Be prepared for summer snake encounters

A friend spied some rattlers skulking around out Croy Canyon recently, and she asked me if she should go to Hailey’s St. Luke’s clinic for treatment, in the event that one was to strike out and bite her. In short, the answer is no, because the Hailey clinic is no longer an Urgent Care facility, and does not stock antivenin. However, St. Lukes Hospital a few miles south of Ketchum does carry rattlesnake antivenin and has treatment available at all hours.

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When traveling in the backcountry, far from hospitals, it’s a good idea to pack a first aid kit, and perhaps a snake-bite kit. A key point to remember when a snake sinks its fangs into you or a friend (or Man’s best friend) is to not panic or run, because an increased heart rate will speed the flow of venom in the circulatory system. Try to calm down and stay hydrated, but do get far enough from the snake so it won’t try to bite again. It’s important to identify the snake if possible, but use common sense and don’t try to catch the snake! Even if it is not a poisonous snake, you should cleanse the wound thoroughly, using warm water and antiseptic soap, before applying a snug dressing held by an elastic bandage. If feasible, carry the victim to the nearest available vehicle, before transporting him or her to the ambulance or hospital. If a rattlesnake bites you and you opt to drive to the hospital, rather than taking an ambulance; you would do well to call ahead, to tell them you are on the way, so staff can begin making preparations for your treatment.

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Occasionally some hardy westerners try to “cowboy up” after receiving snake bites, telling themselves that it’s not so bad, and they forgo any treatment. Later some come to regret this, as the area where they were bit, succumbs to a large amount of permanent tissue damage. Not only that, but since snakes subsist mainly on rodents, even non-poisonous snakes carry loads of filthy bacteria in their mouths; which with fang-bites can lead to terrible infections.

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Some other key points to remember are: Do not apply ice to the bite wound. This will not slow the venom flow. Also, do not use your mouth to suck out the venom. The accepted wisdom used to be to use a snake-bite kit to suction out the venom, but lately that’s been up for debate. Remove jewelry and other items which may constrict with swelling. A few years ago, a friend exploring in the remote Owyhee Desert had a rattlesnake bite his dog in the head, which started swelling to the point where he had to snip off his collar, before they could reach the vet.

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Some vital prevention tips regarding snakes are:

Snakes like to avoid the hot sun, by hiding under rocks or in crevasses. Stay away from reaching in there. When camping, zip up your tent the whole way, to keep snakes from squiggling in. Shake out shoes and clothes before dressing. Be a noisy walker to scare snakes away.

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Local lore has it that rattlesnakes are seldom seen above 5,500 feet. Although this may be a good rule of thumb, it’s not absolutely true, as snakes do not have altimeters built into their brains and depending on climate conditions, sometimes creep upwards to 7,000 feet and higher. Snakes sometimes seem to favor old abandoned mining operations.

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Much of this has been covered before in local newspapers, but it’s helpful to remind folks to be serpent-wary, with the plentiful amount of outdoorsy types constantly exploring here, during our high snake season.

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Once during a highway cleanup, Jim Banholzer got bit in the jeans by a lightning-quick rattlesnake, and he has been paying close attention to their interesting habits ever since.

“A Sense of Place” writing prompt from Tony Evans’s writing class -Summer Solstice 2007

One Rich Pilgrimage over Dollarhide Summit

It’s the perfect distance from town. A destination place to go and see the forest for the trees. I’m just sitting here watching the trees breeze by; I really love to watch them turn. The cell phone sinks around where that Cottonwood is that must be on plant steroids or something. Tony himself wrote about it, saying how a beaver probably chomped on it for practice –to keep its teeth up to snuff.

First June here, I got the bug to get up thar. ‘Straight to the top’ –as Tom Waits sang some drunken Frank Sinatra. Rolled up a bend with radio id on full blast and found hundreds of trees had brokeback down the avalanche. Shoot. Never made it up there that first year.

But made it up most years since.

Last summer went camping in Dollarhide’s sparse foothills. I didn’t even have to drive, just rode shotgun daydreaming up peace-frogs, R.C. Colas and moonpies - stuff like Jim Morrison used to, as Steve piloted the windy warshboard road to our pinnacle.

The sign said altitude 8715. Fifteen feet higher than Galena Summit. Only a foul shot taller, but the road stays closed in foul territory til June -Junebug. Every summer some eccentric cousin gets Spring fever, tries to shake off their winter Brrrrhs, drives up there and high- grounds in the northside path snow. Best to pack a spare spare and that full ambulance of stuff those cowboys always require for their wild ways.

There’s an old mining claim up there, where somebody probably went broke, just like me, destined for poverty, sending a short sad morse code back to ma. Yet strangely some days, things simple and nice, simply happen, And we’ll notice them if we meditate close enough; a kind word, a genuine smile, a connected eye contact enough so much that I begin to feel like the richest man in Sun Valley now and again.

I find myself daydreaming about Dollarhide Summit for hours sometimes. More time invested daydreaming than I have actually spent there in reality.

The cell phone works very sketchily from the top. Etch-a-sketch Morris code. May have to make several calls to get yr mssg across. This July One I was going to call her. The girl I had been seeing. I looked up at the sky and the sign there said, it was not a good time. Storm clouds were gathering too. The year was perfectly split in two.

Didn’t call her back, til we returned from our camp trip. Then called four times, never heard back. I guess we were playing softball that summer. Four strikes and you’re out. Later when I ran into her, she mentioned that her investment house down by the Fairfield crossroads had been lightning struck that stormy first of July. Baked half her house. No ‘surance either. I said, “You never told me your house was struck by lightning."

That day July 1, kept crawling in my craw. I felt there was something significant there, but couldn’t pinpoint it. Weeks later, I discovered my Grandmother’s recent passing notice. I was reminded that my Grandfather had passed from this earth on July 1, in Pennsylvania, exactly twenty-seven years before.

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Last week, I went to a birthday party for Maddie Mackenzie. You may have seen him traipsing around town with the large toy dog he carries and talks with. Even though he has Down’s syndrome, he is a savant level curly impersonator. Soitenly Idaho’s greatest Stooge impersonator. In some ways, Matthew and I are much alike with our level balancing challenges. Mathew was turning 27. For a gift, I gave him three stooges CDs –mostly with Curly’s imbedded -naturally.

He responded by saying, "I really love you, Jimmy" as I placed my arm around his shoulder in the living room, right before the special occasion dinner.

After we expressed our thankfulness, for this opportunity for us all to congregate, we partook of Mary's sumptious servings. Soon the occasion formed into a ceremonious opportunity for us to hand Maddie his remaining gifts.

Maddie’s brother Joe, gave him a radio controlled Dukes of Hazard Racecar. It makes perfect horse sense that someone made a kind remark about Daisy, saying he wished she could have popped out of the cake for the party. On the package of the racecar, it was splashed in large lettering 27 MHZ. Seeing this made my heart run like the General Lee. I reminded everybody that it was Maddie’s 27^th birthday. As they inserted the dozen batteries, and honked General Lee’s horn, I wondered if on some level the 27-splashed number subliminally attracted Maddie’s brother into buying the toy.

After all “Real Job in MHZ” is an anagram for my name, “Jim Banholzer”

Later, I found out that as I got to the top of this Smoky Mountain, that there is an even higher hill .

to conquer

Isn’t there always?