Hike to the "billboards" on the peak just east of Logan

Earlier this month, I hiked up a trail that starts along the Shoreline trail at the mouth of Green Canyon, up  to the top of the mountain just east of Logan, where two billboard-looking structures face each other. It was a little steep at times and I lost the trail near the top, but it was really worth the hike, with a nice view of Logan from up there.

 

View of Logan from the lower part of the trail

I had some nice encounters along the trail, including Sagebrush Lizards, a Turkey Vulture and a couple of American Kestrels. My first spider was a little salticid which was hard to notice against the pale rock it was sitting on:

 

Further up the trail I found another jumping spider, also on a rock. He was a little shy, and he quickly bounced off the rock to hide under a plant. He hung from the plant upside-down for a while, making sure he could still observe the suspicious camera. 

There was still some snow close to the top, where the billboards are located.  I noticed a wolf spider next to a small patch of snow. Like jumping spiders, lycosids do not build webs to catch prey. Instead, they rely on their good eyesight to actively hunt.

On my way down the trail, not far from the Shoreline trail, I noticed a Phidippus johnsoni, a pretty jumping spider with metallic green chelicerae (these are the mouthparts). I always enjoy looking at spiders in this genus as they can get quite big and typically have these pretty iridescent chelicerae. Phidippus johnsoni has a bright red abdomen, hence its name "Redbacked Jumping Spider".