Rattlesnake!
We hiked the Van Dam Peak area of Poway to find two mines, one of which is purported to be Old Hag #1, the other apparently unnamed. We left from Sabre Springs Park and climbed a very steep hill to the top, battling the innumerable kite strings along the way. My new boots had great traction on the slippery DG; the last time I hiked here with my old boots I was slipping in many places.
About half way to the mines, we surprised a rattlesnake alongside the trail. We were just a few feet from it when either we saw it or heard the rattle; both appeared to happen simultaneously. In my excitement (nervousness), I thought it was shedding its skin. Brandy growled at the rattler as I took two pictures and then we left the trail to get around the rattler.
We found the large mine and then took one of the smaller trails back to the main trail. We stumbled on the second mine alongside the trail where the smaller trail joined the main trail. We had passed the main trail on the way to the first mine but had not recognized it. I don’t think the second mine was Old Hag #1 because it’s too far from the listed coordinates.
At this point we decided to return. I had strained my foot about a week earlier and I didn’t want to overuse it. On the way back I saw the rabbit alongside the trail and thought we’d interrupted a coyote kill. It wasn’t until I looked at the pictures that I realized that the snake was eating its kill, not shedding its skin.
We found a bird entangled in kite string as we started down our last hill. I tried to rescue it while keeping Brandy away. Unfortunately, I couldn’t adequately restrain Brandy while disentangling the bird’s leg and she nipped the back of the bird damaging it. I then let her have the bird to put it out of its misery. I was very disappointed that I couldn’t save the bird.