And did I mention rattlesnakes? Twice while attempting to set rigging on that steep loose slope I had rattlesnakes getting pissed at me. I can't hear them anymore. Not even a little bit.
First one, I was climbing with heavy chain draped around my shoulders and anchor stakes in one hand and a sledge hammer in the other, using those as trekking poles. Just doing my best to make any progress up that steep loose slope without falling or sliding all the way back down. And all the sudden, I notice a pretty good sized rattler coiled up and shaking his tail about five feet from me. I really couldn't even move, just too precarious of a slope with the burden I was carrying. Thankfully, the snake moved off down the slope. And I found it quite interesting to note that even the snake more or less half fell and tumbled once he started downhill.
Awhile later, while attempting to reset the rigging for a pull from another direction, I was again attempting to traverse the slope with chains and anchors and the hammer. My buddy Steve who was 100 feet away suddenly yells at me to STOP!!! Like I said, I can't hear rattlers at all. But every time I tried to move at all from that spot he was yelling at me to not move. I guess every time I moved at all the snake started rattling. I couldn't hear it, or see it. Eventually, I backed up and came back down and had to go back up again by a different route. And climbing that slope was no joke.
Sure felt good to finally drive away from that spot.
- DAA