Tag: hiking

Phrynosoma blainvillii

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Alli and I explored a back route into Topanga State Park this morning, then hiked the familiar and much-loved Musch Trail. (Who was Musch? I’ll have to ask Suzanne, she’ll probably know.) We spotted a Blainville horned lizard close to where I saw one (my first!) last year. Nice!

BB13

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A & I returned to the Backbone Trail after more than a month’s break, and hiked the penultimate and longest section. It was so pretty, especially between Tri-Peaks and Sycamore Canyon. We had Chamberlain Trail to ourselves; it seems that only thru-hikers go there, as it isn‘t a convenient loop or out-and-back hike. I’d like to return with my birding binoculars; I *think* I saw my first Phainopeplas.

Lampropeltis californiae

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Spotted this handsome striped reptile out on the trail. The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) is endemic to the western United States and northern Mexico, and is found in a variety of habitats, including woodland chaparral, grassland, deserts, marshes, and even suburban areas. It is non-venomous, and kills its prey by constriction.

Wild California kingsnakes are typically encountered at a length of 2.5-3.5 feet (76 – 107cm), though they can grow larger. This one was smaller, maybe 18 inches / 45cm long.

Eriodictyon crassifolium

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Yerba santa (“holy herb”) is a hairy perennial shrub that‘s found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub, most often at higher elevations. The very aromatic leaves are lance-ovate to oval, 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) long, with a scalloped margin. Soft woolly hairs grow on both sides. In traditional medicine, it has been used to treat respiratory infections. I don’t often hike in the highest parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, so it was a treat to get up there and encounter this plant growing in profusion along the trail yesterday.