re: #72 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))
I lived in the Southwest for almost 20 years (Tucson and Santa Fe). Saw a handful of big rattlers hiking and mountain biking. 3 in particular much too close. Backing off always worked for me.
I’m also New Jersey born and raised though, and am quite happy ensconced in Washington on the Puget, where we have neither rattlesnakes nor heat waves.