Cedar Glen

Cruised up to Icehouse Canyon for a little Saturday stroll. I was pleased to be joined today by a few friends, and even a canine companion!

Woof!

It's always nice to escape from LA and the lower elevation chapparal and riparian oak ecosystems and get up into the evergreens at 5-6000'. Here's a view looking back down the canyon on the way up to Cedar Glen:

Enroute

I always like taking pictures of trees, especially with a scenic sky in the back...

Tree meets cloudy sky

A conspicuous grove at Cedar Glen made for a perfect lunch spot and turnaround point, though ironically there are actually very few cedars.

Being arboreal at Cedar Glen

Probably the most exciting part of the trip was when we came across a stupid freaking rattlesnake. We were just minding our own business cruising down the trail when I walked by a bush, heard a rustling kerfuffle, and looked down to see this slithering, prehistoric beast. It was a pretty good size, maybe the diameter of my wrist, and started getting all hot and bothered and rattly. My friend Jay was right: when a rattlesnake rattles at you, there's no ambiguity about what the noise is. It was loud. I was mainly concerned about Lexi the dog, who fortunately showed admirable restraint and declined to engage the confrontation further. Which brings me to my point:

Hey rattlesnake - what's your freaking deal? I thought we had an understanding. Apparently there was some miscommunication. Good job. Now you screwed up the treaty for your whole stupid species. Be advised:

Rattlesnake: You are hereby added to the wilderness terror watch list.

Where's a hawk when you need one? Anyway, we went along our way, leaving the restless reptile to its bush. We would later advise the birds overhead that a good meal was to be found up the trail. Hopefully they found it. Shortly thereafter, we came across the biggest squirrel I've ever seen. I thought a gray cat was running across the trail until I saw its big, bushy tail. Lexi gave chase, but Rocky escaped up into a nearby tree, where he proceeded to give us a chattering, squirrel scolding. Squirrels talk a lot of trash for an animal their size. I like their spunk.

All in a day's adventure...