I have seen many rattlesnakes in the wilds of California during my life here since 1952 when I was 4

When I was 5 years old my father had a bulldozer he had rented to clear some land he was buying near Escondido where "The Golden Door" was near there up on top of a hill. He killed many rattlesnakes then usually with a shovel where he could stay far enough away and chop their heads off too far away from him to strike and hit him with their mouths and teeth. They were all diamond back rattlers 5 to 9 feet long then and he showed them to me as we walked around that area in shorts. He let me sit on the bulldozer at the controls as long as the engine was turned off.

So, even as a child I got familiar with rattlesnakes and their habits so I could survive being in an area where they were especially in Escondido and in the deserts of California.

It is very important in wild areas all over California to be listening for the rattles of a rattlesnake. They are polite enough to tell you where they are before they bite (strike) at you. They are not offensive only defensive as you are much bigger than them. They are more afraid of you than you should be of them.

Unless you are unfamiliar with the wilds in which case if you are not listening you could be bit. So, wearing boots up to your knees is one way to avoid getting bit. Or you could just wear boots that go above your ankle as this might help too. And if you have to go to the bathroom in the wilds look carefully before you pull your pants down or lift up your dress if you are a woman in the wilds.

I did have one crazy friend who thought it was funny to grab the tail of a rattlesnake and to spin it around and then slam it's hit against a rock. However, I just think doing something like this is both insane and cruel to the snake as well. If you are going to kill something just do it so it doesn't have to suffer needlessly. And grabbing a rattlesnake wrong is only going to get you killed by it's bite. 

So, if you are going to go into the wilds in California watch out for diamond back rattlers, Mountain rattlers and if you are in the Mojave desert you also have to watch out for Green sidewinders which are a much smaller snake but 10 times more deadly in their bite than a diamondback rattle snake.