Not a great pic, but this was a spectacular, and very early, baby snake, about the circumference of a bic pen, and moving pretty quickly. Not from Downtown LA, but definitely in the local coastal mountains here.
This was a “youngster.” About a foot long.
Definitely a dream come true and the best moment of my herping career so far. I wasn’t the lucky one to find either of these amazing snakes but I was lucky enough to be there for it
Seen swimming in deep creek.
It looks like the most common garter snake in the area is the two-striped garter snake. It was a juvenile; I'd say it was a foot or so long.
It always makes me feel terrible to find a deceased creature on the trail, but maybe even worse when it appears to have met its demise for a reason other than consumption.
Hiked: not insitu photo
roadkill
Observed on the crawl. 52 F in heavy winter rain. Probably flushed out of hiding.