Rattlesnake Nation

My lifelong buddy DJ decided to take me up on an offer to go for a hike Sunday.  DJ is not an avid hiker but he does enjoy the outdoors and saying that he is an athlete is an understatement.  He was a wrestler and football player in high school and he's just one of those guys that can play just about any sport you put in front of him.  I've partied, traveled, golfed, played in basketball tournaments and spent countless hours just hanging out with DJ, but there's one thing I didn't know about DJ.  He's terrified, mortified, absolutely scared to death of snakes.  I've seen this man compete at the highest levels, Sunday, I witnessed one of his all time lows.  This innocent 7 miler is by far my most memorable to date.

Our destination was one of my favorites, Devils Nose in Sleepy Creek WMA.  All along the ridge just before Devils Nose there are small rock outcroppings that lead to the massive stone platform at Devils Nose.  DJ loves to jump and climb the big rocks.  Now I warned him, "Hey man, I saw a rattlesnake up here a few weeks ago", but he was having too much fun on the rocks to care.  But then...it got interesting.  I see DJ in a full sprint towards me, hands going everywhere, screaming "Snake, snake, big mother&#@ing rattlesnake".  He runs right past me a disappears down the trail.  I walked out onto the cliff to check it out and sure enough, a nice 3 footer sunning itself on the rocks.  I don't think it even knew we where there.  But that's just the start.  After I settled DJ down I talked him into walking the last few hundred yards to Devils Nose assuring him that there weren't any snakes out on the rocks.  Wrong, there were 3 more sunning themselves on the big rocks out on the nose, plus a black snake hiding in the brush at the edge of the cliff.  Needless to say DJ was a mess and I couldn't stop laughing.  Our plan to climb the rocks and do a little bouldering was out the window, so I snapped a few pictures and shooed the snakes off the rocks to make it safe for DJ to pass back through.  The best part came about a mile from my truck when we saw another big black snake right beside the trail and I got to see DJ's "freeze then sprint" snake avoidance technique again.  Once we got to the truck he loosened back up and I started with the normal girl/sissy jokes that he had worked so hard to earn back up in the woods.

The big one that almost got DJ

Challenge Update

#1.  I've completed 80 of my 300 miles that I plan to hike/run in 100 days.  I should be at 84 miles by today but I'll catch up.  Challenge #2 will give me 41 miles in one day so I'm not worried about being behind a little.

#2  We've settled on June 30 as the day that we're completing the Maryland Challenge.  We've hammered out a rough schedule for the day and plan to finish the hike in 18 hours.  My brother in law Tim is on board for sure, and two of our running buddies are considering.

Too busy to post.

I hate to admit it but I've been busier than I like lately.  With work, coaching track, spring workouts for basketball, my son's tee-ball games and the usual business of everyday life, I've been freaking busy.  But, not too busy to hike.  I've managed to get my Sunday hikes in even though I haven't had the chance to log on and write about them.  In the last few weeks I've had a few highlights that are noteworthy.  I finished the WV portion of the Tuscarora Trail.  I've completed the TT from Hancock all the way to route 522 in VA.  That's not a huge section, but for a guy that only get's out for short hikes on the weekends I'm pretty happy with it.  I saw my first wild rattlesnake 2 weeks ago out on the TT.  I was cruising along, tangled in my own thoughts when I saw something out of place.  It's pattern actually gave it away.  It was sitting near a crack in a huge boulder just starting to warm up in the morning sun.  I moved around and made noise but I think it was too cold to react.  I moved past but my curiosity got the best of me.  I've never heard a rattlesnake rattle in person and I wanted to hear it.  So I gave it a quick poke with my hiking stick and it obliged with an unforgettable hiss and rattle.  After that we parted ways.  We took our first family hike of the season yesterday.  A short two miler to a little stream in Sleepy Creek WMA that has big rocks that are fun for kids and kids at heart to climb around on.  The hike itself was business as usual, the highlight came at the creek.  The kid, my 4 year old son, was the one I expected to fall in the water, but for some reason the kid at heart, me, was the one who fell in.  I slipped on a wet rock and took a dip from the waist down.  What can I say, I wanted to make it a memorable experience for my son, and trust me, he won't let me live it down.  We were riding in the truck this morning and as we drove past another creek just down from our house he says "Daddy, remember when you fell in the water yesterday?".  My other big highlight is that I got a new backpack.  I bought a Go-Lite Quest.  I bought it online, I'm a sucker for a sweet deal, and I got it for $80, shipped, so call me a sucker.  It's a pretty sweet piece though.  Big, light, and comfortable, just what I was looking for.  I loaded it up and walked on the treadmill at school, but I haven't had time to trail break it yet.  I'm looking forward to my first hike with it.  I'm going to put about 25 pounds in it and do a 10-14 miler somewhere to test it out.  My busy season is winding down and I'll have more time for longer hikes.  Track season will be over in 2 weeks, school will be out in 3, tee-ball will be over in 4.  Then...relaxing with my family, gardening, and hiking will fill those voids.

Summer Challenge Update:  As of today, I've completed 54 of my 300 miles that I pledged to complete in 100 days.  I should be at 63 miles today but I'm off pace a little so I have to play catch up.  As far as the Maryland Challenge, I'm shooting for June 30th.  I'm comfortable that I could hike a 20-25 right now, and with a little more conditioning I'm confident that I'll complete the 41 miles in 24 hours.