Cache Valley Teen Lucky To Find Cell Signal After Rattlesnake Bite
Sep 24, 2020, 5:40 PM | Updated: Sep 25, 2020, 10:06 am
LOGAN, Utah – A fortuitous cell signal in Logan Canyon likely saved a Cache Valley teen after a rattlesnake bit him during a hike on Crimson Trail.
Cell phone reception is very spotty in the canyon, officials said. Ashton Morrell, age 16, and a friend had to walk about a quarter mile down the canyon before they could call for help.
It was a small bite but still earned Morrell a couple of nights in the hospital.
Ashton Morrell took this photo just before he came across the rattlesnake that bit him. (Courtesy Ashton Morrell)
“As I took a step, I felt something bite into me, and I knew right then it was a snake or something,” Morrell told KSL-TV from the hospital. “It was just a small little rattlesnake. It was shaking its tail, but there was no rattle, so we couldn’t hear it.”
After walking down the trail to find the cell signal, he called his mom, who called 911. He also tied a tourniquet around his leg.
Scary moments for a Cache Valley teen, who was bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking. Hear from him about how he was able to get help, get carried down to safety, and his warning for others. @KSL5TV at 5pm pic.twitter.com/WZm6sfXrv1
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) September 24, 2020
Once rescuers arrived, he said a few of them ran up the trail.
“There was three guys that… they just threw me on their backs and started carrying me down,” he said.
Morrell said he was calm for the most part.
“When we got to the bottom, that’s when… that’s when it really started to kick in and travel up my leg,” he said.
The venom felt like fire.
“It stopped at around my knee, and that’s kind of where my pain is right now,” Morrell said.
The snake bite caused Ashton’s foot to swell. (KSL TV)
The bite was small, but the swelling was visible. He was grateful for the search and rescue team that got him out, and that it wasn’t worse.
“Say I had no service at all or had no one to contact, that would be really scary,” he said.
Morrell said he was wearing sandals, and the bite was near his toes. He admitted that wasn’t the best idea.
Officials from the Utah Division of Wildlife said if you see a rattlesnake, don’t agitate it. Back off and warn others.
