@nprofile1q... I was first, or maybe second; D and I had been trading off, and we both saw the snake at the same time and froze when it rattled, then stepped back once we saw what the rattle was. If we'd kept going, I could readily believe someone might have been bitten, maybe me (on the side closest to the snake), maybe number 3.

I think we were just too close. The snake was only a foot or so off the trail, and we were maybe 4' away by the time it rattled and we stopped and backed off.