I am a hiker and a climber. I am comfortable with my skills and I know my limitations. I know how to navigate, schedule my strength, time my outings, and pace my progress. I have done it for decades.

But I have always been worried about getting bitten by a rattlesnake. Climbing is dangerous when you reach up for a ledge over which you can’t yet see. You really don’t know if you’re going to face a snake there at any time. Every step over every rock or log can be the mistake of a lifetime. Such are the risks we take.

Here is the account of Justin Schwartz, who was bitten by a rattlesnake in 2002 when he was 13 years old. Click on the link on the bottom of his page for this pictures.

WARNING: These pictures are extremely graphic. If you cannot deal with very graphic medical “gore” you might opt to forego the pictures.