This fellow explorer refused to share the trail this morning. After rounding a curve on the hillside I passed within four feet of where this northern pacific rattlesnake lie hidden in the fresh, spring grass on the side of the path. Surprised, he loudly warned me with his rattle to back up. I obeyed. Expeditiously.
This was the first rattlesnake I’ve ever seen in the wild. He was aggressive and cruel-looking, and very serious about his personal space. In the end I hugged the side of the mountain and inched by him while he glared at me and shook his rattle.