I took a hike today, one of many over the past few weeks, to ready mself for my Grand Canyon hike next week. Kari and I saw our first Rattle Snake on Sunday slithering away from the trail which was very cool. Today I heard my first Rattle Snake as I hiked on a side trail that doesn't see much activity. Since the weather is getting much warmer lately and we are seeing highs in the 80's, this is prime snake time during the day in the desert. I was watching out for snakes on my hike and saw one early on that was just a Garter Snake. As I was nearing the summit along a slope, the quiet of the hike was interrupted by a loud noise I at first thought was a bird or loud insect. It startled me so I stopped immediately and within a few seconds I realized the sound was a Rattle Snake. The snake was off the trail about 8 - 10 feet about 15 feet ahead of me and boy, was it not happy to see me. After making sure other snakes were not around I backed off a bit and got my camera out and took some photos. If I backed away from the snake about 25 - 30 feet, it would stop rattling but as soon as I got closer, it would rattle again. In order to continue on the trail I had to pass within about 10 feet of the snake as it follow me in an agressive pose threatening to strike. Not fun but I was a safe distance and ready to jump off the trail if needed.
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