I used to mountain bike ride a lot in OC. Pretty much weekly for years. And 90% of all the rattlesnakes I've seen have been on those trails during the spring.

C and I did a hike with the pups on Saturday, and sure enough, we just missed two (we were told about one from other hikers and saw the track of one crossing the trail, and finally came across this massive red diamond rattlesnake near the end of the hike.

Maybe the biggest I've seen yet (and certainly the fattest). I would have inserted a person to provide some scale, but surprisingly, nobody wanted to volunteer for that job.

He was sunning himself on the side of the trail, and getting a LOT of attention from all the hikers passing by. I'm not afraid of any snakes, no matter what species, and in all the time I've spent outside, I've only had one negative encounter. But considering my friend Dan ran over the snake with his mountain bike, you can understand why the snake was rather pissed.

Leave them be and they will leave you be, and if you are lucky you'll get to see them out and about in their natural environment.

Still, this is the primary reason why I have trained Josh to heel and why I keep him on leash in OC and when we are camped at the climbing crags.

Surprisingly, all the rattlers I've ever encountered were in California and Canada. I lived in Arizona for 13 years. Stomped through the desert hundreds of times.

Never saw a single one.

And since we are doing photos of dangerous animals today...

It's also important to beware of terrible, terrifying, people eating pitbull terriers on hikes.

Fearsome little beastie, isn't she?

You can see here how dangerous she is. She's clearly trying to eat my nose.

One lick at a time.