I Nearly Messed My Pants

[mn90403]

Steve,

You just reminded me of probably my closest encounter with the rattlesnake while detecting.

I was over on the Lake Road on the Arizona Side near the old dam and boat launches.  There is a canyon over there to pull up and I walked up that tall bank and followed the road back into there and found 'the workings' a couple of miles in.  On my way out I didn't want to slide down those loose rock slopes so I went down a gully.  Those were steep also but you could grab on to something.  

I was about to take a step down and my foot was just above a curled up snake.  When your momentum is already headed down and you are put into flight mode with your hands full of detector and pick you try to make your foot go some place else.  I did and he didn't move but I was within inches.  It would have been hard to get out of there because it was still 25 minutes before I got to my car.

Mitchel

[Gerry in Idaho]

Great piece of adventure and advice.  I don't kill them any more and in fact don't mess with them much either.  I used to though.  These pics were at Rye Patch, NV from years ago when I was stupid.  And before anyone chimes in and says that is not a real pic and it's photoshopped?  Please look at the pic and notice the shadow of the gold nugget on the snakes back.  Please folks, no use trying to get yourself bit like I did that day.  Not worth it.  Yes I was a dumbshit.

Good that the 2 of you both got gold too.

[Jim McCulloch]

Ger, having seen you clamber up steep slopes,  and also having witnessed you crawling into heavy brush, which was perfect buzztail habitat, I've decided that you are bolder than we lesser mortals. But... I'm glad you're no longer snapping such risky pics! HH Jim

[Jim_Alaska]

Desert is not the only place for them. This pic was taken in 2005 during a spring flood on the Klamath River. The water had flushed him out of the rip-rap rocks on the bank.