A Hike at Lake Hodges...and a snake!

Today was a beautiful autumn day here in San Diego...meaning it was NOT sweltering hot, and a nice breeze was blowing, so we tried a new hiking trail today. It is called "Piedras Pintadas", which means "painted rocks" and winds through former Kumeyaay Indian grounds. There was a creek, a waterfall, informative sign boards and a nice view of the lake.

We took SIdney and Bruce, who is 14. I was a little worried about bringing Bruce due to his advanced age, but he plugged along like a champ.

It was a little over 4 miles, but the weather was awesome and the terrain fairly manageable. The only scary part was when my son spotted a snake, a 2+ foot rattler, crossing our path about 7 feet in front of us. Small, sure, but bites from the little ones can be even worse since they don't know how to regulate the amount of venom they deliver.

We waited while it crept off into the brush and then proceeded on our way. I was curious to see how Sidney would respond, since he had rattlesnake training last summer and is supposed to have an alert reaction if he sees, hears or smells a rattler. Well, as we walked by...nothin'. Hmpf. Guess next summer we'd better schedule a refresher class! I'd still hope that if he got close enough to see or hear it, the old aversion training would kick in. After living all my life in SoCal, this was my first rattler encounter, so that was pretty cool.

All in all it was a wonderful day and now I've got two tired dogs and a couple kids got a good day's exercise in. Life is good.

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Comment by Aj on October 12, 2009 at 3:53pm: Go grandpa! :) What pretty scenery!

Comment by Geri & Sidney on October 12, 2009 at 2:45pm: It was scary, and i'm glad my son spotted it before we walked right into its path!

Comment by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on October 12, 2009 at 2:42pm: What a great adventure! But how scarey to encounter a rattlesnake!! I don't know what I'd do! I freak out when I see a corn snake that accidentally finds it's way into my patio!

Comment by Kristen on October 12, 2009 at 12:13pm: What a great day. Bruce is quite the trooper! Life is good!

Comment by Bev Levy on October 12, 2009 at 8:07am: Looks like it was a beautiful hike. We had a long one yesterday also but did not have my camera. We see lots of snakes but ours are harmless garter snakes! The trees are changing and it is beginning to be colorful.

Comment by Beth on October 11, 2009 at 10:24pm: Very pretty!

Snakes scare me, but they are not as big a problem here as in the west. I asked a guy I work with who hunts if he knows anyone who does rattlesnake aversion training, and he said not here and in all the years he's hunted, he's never run into a snake with the dogs. And I asked my vet and he said he's never had a snakebite at his practice. So I just keep an eye out.

Sounds like everyone had a great time.