Yesterday, I was hiking in the hills above San Roque when I heard, for the first time in my life, the unmistakeable rattle of a rattlesnake! It was alarming but beautiful, and quite a loud, silvery tumbling noise. I stopped, of course, and saw about 25 feet up the trail, right where I would have walked, a very thick rattlesnake! It kept on for about 20 seconds, then the rattling stopped. The snake didn’t move, so I decided to go back the way I came.
The wonderful thing is that the system works! The snake offered a clear and timely warning, which I heard and heeded, and I didn’t get hurt. A lesson for my fellow hikers is — don’t wear earbuds while hiking. What you hear instead could save your life!