hotsprings, skinny dipping, sunburns, etc.

C

coyotlviejo

Joined
Mar 26, 2001
Messages
313
Well, I just got back from a week-long journey to the high desert of the Great Basin. I was the leader of a team of seven guys, all rookies. Kind of like being a Boy Scout leader. They all have experience in the outdoors, but not in the desert.

All in all we had a lot of fun. We climbed some mesas, soaked in hot springs, used too little sun screen, ate a lot of dust, and walked our feet off. One other guy and I stayed a day longer than the rest, so I was able to go moonlight skinny dipping in the hot springs.
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(Some of the guys were convinced that skinny dippers are perverts, so I had to bide my time until they were gone.) We found some arrowheads, and I even found some petrified bones (not human).

It was a good learning experience, both in desert lore and in group dynamics. My main lesson in group dynamics was to never take a large group out to the desert again.

The one survival skill that I really practiced on this trip was how to poop behind knee-high sagebrush without showing my fanny to the world.
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Did you all know that sagebrush does not make a good butt-wipe?
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Smooth rocks are much better.
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Better yet, take TP, which I seemed to always forget. And did you all know that the easiest way to locate a road when lost is to drop your drawers to poop? Somebody will invariably drive by within twenty yards on a road you never knew existed.
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Well, that's all for now. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back, and maybe make a few of you jealous.
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I'll post some pics when I get them developed.

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Camine con tranquilidad, sirva con humildad, y viva en paz.
 
Only here would you hear someone say that your trip "sounds like fun!" Keeping the full moon away from drivers while taking care of business, is an excellent survival skill! Can't wait to see your pics.
 
What were the problems that led you to make the comment about not taking a large group into the desert in the future?

Thanks,

DPD.
 
Just be glad that dropping trou behind sagebrush didn't help you find rattler dens.

Would have thrown a whole 'nuther twist on practicin' first aid.....

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The wise man said, "It can't be done." The fool came in and did it.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

Take the Test...
 
Had to laugh! I always get caught, too...

The desert is beautiful, and amazingly full of life! I've heard that gilas like to bite low hanging fruit....
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As one of the "Group Dynamic" that went with coyotlviejo, I wanted to add my two-bits.

There have been very few things that have made my hearing more acute than trying to squat behind a too small sagebrush to do my dooty. :-)

Every little squeek of sand was either a snake or someone walking towards me. Wind through the brush sounded just like a truck coming down the alkali dust road. And I just KNEW that everyone in the three campsites around us saw where I had ducked out of sight and where I was going to pop back up so as to add to my embarrassment.

coyotlviejo, how about next time we try some place with taller bushes, eh? :-)

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I many be old and fat, but I'm slow
 
amalgam,

The regulars in this forum, and Practical/Tactical, may be disappointed.

coyotlviejo had a Gerber LST (?) that I sharpened for him and one of the other guys borrowed my mirror image Delicas. I had my mirror image REKAT Carnivores as well as a Ruger Vaquero in 45 LC and a NAA Black Widow in .22 Mag loaded with snake shot.

I brought plenty to the party. At one point, before a major walk, I went around with my box of gear sounding like one of those cigarette girls from a 1950s movie.

"Pocket Knives. Sharpeners. Multi Tools. Pocket Knives. Sharpeners. Multi Tools."

Let's see, they could have picked from Delicas, Enduras, a Kershaw folder, Gerber Easy Outs or my REKATS (assuming they could pry it from my sand and dust infested fingers.)

Multi-tool choices included Kershaw locking pliers, SAK, Spyderco crescent and Leatherman wave.

Fixed blades were a Buck 119 and an ANZA Bowie.

So the guys had plenty to pick from, they just decided to pass on them. (Boo Hoo).

I did want to add another comment on where we were. The closest place you could find on a map was DENIO Junction. And many of us were in DENIAL Junction. (snicker)

 
joeha,

I was amused by your old & fat, but slow comment. I always tell the headmaster of our martial arts academy that I'm old, fat, and slow, but make up for it by being uncoordinated!

DPD.
 
Toilet Paper is not something that I will forget more than once. The somewhat more...shall we say...rustic options...tend to leave an impression on you that brings TP to mind fairly early in the backpack packing process.

Sounds like a great trip.
 
Well, to answer the question about taking a large group to the desert, I found that a large group is in direct contrast to the solitude of the desert. When the entire group was around I did not enjoy my time like I had anticipated. I had to worry about logistics and keep track of where everybody was at. One thing I enjoy about the desert is the meditative atmosphere - quiet, still, open, stark. A large group is not quiet or still, and the constant noise and conversation seems to interrupt the flow of life. In addition, there is not as much variety in the desert as in other places, so we were all together all day long. In the mountains you could at least break up the group while some fish, some look for plants or mushrooms, some climb rocks, some hunt, etc. Because of the guys' limited desert experience and lack of knowledge of the area we were in we all had to stick together all day long.

Of course, I'm sure that there are circumstances in which a large group wouldn't be that bad. Maybe if everybody was knowlegeable enough to go solo during the day. But I think that people also need to learn how to act in the desert. It's different that other places. If one guy is not sensitive to the solitude he can wreck it for everybody. There are certain unwritten codes in the desert, like respecting others' space. This includes physical space, visual space, noise, and privacy. These are all valued wherever we go, but much more so in the desert.

Probably my buddies would do just fine if they had more exposure, but the exposure needs to be in smaller groups so that they can "tune in" to the land around them. The one area in which I feel that I failed as a leader on this trip was instilling an appreciation of the desert for its own intrinsic value. Rather, I think they mostly enjoyed the social times, the jokes, making fun of my soy milk and gorp meals, and the arrowheads (which we of course did not pick up
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).

As far as squatting behind a low bush, we never saw a rattler and there are no gonad-gripping gilas in the area. Yowch! And one of my buddies warned me against skinny dipping in a nearby not-so-hot spring that has rather large bass, for much the same reason.
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Most of our blades were obsidian; brands and makes were not taken into consideration.
 
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