A Colorado man out for a hike has died from a rattlesnake bite. Daniel Hohs, 31, was with a friend on Saturday when he was nipped on the ankle by a 4-foot-long snake, the Post Independent reports. Hohs took a few steps and sat down. His friend called for help at 12:40pm, but emergency responders had to hike about 1.5 miles from the trailhead in Golden to reach him. It took them 22 minutes. During that time, a doctor who was on the trail tended to him. Hohs, an endurance athlete, was rushed by ambulance to a hospital, but it was too late. He died a short time later, per KKTV. No cause of death was released pending an autopsy. Signs on the trails outside Denver warn there are snakes in the area, and hikers tell CBS4 you have to stay alert.
"I have seen rattlesnakes," says one local. "You really have to use your senses. Watch for them, listen for them, and speak with other people coming the opposite way." Hohs, who competed in triathlons, liked to recruit friends into the sport. Training partner Heather Gollnick called Hohs "so vibrant" with a "huge smile and this energy that just made you happy. It was contagious to everyone." Colorado is home to two types of rattlesnakes, per KKTV. State reptile specialist Tina Jackson says hikers who encounter snakes should leave them alone. "In most cases, the snake is not going to bother you," she says. "Don't try to kill it." Fatal snakebites are rare; chances of dying from a lightning strike are higher. (A copperhead surprised a woman in a restaurant.)
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