No snakes.
Start the hike heading towards Gem Lake!
You don't want to finish the hike going straight up for like 3 miles to Gem lake.
The hike from Cow creek to the junction of Black canyon/lawn lake is super nice.
The hike from that junction to the trailhead is 3.8 miles,, seems a lot longer. lol
You could extend the hike to balance rock and bridal falls and creep into a 20 ish mile hike might be shorter. Happy hiking.