Ran Into A Couple Of Rattlers Last Week

[Jim in Idaho]

Chris and I spent a few days poking around a portion of then perimeter of the second largest known US meteorite crater. (Beaverhead Impact Crater) On the way back to camp one afternoon, we saw a sign for Malm Gulch about 9 miles west of Challis, Idaho. Malm is famous among geos' for its ancient petrified Sequoia stumps, which can be as much as 8' in diameter. The elevation is about 5,600', and the temp was about 75, so I knew the snakes might be out. I was alittle worried about Heidi, but we hiked on in the 1 1/2 miles. As I turned into the4 final small dry gulch, there was a knee-high shelf in the wash, and as my eyes rose up there was a small pile of rattlesnakes, At first, I thought it was one really large snake, but as I looked, I realized it was two snakes. I assume they were mating, as there was one male and one female. The female got quickly hostile, and never did calm down. The male never budged, or rattle...maybe post-coital bliss, or fatigue...LOL. Thank God Heidi was not out in front as she usually is, and Chris was able to get her corraled. We decided to beat feet back to the rig. I could get by the snakes, but we were obviously near a den area, and I didn't want to risk Heidi being bitten by a snake we didn't see. You guys be careful out there. The male snake is on the right.

Jim

[phrunt]

That's pretty cool, nice to see nature doing it's thing.  How can you tell the males? Did he have his ding dong hanging out?

And the big question, did you find any meteorites? That's on my bucket list although I doubt I'll ever find one around here.

[JCR]

Good sized pair.

[Knomad]

Reminds Me of an old girlfriend....

[Valens Legacy]

I am sorry about the snakes getting you worried, as for me the only good snake is a dead one.

I hate snakes!

I know that they keep the pest's at bay, but I just hate snakes of any kind.

A friend thought he would pull a prank on me once and from behind put his Boa on my neck. That lasted about 2 minutes before it's head was removed. My friend could not believe that I would kill it and only jump to get away from it, he learned real quick how much it cost to replace it.

Grandfather was bitten a couple of times by rattlesnakes and hated snakes also.

 

[rvpopeye]

Jim

Two snakes gettin' jiggy.  You can't unsee that !😳

Glad the pooch didn't get bit on.

 

You pranked the prankster VL !   Bet he didn't do that again...🥸

 

 

 

 

[Goldseeker5000]

I'm with Valens Legacy, I hate snakes and for me also, the only good snake is a dead one and I sure don't want to be loitering around a dead one either. I've seen first hand how that can get you into trouble. Mice and rats are another problem for me living out of a truck and tent. Making nests in my engine by the fuel injectors and chewing on lines and wires. My life the last year has been a constant battle with mice. When I am in Arizona I kill them and set them out for my coyote pack. I sure miss those four coyotes. 😆 

[Jim in Idaho]

From what I've been able to learn, the males have the black and white bands, for a couple of inches, ahead of the rattle, The females lack that banding. You also might notice, it looks like the male had recently shed its skin. The female is much duller in color. They generally mate shortly after leaving the winter den...that's why I figured a den was nearby, and there would be more of them in the vicinity.

Jim

[Jim in Idaho]

11 hours ago, JCR said:

Good sized pair.

Nothing like the ones you guys have down there...thank God.....LOL

[Jim in Idaho]

11 hours ago, phrunt said:

That's pretty cool, nice to see nature doing it's thing.  How can you tell the males? Did he have his ding dong hanging out?

And the big question, did you find any meteorites? That's on my bucket list although I doubt I'll ever find one around here.

Simon, we weren't really looking for meteorites. Just looking for indications of gold. The crater is enormous...some Geo's claim 100 miles across, but most say about 40. The Great Basin is the only one bigger in the US. There is very little evidence of it remaining. Only a Geo would recognize the indicators. It was discovered about 30 years ago. The center is about 8 miles west of where we camped off US 93. All that said, I'd really like to find a fragment of it. We did locate an old placer location that had Lead, silver, gold, and barite/barium. We'll be going exploring in the canyon above that later this year, hopefully.

Jim