Rattlesnakes and Tarping

[The Weasel]

I realize this isn't an AT question, but I trust the experience of people on WhiteBlaze:

I'm planning on doing some serious solo camping in coastal southern California here, which is very arid (below about 5,000') and heavy brush/chapparal. It's prime rattlesnake territory (no, I'm not skittish; it really is), and while I'm a confirmed tarper back east, there just isn't the same snake habitat there as around here. Nights, believe it or not, get quite cool, especially halfway down the narrow canyons, and my recollection is that rattlesnakes, especially, prefer to be a bit warm at night, if possible, and have the heat sensors to find warm place.

Such as my sleeping bag.

Is there anyone with experience in territory like this who can comment? Should I use my solo tent instead? By the way: If you don't have experience in high-snake population areas with terrain like this, save your comments. Thanks.

The Weasel

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Weasel, my experience is decades old, but I did live and camp in that area years ago. I never had any problem with snakes - rattlers or otherwise - attempting to get into my bag when I cowboy camped.

[Time To Fly 97]

I did all the desert sections of the PCT and never had problems. The snakes tend to only be mobile at dawn and dusk...too hot during the day and too cold at night. I never saw one at night, but saw sometimes 7 in a row right on the trail in the daytime.

I used a silnylon tarp if the wind was kicking up the sand, otherwise just slept out under the stars... which are awesome!

Happy hking!

TTF

[The Weasel]

I did all the desert sections of the PCT and never had problems. TTF

Fly ---

Did you do the stretch from Mile 0 out of Campo? Terrain here is very similar. (Where were the 7 snakes in a row? That must have been fun to see, but how did they decide to line up like that? :-? )

The Weasel

[Time To Fly 97]

Hey Weasel,

Yeah from Campo. The snakes were lined up like that on a section on the Mojave. It was fun. The small ones could be picked up on the end of a hiking pole and gently moved out of the way. The big ones (most) just required a (usually very steep and dusty) walk around.

Great times. The desert is very beautiful once you get used to it.

Happy hiking!

TTF

[The Weasel]

Hey Weasel,

Yeah from Campo. The snakes were lined up like that on a section on the Mojave. It was fun. The small ones could be picked up on the end of a hiking pole and gently moved out of the way. The big ones (most) just required a (usually very steep and dusty) walk around.

Great times. The desert is very beautiful once you get used to it.

Happy hiking!

TTF

Yes it is. I've camped near different parts of the PCT, but not tarping. Thanks for the go-ahead.

The Weasel

PS: Are you still in the West?

[Jim Adams]

I did all the desert sections of the PCT and never had problems. The snakes tend to only be mobile at dawn and dusk...too hot during the day and too cold at night. I never saw one at night, but saw sometimes 7 in a row right on the trail in the daytime.

I used a silnylon tarp if the wind was kicking up the sand, otherwise just slept out under the stars... which are awesome!

Happy hking!

TTF
Ditto

just returned from a failed PCT thru. I sent my tent / tarp ahead and cowboy camped almost all of thr desert...no problemsand no snakes overnight.

geek

[Ramble~On]

There are scorpions, tarantulas, black widows and plenty of snakes....
Not that you'll see any but they're there. In six years of tarping it and "cowboy" camping in coastal S. California (Camp Pendleton)...I have few stories to tell...given the choice though I'd have a tent or hammock to keep myself seperated from the creepy crawlies.
Wait a minute - Weasel...you live in Laguna Beach ! you know what's out there waiting to get you.

[oldfivetango]

Weasel,
If you plan to go "cowboy camping" you need to take
a horsehair lariat.Every cowboy knows that snakes wont cross over
a lariat of horsehair laid out in a circle.Or you could spread a circle
of sulfur around you to keep them out,wait,or maybe it is vampires
that the sulfur works on.Either way you should be so exhausted by
days end that you will be too tired to do anything but sleep anyway.
Have a nice trip.
Oldfivetango

[Time To Fly 97]

Hey Weasel -

I enjoyed the West (big time), but LOVE the EAST. I live in NJ about a mile from the AT on Upper Greenwood Lake. : )

Happy hiking!

TTF

[fiddlehead]

Hiked in the Anza Borrega desert numerous times as well as Joshua Tree NP and PCT.
Never even heard of a snake getting near anyones sleeping bag.
Never heard of anyone getting bitten either unless it was someone playing with a snake.
The critters don't like you any better than you like them.
Enjoy the desert. It is some great hiking. and no tent or tarp needed most of the year.

[Mags]

I never had any problems with creepy, crawlie things in the desert hiking of California, New Mexico and Utah. I prefer camping under the stars as much as possible.

The only time I ever had any problem was in Northern California when I had a few black ants in my beard. :eek:

[Alligator]

I never had any problems with creepy, crawlie things in the desert hiking of California, New Mexico and Utah. I prefer camping under the stars as much as possible.

The only time I ever had any problem was in Northern California when I had a few black ants in my beard. :eek:Snacks stored in one's beard should be consumed or removed by bedtime.

[Mags]

Snacks stored in one's beard should be consumed or removed by bedtime.

Yes..but those cookie crumbs make a great midnight snack...

[amigo]

There are definitely lots of rattlers in coastal southern Calirfornia. Last year we were visiting relatives in Carlsbad and went day hiking at Torrey Pines where there are lots of signs cautioning hikers about rattlesnakes, but we didn't see any. When we got back to the relatives' house in Carlsbad, they informed us that 2 large (5') rattlers had crossed the city street in front of their house while we were gone.

