A Great Basin rattlesnake! And it was in the middle of its breakfast, complete with a mouse tail protruding from its mouth. This was so cool. It only had a handful of rattles, so this was a rather young snake.
It moved off the road into some Oregon grape and sagebrush, and we left it in peace.
The kids seem to appreciate extra challenges, which I was happy to give them.
We took a little break at the bridge at the top of the loop.
Just beyond is a trail junction sign. If you go left, you are on the old Osceola Trail heading to the collapsed tunnel and Weaver Creek. I had never taken the trail before, and the rest of the group was amenable to giving it a try.
The trail was easy to follow, being in a ditch. Even though the ditch is more than a hundred years old, it's still a ditch. Until you get to the end, when it just suddenly ends. This is where the tunnel would have been, but it's so thoroughly collapsed, you don't get much sense that there had been a tunnel.
Instead of heading back down the ditch to reconnect to the Sage steppe loop, we decided to head cross country. Under this tree we found piles of fence posts.
We had to zig and zag to avoid some of the taller veg, but eventually we made it back to the trail.
And there was enough energy for one more challenge!
I highly recommend the Sage steppe loop. It's a neat view of a burned area, is short and not too steep, and during the summer has lots of flowers blooming.
The Osceola tunnel trail is one that can be skipped. There is not much to recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment