What have I got?

Obviously she's some sort of spider, but I've never seen her kind before? Her "watermelon" is nickel sized and what I first saw thru the bushes. I was going to try for another angle but accidentally bumped the bush her web was anchored to, and put her into stealth mode. She slinked over to some leaves she'd pulled together into a hideout and refused to come out.

Marbled orb weaver is what it says in my book....Mighty tasty if you wipe away the web!

Guys, I would have guessed an orb weaver but wouldn't have been specific about the variety.

After walking face first into an orb weaver at the vineyard a few years back I can honestly say that "tasty" wasn't the first thing that came to mind as I was trying frantically to brush it off my face!

Now, where did my glasses go ...

Jeez - I've walked into so many of these. After walking one direction down the trail, sometimes they've partially rebuilt their home, so I get them again on the way back out!

Nice pic, by the way.

Thanks for the answer guys. I Googled her name and found they are probably much more common than I thought. Maybe one reason I haven't noticed them is I long ago decided that whenever I'm in the woods I would carry a staff that's at least as tall as I am. I make sure to hold it in front of me so it takes out the webs instead of my face. I don't like the taste of spider or web

In my guidebooks I always recommend that you never hike alone during spider season - make sure someone taller than you goes in front!