Although I've seen my share of copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlers over the years, I can personally attest that it's the snake you don't see that often gets you. In my case it was a timber rattler. I didn't even have the supporting story of being in the thick backcountry when it happened - I was simply retrieving my mail.
Never saw the little bastard till he bit me. He buzzed briefly and while I was looking aound for the source of the sound he nailed me. He was literally right between my legs. I didn't get a photo of him, but he definitely went to the hospital with me for verification purposes - in a somewhat mangled, bloody mess. Fortunately it was a mostly dry bite and I was home the next day with just a little swelling.
That left me with a healthy respect for how silent these vipers can be till it's too late. To this day, if I'm hiking along an overgrown trail I constantly sweep the vegetation ahead of me with my trekking poles, and I never step over a log or large rock till I've had a peek at the other side. That practice has probably saved me from at least two additional bites.
