Yup. It's from Don, so I'm pretty certain of the ID.
>>
>>Hey, this last weekend I was hiking by myself in the desert, keying
>>out plants and having a good time. I was in a canyon on the narrow trail
>>when I suddenly heard this fwap sound, like someone slapping a soggy
>>sock on a rock. I looked down and saw that a rattlesnake had just struck
>>at me and was righting itself! I became a projectile and I seem to recall
>>shouting something not entirely legible---something like Ya-hwa-sha!
>>I landed some feet away and *then* the damned thing started to rattle.
>>I hike with water bottles attached to my pack via velcro, but I jumped so
>>fast I left them behind! Picking them up was an edgy process
>>
>>I do not know why the thing missed me---I have theories but none seem to
>>make much sense. Anyway, my progress slowed on the trail after that---every
>>rock was examined more carefully for basking residents.
You should invest in some snakeproff chaps & gaiters.
Rattlesnakes use their venom for hunting food, and so
don't like to waste it on people.
From my recent survival medical course:
Rattlesnake - 40% of bites are not envenomated. If there's no
significant swelling 15-20 minutes after the bite, the victim
was not envenomated. 97% of rattlesnake bites are on young,
intoxicated, males. If you are envenomated, you may have to amputate
the limb if it starts to go necrotic, but this may well not happen
as long as you don't bind or tourniquet the bit limb. Your
liver can survive the snake poison. Let it run its course.
Anti venom is available, but it's expensive, takes 100+
doses, and some people are allergic to the horse-based serum.
Rehydrate bite victims extensively to dilute the poison. Keep
patient quiet, and keep bit limb below the level of the heart
if possible.
Treatment:
non-poisonous: scrub wound w/ povodine-iodine prep pad,
apply NeoSporin.
poisonous: treat for shock. dress wound with NeoSporin.
try to keep bite below heart level. NO ICE, NO CUT, NO
CONSTRICTION!
DISCLAIMER: WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
Use this info at your own risk.