Having enjoyed the wildflowers so much at the Poppy Reserve last weekend, we were anxious to pay Wind Wolves a visit to see if any color was left up there – well, no such luck. We started up the east side of San Emigdio Canyon, taking the side trail up to Raven’s Landing for some nice views up and down the canyon that we hadn’t experienced before. We then continued up the familiar trail to The Willows, circling around the area’s east side where we ate lunch at our favorite picnic table with up-canyon views. We had talked about going up further south to the reflection pond, but the absence of any color but brown in that direction prompted us to continue the loop west and north around The Willows, deciding to hit the Mountain View trail at the canyon’s mouth before returning to the car. About the only real excitement on our way out was Jane’s discovery of a small gopher snake in the women’s restroom at the Twin Fawns picnic area – it had been beneath her the whole time, and gave her quite a startle once she saw it. As Chris was indisposed in the men’s room next door, another hiker came to Jane’s rescue and gently shepherded the little snake out into the grass. Having come upon this comic scene by now, only then did Chris think to get the snake’s picture, but by that time the snake had quite literally disappeared, a testament to his natural camouflage. We continued up the steep but relatively short trail to the Mountain View vista and were treated to the clearest views we’ve had in this area to date – after a few minutes, we returned down the trail and made our way back northwest across the canyon’s mouth to the trailhead. Despite the dryness of the grass and the absence of flora, it was a most perfect day to hike – cool but not cold, a light breeze the whole day, and snow on the mountains to the south that completed the beautiful views. Such a great place to come and only 30 minutes from home.