Continued from part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.
The rest of that day and evening were uneventful, unfortunately. We left the Superstitions and headed way out West of Phoenix to try and see some other species of Crotalus. To make things worse, temperatures were way down, even from the previously cool days. We started our hike in the Harcuvar mountains with overcast skies and temperatures just under 60 degrees. We saw a lot of great habitat, but no snakes sitting where they might if the sun were warming the adjacent rocks that day. Just to stick a fork in it, the wind was gusting bad enough to keep my hat in my free hand when anywhere near the ground. Two of us retreated to the flats to check low-lying washes since nothing was working up in the rocky hills.
Soon after, I heard a faint voice yelling something but couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from because of the wind. Eventually I heard it more clearly: “Gila Monster!”. Whoa.
This was my third Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectrum) I’ve ever seen in the wild, and my second of this trip!
After that we kept to the washes where temperatures were warmer and there was little wind. We saw a large zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides) hiding in the sand.
At that point we were doing more aimless wandering and talking than herping, so we decided to call it good. In a few days time, despite cool temperatures, high winds and a full moon, we managed quite a bit. Of only two rattlesnakes found, one was the trip target, the Black-Tailed rattlesnake. We also saw 2 of the more elusive and arguably cool venomous reptiles we have here in Arizona, in the coral snake and not one, but two gila monsters. This was definitely a trip to remember, and I was glad to have been able to share it with some new friends from the East.
The last snake we found was this desert patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis) I found laying across the road on the way out.
Tags: Gila Monster, harcuvar, heloderma suspectrum, patch-nosed snake, patchnose, salvadora hexalepis, Zebra-Tailed Lizard
