[ibmkidIII]

local trail conditions -- still crappy

Well, not really but it did make you click. Rode Zorro, Dakota, MW, and some Green this afternoon.

One wet spot on Zorro, Dakota had a few wet spots, MW two creeks crossings with one really muddy spot on the lower loop which meant to me the upper half the loop (Morrison Slide?) would be soaked/sloppy on the part that faces Northeast so I didn't ride it. Green was good on the spots that I did, but just barely. Sides of trail were still clayee (that a word?) in spots and there was a few still pretty big snowy patches on top. I'd stay off all NE and North facing stuff on Green for a few days still.

Kirk

 

[OdaNelli]

Well, not really but it did make you click. Rode Zorro, Dakota, MW, and some Green this afternoon.

One wet spot on Zorro, Dakota had a few wet spots, MW two creeks crossings with one really muddy spot on the lower loop which meant to me the upper half the loop (Morrison Slide?) would be soaked/sloppy on the part that faces Northeast so I didn't ride it. Green was good on the spots that I did, but just barely. Sides of trail were still clayee (that a word?) in spots and there was a few still pretty big snowy patches on top. I'd stay off all NE and North facing stuff on Green for a few days still.

Kirk

I'd concur with that observation. The fire road up Green is fine, but once you get on to the single track on the South West-East sides, there was pretty much a creek running down. I turned around about .2 miles and did another lap on the Fire Road. However,
White Ranch is good to go. Belcher Trail to the top was completely dry. Maverick and Longhorn had a few wet spots, but was otherwise dry. Anyone looked at Lair of The Bear?

 

[scrublover]

yep. pretty much all good to go. i hit dakota/red rocks/morrison slide early yesterday monring.

all fine, bot for a few small wet spots, creek/drain crossings, and one *extremely* pissed off rattler. about a foot off the trail, and i didn't see him until he started coiling and rattling at me.
needless to say, i gave a few really quick pedal strokes to get out of range.

 

[ibmkidIII]

let me bet he was on Zorro, just after the last switch back going up? focker was there yesterday.

 

[Debaser]

Hall is dry dry dry. Going to break out the pledge to clean the bike after tonights ride.

 

[scrublover]

let me bet he was on Zorro, just after the last switch back going up? focker was there yesterday.

nope; i was actually on my second lap of the red rocks/morrison stuff, climbing up the slide.

he was about 50 feet or so past the trail split. i warned a couple runners that were on their way down to keep their eyes peeled for him, and give him a wide pass. i'd managed to irritate him pretty well.

 

[Jdub]

nope; i was actually on my second lap of the red rocks/morrison stuff, climbing up the slide.

he was about 50 feet or so past the trail split. i warned a couple runners that were on their way down to keep their eyes peeled for him, and give him a wide pass. i'd managed to irritate him pretty well.

Man all this snake talk has me a bit freaked out....I'm like Indiana Jones when it comes to snakes. I didn't expect the snakes to be out this early.

And to top it off I was told the other day that Rabbit Mountain (where I ride with my wife quite often) used to be called Rattlesnake Mountain, but the powers that be changed the name to keep from scaring people off. Maybe winter riding isn't so bad...

 

[ibmkidIII]

Ever had to bunny hop a snake who just got done eating (assumingly a rabbit)? Good times....

 

[rmac]

I have run over a rattler on GM (that ticked him off!) I have also had to leap over one trail running there (that ticked me off!). Late last fall MW had a lot of Rattler problems. I was moving them off the trail...

Keep your eyes peeled!

 

[scrublover]

I have run over a rattler on GM (that ticked him off!) I have also had to leap over one trail running there (that ticked me off!). Late last fall MW had a lot of Rattler problems. I was moving them off the trail...

Keep your eyes peeled!

i've hopped a couple, and ran over one. this was the first time i've had one start hissing and shaking at me *before* i saw where it was.

seen a few at hall, and a few at chimney/apex. hell, they're all over much of the front range anyhow.

 

[billybobzia]

i was walking my dogs on South table mtn yesterday and my lab almost got struck by a rattler, if she wasn't so scared (which she usually isn't) i bet he would have gotten her, scared the crap out of me....i have seen them on almost every front range trail, last year one on apex where you couldn't really go around (sort of rock cliff on one side, and steep gully on the other)..took awhile to get em off the trail...they like to sun themselves this time of year and in the morning in the summer....

 

[dtmartin46]

great, thnx a lot guys!

Now every time i go out riding, all im going to think about is frickin snakes!!!!

Dang. I didn't think that there wouldba too many sightings this early... Shows how much i know. I've only come across a rattler once, when i was flyin down Apex, late season last year. I heard a hiker hootin and hollerin below me, I came around the corner and almost went over the bars when i saw him curled up, about 10 feet from me, full hissin, and rattlin. Pretty cool to see for the first time. Thank god that hiker was there tho, otherwise i'd have ran right over him, or more than likely, tried to avoid him, and ended up getting bit.

