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Locations
Dates
Weather
Species Summary 
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Left work early and arrived at Jawbone Canyon around 6:30pm. Temps were in the 90s but as I drove on toward Kelso Valley, gaining elevation the temperature dropped to coolish. Soon after I dropped into Kelso Valley I came upon a hiker who was at least in his late 60s, if not 70s who had been hiking for days and was on his return from the mountains and headed toward Hwy. 14 which was over 15 miles away. I filled his water bottles and let him know that I might be able to pick him up on my way out in the morning. I made the summit of Kelso valley road at dusk and as I dropped down toward Weldon the air got warmer and my optimism for a good night's cruising increased. I didn't seen anything on my first trip down the valley but found an adult Glossy Snake on shortly after turning back up the canyon. The snake was highly active but did permit a few decent photographs. I probably wasted too much time with it though as it was entering prime time and there could be lots more to find. 
The next find was a young Gophersnake which seemed more like a Great Basin than anything else but it is possible that there are intergrades with Pacific in this zone. I kept the snake to study and photograph in the morning, then release it. 
A couple more passes turned up a couple neonate Glossy Snakes. But so far the night was only weakly fulfilling the promise offered by the new moon and the warm temperatures. At about 11:00pm I decided my next run up the canyon would be my last before seeking a place to spend the night in my truck. About half way up the road my headlights found bold and unmistakable pattern of a juvenile California Kingsnake. I was very excited to find this snake as it appeared Desert morph "black and white" and I decided on the spot that I would keep it to photograph in the morning and bring home to add to my collection. Near the top of the canyon I found a good pullout to spend the night but as I was relaxing and comtemplating the evenings adventure some rustling in the brush alerted me. It could have been deer, but my sighting of a mountain lion in this same locale on my last trip here gave me cause for concern. Then my headlamp picked up some eyeshine on the brush and trees only about 100 feet away. I flashed my light and jumped up and down trying to scare the critter off but it stood fast so I became even more spooked as I doubted that any harmless animal would have been so stoic with all the disturbance I was making.. Finally the animal moved so that I could no longer see the eyeshine so I quickly packed up my stuff and moved on looking for a spot were I would have more peace of mind. In the morning I looked for a nice place to photograph the two snakes I had kept overnight. The Gophersnake was a fun subject and following our little session I let him go on his way. I continued on and almost missed a DOR juvenile Mojave Rattlesnake which blended in perfectly with sandy road I was on. 
My next stop was to photograph the Kingsnake at a location which offered a panoramic view of the Kelso Valley so that I could attempt some images with scenic backdrops. After the photo session and a brief walk about I left for home hoping to find something in the road on the way out but came up blank. Even though it was already mid-morning, I assumed I would find the hiker from the day before somewhere on my was back to the highway but never did. I assume someone else must have happened along and given him a lift. |