Today was definitely “a bucket list” kind of day. Brett and I ventured over to Sweetwater and took part in our first ever rattlesnake hunt! Yes, it was our very own “Wild at Heart” moment!!! Crazy? Probably. Exhilarating? Definitely! A great father and son bonding opportunity? Absolutely! You see, we quickly learned that to catch a rattlesnake required teamwork. We also discovered that there is a fraternity of sorts that forms between the hunters…who had started out the morning as strangers. However, soon our group of adrenaline junkies banded together to encourage and watch each other’s backs (and feet)!
Since it was a cool day, the snakes were inside of their den. So, we had to get them out. This required climbing into a deep canyon, finding their den and spraying a little gas into it to persuade them to begin moving. Then a brave soul had to lay on his belly with a flashlight peering into the den to spot any snakes on the move. I quickly discovered that my son was braver than I was, so I let him handle that duty! Then it was time for the catch. I assure you, the best purchase of the morning that I made was as long of a pair of snake tongs as I could find – and with the first rattlesnake I caught, I thought the tongs could’ve been even longer!
At the end of the day, this father and son had caught a total of 7 rattlers. Brett bagged 4 while I caught 3. I thought we would end the day tied, but Brett being the competitive person that he is just had to one up his old man! However, I gained the distinction of catching the biggest snake of the day who was easily 5 foot long!
