In some of the shallows the spring-run bottom was blackened by Black Toad Tadpoles
On the way eastward we again spiraled our way upward (stopping at just under 11,000 feet!) to see the forests of the ancient Bristlecone Pines. Some of these twisted yet stately trees are more than 4,000 years old. They survive, in fact thrive only, at altitudes and temperatures unsuitable for most other trees and mammals, but are visited (at least in summer) by Clark’;s nutcrackers, a raucous raven and jay relative.

Photos taken, we then descended to a less ear-popping elevation to look up Black Toads, Bufo exsul, a protected species. The BLM access to the spring fed flat on which the narrow spring run that was home to this population of toads, was rocky and uncomfortable. But along it we saw a Northern Desert Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum and some beautiful cactus blossoms.

The black toad, a species that is active both diurnally and nocturnally, is aptly named, being black dorsally with varied marblings of white and gray and a white vertebral line. Ventrally the color is white with extensive and varied black smudging. Adults are rather small, often being a mere 2 to 2 ½” in length. We did see a few of the adults as well as hundreds of metamorphs and what seemed thousands of tadpoles. Unfortunately occasional flooding carries toads and tadpoles onto the not too distant salt flat where they quickly succumb. As untenable as this may sound, this population of the Black Toad has probably existed under these conditions for centuries. It was formally described in 1942.

The breeding call, seldom heard, is a high pitched repetitive “trill” that is best described as a rapid-chuckle. After photos were made we moved onward.

Tiny but a lifer, a pint-sized example of the Mt. Lyell Salamander
More Californ-I-A

The next day was spent first in the beauty of snow-capped mountains and later at lower elevations on some saline flats.

We had found a few of the more common toad and treefrog species and Jake wanted to add at least one salamander species to the trip total. So with the help of Mike, Jake pinpointed a tiny montane creek in the upper elevations of the Inyos. Thanx, Mike, I think. I think the term “up, up, and away” applies here, because we ascended, leveled, then ascended some more. Black-billed magpies flew overhead. The road spiraled upward, getting narrower as it gained elevation. Temperatures dropped then dropped again, Rain—cold rain—began falling. Trees were largely replaced by talus slides. Finally Jake said “OK, stop here. There’s a path somewhere.”

OK, here we were and there was actually a freshet tumbling downward. Then Jake broke the news. It was the wrong creek. The one we needed to access was much further up the mountain and around in back of the next peak over. But we had to walk from here. Well, that certainly placed the locale beyond my current ability. But Jake was “gung-ho” so to speak. And away he went. An hour later he returned wet but wearing a smile. After looking hard and hoping for an adult, he has found only a 1” long metamorph. But no matter the size, it, an Owens Valley phase of the Mt. Lyell Salamander, Hydromantes platycephalus, another lifer for him.

Deep Springs area, a roadside oasis, provided another lifer, this time for both of us. This was the Panamint Rattlesnake, Crotalus stephensi. Except for tail pattern and facial scalation this pretty and variable rattler is remarkably similar to the speckled rattler, C. pyrrhus. In fact, for decades both were subspecies of what was then the wide-ranging C. mitchelli. Jake found the single example seen by us coiled half in the shade of some chaparral. We looked hard for an example of the Panamint alligator lizard, Elgaria panamintinus, but failed to find one of these early-risers. I had seen this pretty and locally distributed lizard on an earlier trip but it would have been a lifer for Jake.

Again we headed eastward, slightly downward, then wayyyyy upwards.

Jake's lifer Red Diamond Rattlesnake
Californ-I-A

Once again before leaving AZ—we expended try number 6 for the white speckled rattlers and try number 4 for the Yuman sand lizards—we failed to see either. As of now I have officially given up trying. But the desert dunes did disclose several Goode’s Horned Lizards (these are one of the desert horned lizard clan) as well as an abundance of Desert Iguanas. The iguanas were so common that they seemed to outnumber the tiger whiptails.

Now westward again.

California was less than an hour away. In southern California, where we actually stayed for a couple of days, the temperatures moderated (read that “warmed”) just a bit allowing us to road hunt by both day and night.

That night on the desert flats we did a bit better, finding besides leaf-toed and banded geckos, Colorado Desert Sidewinders, Colorado Desert shovel-nosed snakes of both tricolor and bicolor phases, a Desert Glossy Snake, a beautiful Lyre Snake, and a classic desert phase California Kingsnake. Our luck finally seemed to be changing for the better.

The next day a group of avid local herpers (none were collectors) allowed us to join their party as they searched for (as Jake had hoped) red diamond rattlers and rosy boas. Both were found (along with a bonus Red Racer that had entangled itself in some lawn netting). The first (and only) red diamond rattler was found by Jake who barely avoided stepping on the quiet snake as it rested in deep grasses near a boulder. It was the only rattlesnake found but a single beautiful rosy boa was also located and photographed.

Later that day the group also provided a Southern Pacific Rattler (that we later turned loose) and a brownish phase speckled rattler that had been rescued from a swimming pool and was also later released.

A red diamond rattler was one of Jake's target species. Done.

There’s simply no other way to say this. Jake’s and my primary target on our recent western jaunt—a jaunt that comprised nearly 9,000 miles—had been to photo not only a white speckled rattlesnake, Crotalus pyrrhus, but a red one and a blue one as well (the ground color of this species varies in accordance with habitat color). One by one we failed. Neither were a white nor a red found, but the only blue we managed to see was found by friends (thanx again Nick and Mike) who called us and allowed us to photograph their find.

Dismal? Well, not quite.

The one way trip from home to white rattler habitat is actually only about 2,625 miles. That makes the round trip a mere 5,250 miles. So how do we account for the other ~3,000 miles?

Well, we herped TX, other parts of AZ, CA, NV, & UT. Those miles added up quickly. And with the variety of species seen the trip was actually quite successful, especially for Jake for whom many were lifers.

Jake wanted to see a red diamond rattlesnake. We saw these and several other buzztail species. Ditto variable sand snake, Nevada and Desert shovel-noses. Some Glossy, Gopher, King, and Patch-noses. To the total we added a salamander and several toad species. Then we terminated the trip with a few eastern natricines. So I guess whether this trip was a failed attempt or a success depends on how much importance is placed on the various color phases of speckled rattler. But I’ll close by saying that Jake got about 10,000 pix and I got close to 7,000. It’ll be a while before we wade through all of them.