Those who know me well know that my greatest fear in life is getting bit by a rattlesnake while running or hiking on the trail. People might say, "Really? This is your GREATEST fear?" Yes. It is my GREATEST fear, because out of all the things for me to be terrified of in life, being bitten by a rattlesnake has the greatest probability of actually happening.
To prove my point, just today I was running on the Bear Gutsman Trail in Kaysville and I very very narowly excaped this fear becoming a reality.
I was running down the switchbacks not paying much attention when I rounded a corner and there it was, a little black and brown guy with a rattle on his tail all COILED (yes he was COILED) up on the trail. I was moving fast and didn't have any time at all to think. I just lept into the air and hit the ground running as fast as I could. I heard him hiss behind me but I but did not chance stealing a glance behind me.
I am not really sure how I did not get bitten. I was awefully close and he was ready for me. It was kind of a miracle.
What I still don't understand is that Bella, my trusty beast who is supposed to protect me from such calamities, was about ten feet in front of me and she never showed any sign that she was even aware of this little guys existence. She did not run, jump, start, growl, or bark. She just trotted down the trail in her lackadaisical manner as if she had not seen, heard, or smelled anything out of the ordinary.
As for me, it took a long long long time for me to relax and it will probably be a long long long time before I will be able relax while running on a trail again, especially now that we are moving to Arizona, the land of the rattle snakes!
PS - I was going to find a picture of a rattle snake to put with this post, but it makes me sick to my stomach to look at them so you will just have to use your imagination!
