As I came up to a trail opening, I heard a distinct rustle of leaves and branches. Immediately I froze knowing that something was nearby. I glanced to the point of origin and I found a scaly tail disappearing into the bushes. Gopher snake and a big one, too!

After he became invisible to my eyes, I decided to walk ahead and show the girls my photos. My gut told me that he’d be making his way out and crossing the path to head towards the squirrel community. I gave it five minutes and wandered back towards where I thought he’d be and I lucked out. Photo #2 is the snake slithering across the path and #3 is him about ten feet away. He was super cool and well fed. Being the only person who was ecstatic to see a snake, I stayed there and watched it disappear into the greenery. I’ll definitely be heading back to see if I can get more photos of this guy!

Rustling bushes revealed a scaly tail disappearing into the foliage.

This 6′ gopher snake was the first I have seen in California.