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Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2008: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping and Hike / Day 7: Mojave Desert springs: Butcher Knife Spring and Cottonwood Spring day hike, New York Mountains, Mojave National Preserve /

A rattlesnake startles me as I approach this big boulder along the Butcher Knife Canyon stream

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00124-snake-territory-800px.jpg I'd like to hike further up the canyon and over the hill to the other side of the New York Mountains if I had timeThumbnailsThe excitement of the rattlesnake incident behind me, I return my focus to the hike away from Butcher Knife CanyonI'd like to hike further up the canyon and over the hill to the other side of the New York Mountains if I had timeThumbnailsThe excitement of the rattlesnake incident behind me, I return my focus to the hike away from Butcher Knife CanyonI'd like to hike further up the canyon and over the hill to the other side of the New York Mountains if I had timeThumbnailsThe excitement of the rattlesnake incident behind me, I return my focus to the hike away from Butcher Knife CanyonI'd like to hike further up the canyon and over the hill to the other side of the New York Mountains if I had timeThumbnailsThe excitement of the rattlesnake incident behind me, I return my focus to the hike away from Butcher Knife CanyonI'd like to hike further up the canyon and over the hill to the other side of the New York Mountains if I had timeThumbnailsThe excitement of the rattlesnake incident behind me, I return my focus to the hike away from Butcher Knife Canyon

There is a reason why desert hiking requires always looking where one puts hands and feet! I almost didn't see the snake stretched out across the ground in front of me like so many random twigs.

Instinctively, I take several quick steps backward to get out of the rattlesnake's striking range. A large rock moves loudly beneath my feet, causing the snake to slither away with a hiss before I manage to snap a photo of it.