This guy hitched a ride in my backpack from my trip to Havasu Falls to San Diego. As I was unpacking it climbed out of a pocket and I let out a shriek at an octave that should've broken every glass in my house. My best guess is that it's a desert recluse, and if so, I'm hoping it was the only one that came along. Thank you.
This appears to be a huntsman spider (family Sparassidae) in the genus Olios - see http://tinyurl.com/yatgchq for an example. Also known as giant crab spiders, they can deliver a painful bite if handled carelessly, but otherwise are harmless to humans.
Those pictures look much closer, thank you. I could tell that "my" spider did not have the 3 sets of eyes that seemed to be indicative of the brown recluse.
