The Bear...the Bobcats...and the Fox

Yesterday was like any other day, until about 8:30am. It was then I get a call from my cousin wanting to know if I would like to take a little trip up into the San Gabriel mountains east of Los Angeles. He was going to do some exploring and reptile hunting. I asked him exactly where...to which he responded...Mt. Baldy and Crystal lake. Hmmm...sounded like a good get-a-way from LA. We finally headed out about 10 am. We had to stop first to get fishing licenses...as these were required for most reptile hunting in California. For bag limits...each person was allowed 2 Rosy Boas, 2 coastal or desert king snakes...and only 1 California mountain king snake.

During the daylight hours we headed up Azusa Canyon Road and went as far as we could...just 15 miles short of Crystal Lake. The road had been closed all year we found out because of landslides. We checked out a stretch of river and parked. Just up a trail a little ways were 2 guys panning for gold. They had sluice boxes set up in the river and were digging along the bank. We spoke with them and were told by one of the men that they pan about $10 of gold out each trip. That is not very much gold when you consider how much gold is an once. Of course...anyone in there right mind would never tell you how much gold they were actually getting...remember what happened in 1849! They were at least friendly and allowed us to watch them for some time. In addition to the gold...they were also getting small garnets.

After this we took a side trip up to Mt. Baldy village. This picturesque hamlet has about 400 residents and was only 4 miles from the ski lifts at Mt. Baldy ski resort. The elevation was about 5,000 feet. Quite a bit considering we started off at just above sea level a few hours earlier.
We stopped in at the local tavern and had a beer and some lunch. Exellent burgers! We then cruised around the roads up there for several more hours.

It was then that we saw bobcat number 1. Still daylight and sunny, around the bend was a large...maybe 40 pound...bobcat. It was going up hill and stood momentarily in the road. It then headed on up. I was unable to get the camera fast enough to get it's picture. It was only about 25 feet in front of us. Beautiful animal. First wild bobcat I had ever seen. Spectacular.

As it began to get dark...we went back over to Azusa Canyon and drove the roads looking for the elusive prey we were after...rosy boas and king snakes. Too cold for most snakes...the total was 2 live young gopher snakes, 2 dead gopher snakes and one dead baby black and white king snake. Not really a good reptile trip. But the wildlife was worth it.

Next was a large gray fox standing in the middle of the road. It was staring at some bug...and seemed unfazed by our lights. It slowly trotted off of the road and up into the hills. I tried to get a pic, but the flash was not powerful enough to illuminate the fox. Too bad...it was a very good specimen.

The highlight was around 11:00pm though. As we were going up a dark canyon road...my cousin yelled that he had just seen a large brown animal dive over the side of the road and down the steep hill side. He stated he thought it was a bear. Of course...wanting to see this for myself...I grabbed my 10 million candlepower spotlight and ran to the area he last saw it. Down about 20 feet below...we heard the brush rustling and heavy...deep growl...followed by an animal like cry.
The thick heavy brush continued to move as I tried to see through it with my spotlight. I had my cousin run back to the truck and get my camera. It was then the the large brown bruin emerged from the thicket by a large tree. It was huge...the largest brown bear I had ever seen. Maybe close to 600 pounds. It appeared to be a large male...judging from its build and gait. It did not run, but walked away. It was only about 30 feet away when it came out of the brush. I was able to get a good look at it as it ambled away. It was some distance by the time my cousin returned with the camera and I got it ready to shoot. He kept the light on it and I was only able to get one picture of it before it disappeared into the woods. Not a very good pic...even with the spotlight on it...you can hardly make out the bear. It is not everyday you come into contact with a large bear like this just a few hours away from Los Angeles. Most impressive animal...solid brown...not black like many regular black bears are. It was huge by local bear standards.

We wrapped up our trip shortly after...by seeing one more bobcat and a large skunk. Not much for reptiles this night, but the other wildlife was well worth the trip. Especially the bear...the bobcats...and the fox.