Hiker escapes from group of rattlesnakes in national forest Warmer weather is here and that means snakes are out of hibernation, so people are cautioned to watch out for them. Author: Kathryn Gilker Updated: 6:31 PM CST March 11, 2021 NATURAL DAM, Ark. — A local man says he stumbled into a wooded area full of rattlesnakes while out on a hike. He says he took a tumble trying to get away. “It was pretty scary," Stephen Gossow. "It was unexpected, and it happened so fast." Stephen Gossow and his dog were out on a hike north of Natural Dam at the Ozark St. Francis National Forest to celebrate his birthday on Monday (March 8) when he says they encountered rattlesnakes on a bluff.