1st Gila Monster Sighting

[dennisbench]

Earlier in the week I picked up the Maricopa County Parks Pass, as i am now close to the White Tanks. I hit the Waterfall trail after work yesterday real quick to see what the last rain brought. there was some flow but nothing to write home about. Then today I went out to do about 4-5 miles to start getting into some sorta shape. I went out on the Goat Camp trail and about 1/4 mile before the junction with the Willow Spring trail a Gila Monster scooted across the trail. He tried to hide in some some rocks but only his head was hidden. I stood there and watched and a few minutes later he popped out on top of a rock looked at me and went right back in the rocks. Once again not very hidden. I kept watching for a little while and then kept on going. That thing was pretty cool!! I didn't want to piss it off too much so I kept hiking, but it was a pretty decent size. Also he semed to be hissing at me or something, I don't know what the noise really was except that it sounding like hissing.
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"In the first place you can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees...When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll see something, maybe."
-Ed Abbey

[Nighthiker]

They have real good eye sight (and a lungs) and the hiss is a warning as I have noted they hiss when cattle are around. Did you note the color of the tonque and note their big feet.

[kurthzone]

Very cool Dennis! I've been here all my life and only seen three of them in the wild and two of them were in the same spot together near The Fish Creek Bridge on the Apache Trail. The other was between Picket Post and Superior.

BTW it's a good thing that Hooli's out of town. He get's a little too excited when he hears Goat Camp and when Hooli gets excited we all suffer from rambling posts.
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;o)>

[mike]

I saw my first and only gila monster on the Boulder Canyon trail about halfway between the Second Water junction and Boulder Basin, about 3 & 1/2 years ago. Little bugger ran right under a bush and I couldn't get a good photo of him!
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[dennisbench]

Yeah I wish I had taken my camera with me. Its those hikes you go on unexpectedly and don't take your camera when you see those type of things. yeah the feet were big. It wa funny because he was hiding on his back under some rocks then actually came out and was out in the open just a few feet away, then turned his head, saw me and scrambled back under.
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"In the first place you can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees...When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll see something, maybe."
-Ed Abbey

[ck1]

I've never seen one, my buddy Bill saw one on Camelbak a few years ago.
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-Colin

"The Journey is the Destination"

[plummer150]

Nice. No pic, too bad. Maybe next time eh?
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"IRONMAN" cometh, hiketh, destroyeth

[Hikngrl]

I have seen one! He was way cool. He just kinda stood there and let us take pictures of him and them ambled over to a bush and went inside and stayed there for a while, while I stood there very still and quite and watched him watch me. It was fun!

There are pictures of him over on AZW on the home page and on the Peralta to Weevers Needle Crosscut trail thread. Way cool!
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~~~Diane~~~

I want to shine!

[srlatty]

[cactuscat]

I've been lucky enough to see four of them! Two were at Papago Park, one at Usery Park, and the big daddy of all Gila Monsters that Kent and I saw at Aravaipa Canyon - he posted pics of that one on HAZ. I love them and think they're way cool.

[Leva]

I saw one once when I was a kid, down in the Patagonias. I have photographs somewhere ... it went across the road in front of the family jeep and we stopped and took pictures. Only time I've ever seen one.

Leva