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It was a hot day (96°F) in the Wilderness Park Saturday, and along the Cobal Canyon trail animals as well as hikers were seeking refuge from the heat. A couple of mule deer were lying quietly in the shade of the oak trees, and a large Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) disappeared into a cool spot under a large fallen log converted into a bench. (We didn’t get a photo of the snake – we were too busy getting up off the bench – but you can see a similar one here.)
We also noticed red trumpets of California Fuchsia. (Epilobium canum subsp. canum) – a favorite fall flower – blooming on the slopes next to the trail and a Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) nectaring on another fall flower – California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia).
Friends of the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park 