I formerly lived on the west coast, and I've tarped in prime rattler habitat, and I've never had a problem. I believe that the snakes are able to determine that you are not just a warm rock to crawl under, but rather a large animal, and they avoid you. Ask yourself, have you ever seen a news story involving a rattler getting into a sleeping bag? I mean, it could happen, but it has to be like getting hit with a meteorite, which is probably about as likely.

I mean, I know it did happen once on an episode of Bonanza, but they couldn't even orient the Lake Tahoe-Ponderosa map properly (east was at the top) at the beginning of the show, so what do they know?

[Footslogger]

My guess is that a snake is more likely to crawl into a sleeping bag if it is EMPTY rather than when you are sleeping in it. That said ...I have had to dump some nasty critters out of my footwear in the morning on occasion.

'Slogger

[The Weasel]

There are scorpions, tarantulas, black widows and plenty of snakes....
Not that you'll see any but they're there. In six years of tarping it and "cowboy" camping in coastal S. California (Camp Pendleton)...I have few stories to tell...given the choice though I'd have a tent or hammock to keep myself seperated from the creepy crawlies.
Wait a minute - Weasel...you live in Laguna Beach ! you know what's out there waiting to get you.


There are definitely lots of rattlers in coastal southern Calirfornia. Last year we were visiting relatives in Carlsbad and went day hiking at Torrey Pines where there are lots of signs cautioning hikers about rattlesnakes, but we didn't see any. When we got back to the relatives' house in Carlsbad, they informed us that 2 large (5') rattlers had crossed the city street in front of their house while we were gone. ***

I'm not going into the desert - Anza Borrego or along the PCT section of desert, but along the cost (Pendleton is part of it and very similar) the hills/mountains are very arid, very sparse in vegetation and a lot of brush; since the PCT may be known to more people, I described the terrain here as similar to the first 30 miles or so of the PCT for those familiar with that. One of the major wilderness parks (about 100,000 acres overall) starts about 100 yards from my house, about 1/2 mile in from the ocean. There are a lot of snakes; the local police get several "snake calls" a week, and my dog has "snorfled" a few small ones on the street and close-in trails

So advice from Pendleton veterans (in both senses of the term) and others who know this area is very welcome.

The Weasel

[d'shadow]

Please avoid sleeping down in canyons, flash floods are a danger in the desert and yes, some people drown in these events. Most rattlers are going to avoid you, the only ones I ever knew to be agressive are mojave greens

[Ramble~On]

Again....we slept on the ground in "Ranger Rolls" night after night after night....for years and in all that time there was one instance where a rattlesnake was discovered under someones sleeping pad...as we were packing up and by that time it probably went under there to get out of the sun. This was Camp Pendleton and yes, there are tons of snakes, black widows, tarantulas and scorpions...beautiful scenery though and hiking along the coast is great.....especially the nudist beach near the power plant ! :sun The only down side is running across illegals hiding in the brush, the noise from the 5 Freeway and helicopters and jets flying overhead non stop......

oh, 99.9% of the rattlesnakes on Camp Pendleton are Southern Pacific (or was it Southern Prairie?)
either way their bite isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

[Jack Tarlin]

Yeah, but I bet that other .01 per cent is something of a problem!! :rolleyes:

[The Weasel]

Please avoid sleeping down in canyons, flash floods are a danger in the desert and yes, some people drown in these events. Most rattlers are going to avoid you, the only ones I ever knew to be agressive are mojave greens

Please avoid giving advice about areas that have nothing to do with the question posed, which referred to "halfway down" canyons being cool. Southern California coastal canyons don't get flash floods or any other kind in the dry (now) season, and damn all the rest of the year, even when we're not having a killer drought. The only "flash flood" that got "halfway up" a Southern California coastal canyon in the last 4000 years or so was in a really bad Noah flick that just bombed.

Helps to read the question (Post 1). Thanks, but this isn't slot canyon country, it's not desert, and "most rattlers are going to avoid you" is the sort of comment that doesn't really provide a lot of security, if you think about it. It's kind of a "zero defects" kind of thing, OK?

Sheesh. Talk about thread drift.

The Weasel

[The Weasel]

Again....we slept on the ground in "Ranger Rolls" night after night after night....for years and in all that time there was one instance where a rattlesnake was discovered under someones sleeping pad...as we were packing up and by that time it probably went under there to get out of the sun. This was Camp Pendleton and yes, there are tons of snakes, black widows, tarantulas and scorpions...beautiful scenery though and hiking along the coast is great.....especially the nudist beach near the power plant ! :sun The only down side is running across illegals hiding in the brush, the noise from the 5 Freeway and helicopters and jets flying overhead non stop......

oh, 99.9% of the rattlesnakes on Camp Pendleton are Southern Pacific (or was it Southern Prairie?)
either way their bite isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

Thanks, Spirit! Good info. Pendleton (you were a Marine?) is still about the same. San Onofre still has the beach by the Nuker. Few illegals though; most come up the PCT now.

Thanks again.

The Weasel

[yaduck9]

Don't know if this applies to those pesky Eastern Rattlers, but anyways.

Did a four day hile along the Verde River here in AZ. Had one close call and one meeting during the trip. Both times it was early morning ( 8 am ), ground temperature about 85 - 90 degrees.

My two friends and I never used a tent, and had no problems. We were more concerned about scorpions.

My two cents; Be aware of the ground temperature. Snakes are cold blooded and regulate their body temp by moving in and of the sun and try to avoid walking through tall, dried, grass. :rolleyes: