I've seen lots of rattlesnakes, including some very tiny first year hatchlings, as well as more mature ones such as this. Rattlesnakes hatch in the fall, and at altitudes such as I was in now (about 6000 feet) they would only have been able to get a meal or two before the cold weather set in and they had to hibernate. So the little ones are still very small--and very hungry--as they begin to stir and venture out with the coming of warm weather again.

#2014PCT