Category: GovCanyon

Yesterday, as I entered Government Canyon around 7:30 AM I was greeted by a young doe. That’s always a good sign. Later in the day as I approached my traditional rest stop near marker 26 on the Black Hill Loop I happened upon a large feral hog. I did not see the hog but we startled each other. When I heard the crashing sound of the hog disappearing into the thick forest I could see a young sapling waving to me about 20 yards up the trail. I stopped and listened and peered into the deep forest and could hear the hog snorting, huffing, and grunting. Pieces of its furry body would appear through slits between forest trees. The hog continued to huff so I moved on down the trail. It’s not often I get to see a feral hog out here, or any wildlife for that matter. But my day was not quite over. On the way back in to HQ I came across a long skinny snake, right in the middle of the trail. It had its head crooked around looking at me. I could not get a picture of it because as I pulled out my camera it quickly slithered off the trail into the brush. I believe it was a garden snake of some variety, certainly not a rattlesnake or a snake with easily identifiable markings. What I did notice was that it was very skinny. Probably needs a mouse or two.  Along the way I found some Maximilian Sunflowers that were poised nicely with a blue sky for a background. They made a nice photo.

Last month, while hiking on Twin Oaks in the restricted part, probably before marker 16 or so, I came across a large black and yellow garden spider. I was able to identify this from BugGuide.net. The scientific name is Argiope aurantia. It’s always exciting to come across wildlife while hiking, even if its only a spider. And this spider was quite special-I had never seen a black and yellow garden spider before, certainly not of this size. The spider’s web was constructed perfectly across the trail and I had a bit of difficulty getting around it so as not to disturb it. The web had a special reinforced part in the form of a spiral that bisected it vertically. According to the BugGuide this is called Stabilimentum and is part of the web designed believed to be a deterrent to birds flying into it.

I’ve only missed a couple of days this year going out to Government Canyon (i.e. once a week) and those missed days have been due to weather. Government Canyon can really get rained out in a hurry and will collect a lot of water. This has resulted in very heavy growth. I’ve also noticed an abundance of insects, namely katydids.

This past Saturday I encountered two tarantulas, the first I’ve seen since hiking in Gov Canyon.

On the last leg in to HQ of my normal 12 mile perimeter walk I noticed I was getting really tired and that my day pack was bothering me a lot. I had to keep shifting it from shoulder to shoulder but it shouldn’t have been even noticed by me-it is so light. When I arrived at HQ I drank a cold Mountain Dew and then headed out. About a mile from the canyon my vision blurred. It was like I was in the middle of a white mist. I could barely see the road to drive and had to pull to the side. After wiping my eyes I turned the air conditioner on full and laid back in my seat for about 10 minutes. Gradually the mist lifted but it was a strange, scary moment.

I will have to take this event as a learning experience. With the AT quickly approaching (June 1) I need to be able to pace myself and listen to my body.

It is quite wet at Government Canyon and has been that way for this entire winter. I have never seen so much water as I did last weekend but unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. This past Saturday I made a beeline for the pond and captured a nice photo. The water level here is quite high, normally there is no water.  Last week it was about 12 inches higher. We still continue to have wet weather this winter and so I imagine this pond will be around for a few more weeks. It is a welcome site at Government Canyon.