Don’t Move!
We were in TRNP North Unit finishing up our hiking for the day. We saved Caprock Coulee Nature Trail for our last hike. It was going to be a bit more challenging due to its length and elevation changes, but we were game for the moderate effort it would take.
Most nature trails have interpretive signage noting trees, habitat details, wildlife, a geological formation, and the like. Some have a list you can pick up at the beginning of the trail showing what natural element is featured at each numbered stop along the way. For Caprock Coulee, there was nothing. Just metal posts along the side of the narrow trail with sequential numbers on them, but no "key" to unlock any specific information.
I was disappointed, as I am the "lifelong learner" of the group. But no matter. We were in the mood for the hike, and we could figure some of it out along the way. We descended into a grassy area that paralleled a once-vibrant creek. In fact, we were walking in a coulee. A coulee is a drainage route for water that might come from a rainstorm or melting snow.
The trail was shaded with cottonwood and juniper trees, and rose and fell as it followed the rolling terrain along the creek. Soon we entered into a marshy area with standing muddy water. A small wooden bridge (a few planks, actually) helped us through that section.
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| Caprock "shelves" that protect the underlying rock. Image courtesy of the National Park Service |
As we hiked, cliffs rose off to our right, and the caprock was visible. Caprock is a hard stone that covers softer stone underneath. It's like a hat protecting your head from rain. A bison appeared at the top of one of the cliffs. That was a special treat.
We passed the metal posts with the meaningless numbers: 1, 2, 3...10, 11... 13, 14... After 14 there was another small plank bridge over an eroded ditch. Kristi began walking across and I followed. Suddenly a sound like startled birds rising from the grass stopped us. I looked up, expecting to see a flock ascending in front of us. No birds. It then occurred to me that we were hearing a rattlesnake.
Don't Move! Who said it first? Kristi? Me? We stopped immediately and waited. The sound stopped. Kristi took a step, using her hiking stick for balance. The sound was right at our feet. Under the bridge? In sagebrush just off the bridge? Kristi high-tailed it to the other side. I dared not move. Dave, a little way behind us, approached the bridge, and we explained our predicament. I took one very careful step backward, trying not to make any noise. When my hiking stick touched the bridge, the sound began again. I froze.
Kristi was also in a tricky spot. How was she going to get back to our side of the bridge? She began checking for other places to cross the ditch, listening carefully as she explored. I backed up one more silent step, this time without using my hiking stick for balance. No rattle. Another step. No rattle. Another step. Silence. I was off the bridge now, and promptly put 15 feet between it and me.
Kristi found a place about 30 feet downhill from the bridge where she could step across the ditch. The problem was, she would have to come uphill fairly close to the bridge due to thick vegetation covering the hill. And who knew if our rattly reptile had friends in that dense brush? She finally got up the courage to skedaddle up the hill to the trail. I never prayed so hard for the safety of one of my children!
Well that was it. Our hike was over. Time to go back to the camper and the mouse-house. But we did alert other hikers about the bridge. Some continued on, others decided their hike was also over. At the end of the day we thanked the Lord for rattles. But we couldn't bring ourselves to thank Him for snakes.
NOTE: Days after we returned to the camper I discovered the "key" online. But with little to no cell signal on the trail itself, accessing it would not have been possible. Here's the link if you want to see what we saw. Snake not included.
https://www.nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/caprock-coulee-nature-trail.htm
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