High Sierra Topix

I've heard about the rattlesnakes in Tehipite Valley. Does anyone actually know of anyone who has been bite by a rattlesnake there?

I have seen them there, and have read about close encounters, but no actual bits.
Maybe one of our rangers here might be able to chime in on actual reports about
any rattler/human interactions, that may have needed SAR to get involved.
Sent you a PM.

I look forward to hearing from people who know.

The one time I was Tehipite Valley, there were quite a few, but they were all polite encounters. Here in the chapparral country I see several rattlesnakes a year along the trails and have had encounters that were too close for comfort, but there are very few bites that you hear about, way less than one a year, and most of those are ranch workers or idiots who pick one up. In my years on SAR we never heard of one bite on the trails. Later I did come across a group with a child who had been bitten on the hand trying to pick one up.
That is not to say they are not a hazard, but they are not aggressive and will give you a wide berth if you give them the chance. Keep your eyes open and pay particular attention to brush adjacent to the trail and under rocks.

Back in the 80's an NPS horse got bit by a rattler in Tehipite. Don't remember the outcome. Lucky to remember the event! I kind of view rattlesnakes like black bears--I feel fortunate when I get to see one. But honestly since I have had only 2 encounters with rattlesnakes and can't count the number of encounters with bears, I feel much more comfortable around bears.

Mike

I have seen rattlesnakes all over California. You will sometimes even find them above 10,000 feet. Most of them seem to go low, however, and the biggest concentrations seem to be places like Hetch Hetchy, Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, or any low river canyon. There's an annual spring event in San Joaquin River Gorge where they go out on the trails and catch as many as they can.... I don't doubt there are lots in Tehipite, folks I know who have gone report similar numbers to what I've seen in Hetch Hetchy (one guy counted 14 just going down the last switchbacks near the bottom of Tehipite) but I personally have no problem with that - never been bitten, and I've lived/played in foothills all my life. My first rattler was at the bottom of my slide in the back yard, as I was coming down - age 9, happily playing, with my baby brother and our little Pekinese not 15 feet away. I jumped off the slide before reaching the bottom and ran for mom. She killed it and draped it over the fence. We saw 3-5 footers around the property for years and we kids knew what to do - don't touch, don't go close. Give the snake room to escape.

Recently read Death in Yosemite. I think there was one snakebite incident, no fatalities. And there have been a LOT of deaths in the park.

There are eight species in California - only ones I've ever seen are the Mojave green and the Northern Pacific.

And that would be the sum of my experience with rattlers...

Phil Arnot has a great chapter in his book, "High Sierra, John Muir's Range of Light", about Tehipite Valley, and writes about the abundant rattlesnakes present there. I have not been there, but I would like to, and there is no reason to think his account is not accurate. I have been in some other wild, trailless river areas of California, and I have seen and heard some rattlesnakes,especially in the 4000-7000' elevations.When I am fishing, I try to be really careful. It is easy to get focused on fishing, busting through brush,tired, and stumble upon a snake, and the snakes don't always give you a warning rattle. Some of the best fishing, and true wilderness is where only "fools" dare to tread! There are probably some areas that Snake gaiters are worth carrying and wearing. I have never been bit, but I have had a couple of close calls.

Although I encounter rattlesnakes regularly in the lower and middle elevations, the one time I was in Tehipite I did not see a single one.

After all the reports of bears and rattlesnakes there, I was expecting some encounters, but none (bear or rattlesnake) obliged. I did see bear scat all over the place, though.

Maybe George will have some better rattlesnake info. It seems that the vast majority of snakebites in this country are the result of young foolish males doing stupid things, often with alcoholic encouragement.

Been to Tehipite twice, never seen a rattler there...but by all accounts my experience is unusual. Had quite a few rattlesnake encounters elsewhere; oddly enough, my closest encounter was at a campsite in the sprawling megalopolis of Little Yosemite:

I never went to Tehipite because of it's snake rep. I BP'd and fished below 6000 feet on the Kern River at least 35 days of my life and never once saw one and I've seen lots of rattlesnakes in the Sierra.