I decided to use some of my last days off in this reptile-rich region of Southern California to do some exploring, before I have to move to the Portland, Oregon area. My first encounter of the day was when this 4ft Striped Racer darted across the trail in front of me and found refuge in a nearby bush. I have pointed him out in one of the photos. Maybe if I had Dan Eby along on the trip he could have snatched it up, but a racer in a shrub is way too fast for me.







I found this eagle nest in a depression on the rock face.



I saw this roadrunner from a long ways off playing with ground squirrels. I tried to get a closer look and to my surprise as I got close the little guy noticed me and decided to approach me as well. Either he was curious or he smelled my reptiles on me.





Once I got to the top of the mountain the trail ran cold and I found myself doing more rock climbing than hiking.



Here's a classic western shot I couldn't resist.



Climbing down on the other side of the mountain I stumbled across this pretty good sized cave.



I found this California Side Blotched Lizard, which are fairly common, but this one had some pretty good markings.



High-Light of the trip was when I saw this nice 3ft California King heading across the trail about 50ft ahead of me. I ran up and grabbed his tail before he disappeared into the underbrush. Took me a minute or two to free him as well. Kings I can catch.

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