Great question. Here in Southern Oregon, we also have rattlesnakes.

It is a good idea if you are hiking in rattlesnake country to carry a snikebite kit (and a cell phone if possible). Snakebite kits are inexpensive and amount to not much more than a small razor, suction cup, and gauze.

Now, for the practical part, it is a good idea to wear at LEAST ankle height boots in rattlesnake country. Rattlesnakes tend to strike low, even if they are large. A myth about rattlesnakes is that they won't strike if you are motionless. They are pit vipers, and the pits operate in a similar way to infrared goggles, so they can sense heat even in total blackness. However, a rattlesnakes poisons is usually used for getting food, so they usually won't strike unless they are startled.

Here is a little fact that few people are aware of. No healthy adult has ever been killed by a rattlesnake, even without treatment. If someone is bitten, they will normally get extremely sick (and may wish they were dead), but then they recover. STILL it isn't pleasant, from the accounts I've heard.