An Important Need For Situational Awareness

When survival is important, it’s good to be aware

Growing up in San Diego as a kid, life seemed much simpler than today. There were no electronic devices like video games that became proxy-babysitters. We got off our rear-ends, away from the television, and went outside and played, or used our minds and imagination to create things to do. We didn’t focus on celebrities because our biggest star was the “San Diego Chicken”.

When I was nine, I lived with my grandparents. That year, we took a trip into the California mountains to a place called Barrett Ranch. It didn’t look much like a ranch, except that it was out in the middle of nowhere. As I recall, it was more like a secluded motel in the hills. All meals were in a separate building where everyone met as a group. Still… it was a quiet retreat from normal life.

I don’t recall any other kids there, only adults and entertainment was shuffleboard and a game room where adults played cards. While they focused on cards and sitting around staring at the hills, I explored the area. One day I found a path and headed out on a hike.

I always enjoyed the California hills with the low-growth sagebrush, an occasional jack rabbit or brown lizard running by. The further I traveled through the isolated environment, the quieter life seemed.

The ranch was pretty secluded anyway, so I didn’t need to go far to find quiet. The hills are a different measure of peace. The only sounds are from walking on the dirt and gravel, my breath as I climbed various elevations and the sound and feel of the warm air traveling from an unknown direction.

On that day, I hiked along the path for about an hour. There was a sense of aloneness not found in other populated areas. I suppose I could easily have gotten lost out there, but I stayed on the path and paid attention to the sun at my back. I knew that was west and I’d be heading back soon in that direction.

Off to my left there appeared a drop off in the terrain. It looked interesting so I opted to get off the path and explore. I was a short distance from the path and knew I’d keep my bearings. As I approached closer, there was a canyon below me.

I walked along to find a vantage point to see below and found a pile of old rusted tin cans near the top of the canyon. I picked up a couple and tossed them, listening to the faint sounds of tin hitting rocks or dirt below.

I sat on the rim of the canyon, listening to the quiet of nature for minutes at a time. Occasionally, I’d reach over, grab another can, and the sound of tin landing somewhere below interrupted the silence of nature.

I’d been reaching into the pile of cans and tossing them for at least a half an hour. They must have been there for a long while as there were no labels, just red-brown rusted cans. I sat there absorbing the silence of nature with an occasional wisp of wind. At random moments, I’d hear a quiet whistle as the breeze maneuvered over the sagebrush and other low growth plants.

I reached for another can, and suddenly, my eyes focused upon a large diamondback rattlesnake about two-feet from me. It sat there coiled up, facing my direction.

This was a big guy. I couldn’t tell the length, but its girth was 2–3 inches around. Perhaps it didn’t see me as a threat, but I didn’t feel the same way about the snake.

I instantly felt internal shock and terror flow through my body. While frozen for a moment, it was as though the snake could sense my near panic and moved toward me. At any point during my stay, it could have easily attacked. I jumped up quickly and away from it as fast as I could move. The snake continued uncoiling and moving in my direction.

At that point, I ran as fast as I could toward the path, yelling “Snake… snake!” as if it had legs and would chase me down. I know that was a silly thing because no one would have heard me anyway. I kept running for nearly a mile before stopping to catch my breath.

Aside from earlier fears from strange looking bugs and spiders, this was my first brush with the potential danger of nature. I learned the importance of situational awareness, particularly in foreign environments. Suddenly, the quiet of nature lost its peace. While walking back toward the ranch, I carefully scanned the path for snakes and every sound put me on edge.

Through self-observation of the incident, I often wondered what would have happened had the snake attacked. It made me question my confidence as a young boy. That’s probably a normal thing to second-guess ourselves and play the “what-if” game.

• What-if I eased away without startling the snake?
• What-if I had enough common sense to know my surroundings in the first place?

I didn’t respond with intention when seeing the rattler; I froze and reacted, causing the snake to react to my movements. By running in a near-panic mode, a bite would have pumped poison into my system, limiting my chances of returning to the ranch in time for medical care. Perhaps walking back at a calm pace might have yielded the same result. I don’t know.

I know that God kept me safe and opened my eyes when I needed to see the threat. He also kept the threat away. Each visit to the hills after that experience included a heavy dose of situational awareness.

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Anthony M. Davis is a Leadership, Success & Stress Coach, Board Certified Therapist, and Top-100 International Travel Photographer. His free book, “Keys to Your Success” is available. Get your copy now.