Hey, just out of curiosity, and since i am addicted to snake shows on TLC, and Discovery channel, does anyone know the genus/species/breed/whatever of the rattlers we see here in Denver??? I'm just curious, because i have heard the rattlers here are not as dangerous as ones in AZ, or NM, or CA.

 

[Reporterkyle]

God I hate snakes. I haven't seen any this year, but see them all the time at White Ranch and Chimney/Apex, my two local rides. Damn near ran one over coming down Belcher last fall. A few years ago I saw some dude standing over a pissed off rattler at GM trying to smash it with a rock. Amazingly, he didn't get bit, though he might have deserved it. I leave those nasty little f$*!ers alone.
As for trails, WR is ready to go. I haven't done any of the upper loop, though, so I don't know how that is looking. Maverick, Longhorn and Shorthorn are fine, though. Has anyone done Mt. Falcon/PP/LOB loop yet?

 

[DLine]

I'd concur with that observation. The fire road up Green is fine, but once you get on to the single track on the South West-East sides, there was pretty much a creek running down. I turned around about .2 miles and did another lap on the Fire Road. However,
White Ranch is good to go. Belcher Trail to the top was completely dry. Maverick and Longhorn had a few wet spots, but was otherwise dry. Anyone looked at Lair of The Bear?

Hey Ock - check your PMs...

 

[chad1433]

Now every time i go out riding, all im going to think about is frickin snakes!!!!

Dang. I didn't think that there wouldba too many sightings this early... Shows how much i know. I've only come across a rattler once, when i was flyin down Apex, late season last year. I heard a hiker hootin and hollerin below me, I came around the corner and almost went over the bars when i saw him curled up, about 10 feet from me, full hissin, and rattlin. Pretty cool to see for the first time. Thank god that hiker was there tho, otherwise i'd have ran right over him, or more than likely, tried to avoid him, and ended up getting bit.

Hey, just out of curiosity, and since i am addicted to snake shows on TLC, and Discovery channel, does anyone know the genus/species/breed/whatever of the rattlers we see here in Denver??? I'm just curious, because i have heard the rattlers here are not as dangerous as ones in AZ, or NM, or CA.

From info on the web from the City of Lakewood:

> If you encounter a prairie or massasauga rattlesnake (the only poisonous snakes in Colorado), simply back off.

> The snake senses your presence by your body heat and movement.

> In Colorado, rattlesnakes may be legally killed if they pose a threat. All other snakes are classified as nongame wildlife and are protected by law

From coloherp.org: Crotalus viridis viridis (Prairie Rattlesnake) in southern and eastern
Colorado.

From the National Park Service: The snake can regulate the amount of venom it injects conserving what it does not need for later use. About one-third of the North American venomous snake bites received by humans are "dry" or venom free.

 

[crashtoomuch]

Now every time i go out riding, all im going to think about is frickin snakes!!!!

Just last summer I ran over two at Green Mountain - one a big fat rattler. I saw another up close and angry at GM (had to get off my bike and go around him), I heard a guy screaming at another at GM. I also had a long bull snake slither within inches of my front tire at Mt Falcon - that was on a climb, so I didn't hit it.

Deer and Elk are much more enjoyable to see in my book.

 

[PattD]

A weird day last fall...

..I saw like 4 rattlers at Waterton on the road. There was a front moving in quick and I was coming back towards the lot from the singletrack and I saw one after the other on the side of the road. Not sure if they sensed the front or that the road was the only warm spot left since the temp was dropping...either way I didn't like it.

If you like them, head to Devils Backbone, I've seen at least one everytime I've ridden that trail.

 

[chad1433]

..I saw like 4 rattlers at Waterton on the road. There was a front moving in quick and I was coming back towards the lot from the singletrack and I saw one after the other on the side of the road. Not sure if they sensed the front or that the road was the only warm spot left since the temp was dropping...either way I didn't like it.

If you like them, head to Devils Backbone, I've seen at least one everytime I've ridden that trail.

Really? I've been riding there for three years and have only seen three, all of them last year - small ones, though they're more deadly. Last night I saw a orange/yellow/black snake. Not sure what kind it is, but it didn't look to deadly. The Elk I saw downtown Loveland on the Front Range Trail were much scarier!

 

[The Squeaky Wheel]

I haven't seen any at Devil's Backbone yet this spring, but saw 2 rattlers and one King snake last fall. Those King snakes are sneaky. They look like rattlers & act like rattlers, even down to shaking their tail, but no rattle and harmless (aside from making me wet my spandex).