No, not over the cliffs, and not over the broom, either.

Over a rattlesnake!

I was running up a hill through a somewhat overgrown area, when I realized that this branch under my foot in mid-air, was a slightly unusual, greenish-brown color, and was wriggling. What the heck?

Then I realized it was a snake. I finished the jump over it, then stopped two steps later, looked back, and saw a fully grown, beautiful timber rattlesnake curling up on the trail. The look on its face was at least just as puzzled as mine.

It must have been lurking along the trail and then decided to cross right in front of me.

I did not feel any fear, I did not get scared, it all happened way to quickly for me to fully comprehend.

So yes, it is possible to jump over a rattlesnake without getting bitten, if the snake is unsuspecting, and so are you. I do not recommend it, though!

I saw a rattler (Prairie) on my Sunday run slithering off the trail ahead of me, dam glad I didn't have to jump it!  

Gah! I hate that!

One of the creepiest sounds I have heard was while heading off through a meadow in Idaho to ...umm....take a dump...I had a shovel [I was on a trail crew so it was a nice heavy shovel] and heard/saw a rattler and jumped...when I landed I heard another rattle from a different direction...jumped again and when I landed I heard a snake strike the shovel head of the shovel I was holding...clunk....*shudder*....I ran like hell out of there hoping not to find any more snakes, but it was a long while after that before I was able to ...you now...complete the business I was trying to attend to...

So far this year I have seen a coral snake and two copperheads. No rattlers though.  I agree all the sticks look like snakes afterward.  LOL.

Glad to hear it was a "friendly" encounter.

Order of events:

 

Every stick looks like a stick.

You jump over a stick and it's actually a snake.

Every stick now looks like a snake.

This.

Snakes scare the crap out of me. I've yet to knowingly encounter one on the trail. I don't know what I would do. Has anyone ever been bitten by a poisonous snake? Probably a good qotd.

I saw a rattler (Western Diamondback) this past Saturday on the trails.  First one of the season but I have seen a couple of Garter snakes on a different trail.  He wasn't any too happy; he was coiled up and rattling up a storm.  We gave him plenty of room and respect.

Stay safe out there people.

I've had three rattle encounters.  First he was coiled and rattling behind a bush on the trail, it was a loop so I turned around and ran back.

Second I was camping and stepped into a bush to pick dead sticks, felt the rattle at my ankle ( they really don't want to strike).

Third was just like Couch's story.  Earl ran over him, I jumped over him yelling ohh f something, heard the rattle.   My girlfriend was behind me and stopped.  He went back into the brush but she refused to run by him.

Fact: After you see a snake every stick is a snake!  It's good for the heart.