March 14: The Rincons

Day 11: Rattlesnakes and Bumblebees

The rattlesnake didn’t like the fact I’d stepped on his rock.
It was late morning, and I’d already made it into Saguaro National Monument and the slopes of the Rincon Mountains. I had been keeping an eye out for snakes (they like the warmth of the rocks near the trail) yet was still surprised. I stepped onto the lower corner of a broad flat rock. About 6 feet away and level with my left shoulder, I heard a sudden, and very loud, rattle. I jumped and ran like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean – my hands fluttering as I scuttled backwards. I looked like an idiot. I think I might have even apologized to the snake (“Sorry! Sorry!”) as I ran back. When I got safely back about fifteen feet I turned to see a 3 foot long rattlesnake, rattle still buzzing (but softer now), coiled and glaring at me. I slowly backed away, made a wide circle around him below the trail, and kept hiking.

My day had started earlier that morning at 3400 feet in elevation down on the desert floor. Off by 8am with the shadows still long and air cool. For the first 90 minutes I was surrounded by wildlife – rabbits breaking, quail flying – but by mid-morning the sun started to beat down and the animals went under cover. I passed by mesquite, ocotillo and rusted water tanks with windmills.

Then by late morning I was up around 4500 feet. The mountainside was covered with tall saguaros. The sage bushes, with pale gray leaves and bright yellow windflowers, crowded both sides of the trail. With the flowers came hundreds of bees, so walking was already a little unnerving. Then that snake.

My day ends today at about 6300 feet up on the south flank of Mica Mountain in the Rincons. Surrounded by scrubby oaks, pinyon and pine. The trail dives under the shade of the trees, then passes over broad rocks with only rock cairnes to mark the way.