A Hiking Day and a Rattle Snake on the Hill
Close to Cupertino is Saratoga an affluent neighborhood in Silicon Valley. At the end of Prospect Avenue there is a county park leading to a steep mountain trail. I had explored that once but was not bold enough to treck it alone for fear of tumbling down the hill and be helpless.

Last Sunday (March 29, 2009) I decided to drag my friend Shinto to try to scale the mountain. Half way up the hill with spectacular views of Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Cambell we stopped to grasp a breath. On to the right in the grass we saw several mounts of mud by ground hogs. In one of them we saw part of a rattle snake, digging for its prey. I was able to take a picture of it standing at a distance.





My experience with snakes are not very good and I am really scared of them. When I was 10 years old while in India I was bitten by a viper snake and survved. It was at my maternal grand parents' house and they are very familiar with snake bites. The snake was chasing an lizard in the outhouse. I was exploring the area while keeping my hand on a wooden plank when I felt a prick on my right index finger. I saw the lizard and cried out that I was bitten by a lizard. My grandfather was not convinced and by looking at the wound he new it was a snake. He tied a tunic around my arm and took me to a local doctor who confirmed that it was a viper snake bite.

I had to be in his treatment for couple of weeks. The venom did not enter my body due to the immediate actions of my grandfather and team but the wond would not heal for a long time. My father then sought the help of another doctor who did surgery on my fingers to remove all dead tissues. The joint of my index finger fused together and now I have only two folding for that fnger. The finger has a funny look and feel reminding me of the snake and its bite.
again soon.



Posted by Thomas Vellaringattu on Wednesday Apr 01  reply


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