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A 90+-year-old Desert Sun reader (I know, aren’t they all that age) took some time to write in to the newspaper to offer up an old-school DIY method of protecting yourself against snake bites in The Coachella Valley.
After hearing that 17-year-old Mackenzie Cosgrove got bitten by a rattlesnake on the Eisenhower Loop Trail in the mountains above Indian Wells, Sheila Link of Palm Desert took out her ipad computer word processor pad and paper and wrote this letter, which appeared in the May 14th “Letters to the Editor”:
Homemade snake defense
Back in the mid-1930s my 11-year-old buddies and I roamed rattler-infested canyons of Southern California without fear because we wore “snake leggings” made of window screening.
We wrapped pieces of wire screening 10 inches wide and two feet long around our lower legs and tied them in place with string. Even though two kids I knew were hit by snakes, no fangs got through the screening.
Sheila Link, Palm Desert
So next time you hike, be sure to bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and (most importantly) take down your window screens and tie them to your legs before heading off to the trails. Happy hiking!
