I met this little guy Tuesday at about 6,500 feet, upper Little Yosemite Valley, on the Merced River.



He was right in the trail. Most people do not expect to see rattlers here. The last time I hiked this trail I also saw a rattler. A few years ago I also met a very big rattler coiled on the trail to Pleasant Valley (Rancheria Trail near Piute Creek in Hetch Hetchy area of yosemite) and had to throw rocks at it to get it to move. They are really sluggish when they first wake up early season. No way was I going to get close. Two other big rattlers were sunning on the bridge in Pate Valley, Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. Everyone is concerned about bears in Yosemite, but there are tons of rattlers too.