If you look at a map of Lake Berryessa, you’ll find Smittle Creek just off the Berryessa Knoxville Road, tucked into the western shore and hiding behind a couple of islands (called Small Island and Big Island). The last time I explored along this trail was back in January 2019; since then, the Spanish Fire scorched vast areas on this […]
NOTE: This post contains some pictures of a rattlesnake; I’ve located those at the end of the post, along with an additional warning, so if you’d rather not look at snakes, feel free to read on down until you see the warning sign below! Google is a little bit confused about the name and location of this particular hiking trail; […]
All summer long as I hike along dirt trails surrounded by high weeds, I’m cautiously looking out for rattlesnakes. I’ve spotted them as early as March, both in 2014 and 2015; but this year I hadn’t seen one single snake of any type — until last Tuesday, when I was lucky enough to encounter this little guy at Negro Bar. When I tried to coax him off the trail (lest he be run over by somebody on a mountain bike), he coiled up and fiercely shook his tail at me before giving up and slithering off into the dry weeds.
Until a few weeks ago, I’d never even heard of a sharp-tailed snake, and I’m pretty sure I had never seen one. Turns out they’re quite common in my area. These are fairly small, secretive creatures, completely harmless to humans. Unfortunately, the only one I’ve actually seen was most likely run over by a mountain bike on a dirt hiking […]