Yosemite Forum

Hahahaha!!! I know what rattlesnake you're talking about. About a 1/4 of the way down from the top towards Register Creek, right? Before we even saw it, we were getting a rush of adrenaline just from hearing it go off. So old and cranky that it was pissed we even had the gall to walk on its trail.

But yeah, rattlesnakes everywhere. A whole other reason to carry poles.

Just the other side of Muir Gorge, we're coming up right before you wind your way through the rocks at the top when the kid stops cold right in front of me. I'm right on his heels and push him hard because he broke my momentum. He goes flying, but does this weird little hop with whatever control he has left. Spins around, jumps up and punches me right in the chest, as look down and see that I just shoved my child into a 3' snake coiled up and ready to go. I felt kind of bad.

IMO, the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne is a fabulous early season hike before the heat, insects, and snakes come out. I highly recommend doing it when the depth gauge above HH is 9-13 feet. That's when you get big river cascades and numerous side waterfalls. The route is especially good in dry years when Muir Gorge becomes passable (<13 feet) in late May and early June and it is still cool enough down at 4,000 feet. I wouldn't do it past mid-June, which means not at all this year because 120 probably won't be open in time.