Black Mountain Part 2

I stand corrected. I saw my first rattlesnake on the trail yesterday. It wasn't so much raining as it was heavily misting, which actually made for a very enjoyable hiking atmosphere. No blistering heat from the sun, although it was a little humid and we were all covered in a heavy sheen of mist. For this hike we parked at Hilltop Park right up the street from Black Mountain Middle School on Oviedo Way. From this park you can take the Nighthawk Trail as opposed to the Miner's Loop Trail on the other side of the mountain. I think I prefer coming from the Nighthawk side better. It's just as long of a hike to the top of the mountain but the trail is a little wider and doesn't have as many surprise rocks jutting out in the middle of the trail. You are also parking in a paved lot as opposed to the dirt lot on the other side which is nicer on your car. As me, my mom and my uncle set out, a group of hikers on their way down warned us about a tiny, coiled-up rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. We thanked them, and then my uncle quickly dismissed the warning, saying that by the time we reached that part of the trail the snake would have fled. So we kept hiking, and saw no sign of any snake, which is usually the case when I receive a heads up from other hikers. As a side note, as we made our way back down the mountain we ran into a group of women on their way up. I was running down the hill, which is dangerous considering the amount of loose rocks and dirt. Not only did these three women take up the entire trail, but not one of them felt like moving over for me as I barreled into them. They also had three dogs off-leash, one of which ran straight under my legs, and seeing as how it would have been very hard for me to stop myself, I very nearly went head-over-heels down the mountain. It has nothing to do with the snake, but when you're out hiking there's a level of politeness and etiquette that should be observed so you don't cause your fellow hikers severe injury. After this debacle, another set of hikers warned us about the rogue snake in the trail. We thanked them, but continued to see no sign of any snake. Towards the end of the hike I was running ahead of my uncle and my mom, so I was the first one to finally spot it. Luckily I was running on the outside of the trail, otherwise I would have stepped on it. Even then, I barely saw it, and had to double back. It seemed like it had been there the whole time, snug up against a rock with a little pocket dug in the dirt to get warm in. We must have straight up passed it on the way out.

After warily taking the picture of the baby snake, keeping a safe distance, my uncle grabbed a shrub branch and very gently nudged the snake off the trail. The whole time he cooed to it, "Come on buddy, trust me, you'll be safer in the bushed."