It was Saturday! Finally, after a week of commuting to NYC working my corporate job, the weekend rolled around, and I was free again! I could pick up the trail map of Harriman Park, 40 miles north of Manhattan, and choose any of the many rugged hiking trails that I fancied. I chose a trail I hadn't been on before. The trailhead had pictures of wildlife, including a picture of a yellow rattler, but I had never seen a snake, let alone a rattler, in 15 years of hiking alone in the Harriman wilderness!

So I hiked up the mountain trail at a fast clip, up and over a rocky ledge, and was greeted by a magnificent vista of the surrounding landscape including Bear Mountain, lakes and, of course, the Hudson River in the distance. The surrounding mountains were all turning green and lush with trees awakening in the late Spring warm weather. I just basked in the early May sunshine and soaked up the magnificent view from the top of the mountain.

And then it was time to go back down. I was full of energy, and at the rocky ledge section I began jumping down waist-high boulders. And then an extremely loud noise broke the quiet of the woods. It sounded like a plane was falling from the sky. I looked up and only saw blue sky. And then I looked down...

And there on the next boulder jump, right in the middle of the trail, was a giantic yellow rattlesnake gently curled around itself. Its body was as thick as a bodybuilder's upper arm and it's head was up - seemingly looking right at me!

I instinctively side-stepped and went back up the trail, still hearing the snake's hiss behind me. I found a guy and a girl at the top (and had to interrupt their embrace) and asked them if I could join them on the way down. It turns out the guy had been there before and knew about the snakes, and the lady was, of all things, an herpetologist. We went down and found the den off to the side of the train and again heard the snake hiss. After passing the den, I thanked my companions and continued down the mountain on my own at my usual quick pace. I safely made it down the mountain having had an adventure I hadn't anticipated.

What did I learn from all of this? First, and foremost, that a snake announces if you're too close and bothering her the vibrations do that. Second, I now know where I would find them especially basking in the mid-day sun. And, third, well, third is that I'm desensitized to snakes now and trust that I can handle anything in the woods and that I'm always safe, snakes or no snakes!

Learn more about this author, Susan Shemin.
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