again.
On a less horrific note, you may see some coyotes, black bears and foxes, and there are desert tortoises living in Joshua Tree who are rarely seen but extremely fantastic creatures.
So anyway, try not to worry too much about the more revolting critters, and hopefully you’ll never even know they’re there….and maybe take a tent instead of going for the open bivy 🙂
Steph
I’ve been stung by a scorpion, not fun, they don’t hit you once, they hit ya 4,5,6 times in the blink of an eye. Extremely painful, worse than a hornet sting but it clears up quicker. Luckily most of the ones found in the US are not lethal or life-threatening unless you’re allergic, some of those in found in the southwest may be the exceptions.