Desert Venom
Although a number of medical professionals still recommend applying a tourniquet to rattlesnake bites (and then briefly releasing the tourniquet every 15 to 20 minutes), Tony Nester, the author of Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills (Flagstaff: Diamond Creek Press, 2003), writes that most of the doctors he spoke to advise against applying a tourniquet (it simply concentrates the venom in the tissues immediately adjacent to the bite) and that your best treatment is to get to a hospital or clinic as quickly as possible: do not delay.
Nester says that two important rules of desert living are 1) “Don’t put your hands where you can’t see” and 2) “Vigorously slam your boots on the ground and shake clothes before you put them on.”
Watch out for Gila Monsters, Africanized Bees (Killer Bees), Black Widow Spiders, Scorpions, Rattlesnakes, and Coral Snakes.
You will also want to read The Ultimate Desert Handbook : A Manual for Desert Hikers, Campers and Travelers by Mark Johnson.
Also see my posts Hiking and Backpacking Gear and Cotton for the Grand Canyon.

