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Small black beetle, approximately 1.2 - 1.5 cm long, walking across the trail. Wings are textured with pits and ridges. It appears to have a TAIL that looks like a short string of pearls. Tail has 8 visible, rounded segments. Update: Poop not tail :-)

Genus Coniontis is a member of Darkling Beetles (Tenebrionidae) family. Tenebrionoidea (formerly called "Heteromera")

Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net and https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Coniontis&search=Search

Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)
Taxonomic chart of Cucujiform Beetles. Cucujiformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles that represent most plant-eating beetles. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/372852-Cucujiformia

The infraorder contains the seven superfamilies:

Chrysomeloidea (~7 families including longhorn beetles and leaf beetles)
Cleroidea (checkered beetles, bark-gnawing beetles and soft-winged flower beetles)
Coccinelloidea (15 families, includes ladybirds and fungus beetles)
Cucujoidea (~27 families)
Curculionoidea (~8 families primarily consisting of weevils and also including snout beetles and bark beetles)
Lymexyloidea (ship-timber beetles)
Tenebrionoidea (formerly "Heteromera") (30 families including blister beetles and ant-like beetles)