1. the Survivor
The quarterly journal of Desert Survivors • Experience, Share, Protect • Spring 2007, 26, 1
Desert Survivors Fall Events
Back on the Desert Trail
Black Rock Mountains

2. Benton Bash II bring non-member guests
S H O RT TA K E S
Desert Survivors 2nd Annual End-Of- ($35 each); if interested,
Summer Party and Annual Meeting, guests can become members
Thursday, September 20 to Sunday, Sep- of DS at the party. We
tember 23, 2007, Benton Hot Springs expect around one hundred
attendees, so sign up early!.
As summer camping draws to a close and
Location: Benton Hot
cooler autumn winds shoo us down off the
Springs is located on State
high peaks, we slump a little in anticipation
Route 120, southeast of
of the cold short winter days ahead. We
Mono Lake, 42 rollicking
pull musty sweaters and old umbrellas from
Judy Kendall
miles east of U.S. Route 395.
the depths of our closets and sadly watch
(Be aware that Yosemite
as our calenders plump up with meetings
National Park charges $20
and must-dos. Grimly we pack up the rip-
per car to get over Tioga
stops, S.P.F.s and Tevas. But before the Montgomery Peak from Benton Hot Springs
Pass on Route 120; you may
kayak is stored, the carabiners are sorted,
buy an annual pass from the Park
and the fleece is de-loused, squeeze in one the details will be sent to you via postal
Service for $50.)
more great summer trip and say goodbye mail. Please note that Bed and Breakfast
to “Summer Camping ‘07” with a bang. Activities: There will be many activities lodging is available at Benton Hot Springs
scheduled throughout the three days, for those who desire not to camp. Call the
Desert Survivors has rented the entire Ben- Resort Office at (760) 933-2507 or (760)
including: hikes (long and short), visits to
ton Hot Springs Resort from Noon 9/20 933-2287 for information and reservations.
historical sites (both indigenous and not),
to Noon 9/23. Members and guests are
star and moon gazing, geology and plant
invited to reserve camping space. It will be
hikes, an art demonstration, campfire sing-
a fun event for all!
alongs, yoga, a desert hat fashion show, a Desert Conference
Cost: $35 per adult (children 12 and under book exchange, kid’s games and lots more.
Feel free to add an activity to our roster. Desert Survivors Presents A Conference
are free). Members are encouraged to On Current Desert Preservation
End each event with a glorious soak in one
of the nine tubs of natural hot water from Issues, Saturday, November 3, 2007, 10
the springs. Relax as you watch the late a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Social Hall in the
Desert Survivors summer sun reflecting off the 14,000-foot Recreation Center at Live Oak Park, 1301
Annual Meeting At spine of the White Mountains, sentinels of Shattuck Avenue (cross-street Berryman),
Berkeley, CA.
the sky above Owens Valley, gateway to the
Benton Great Basin. All tubs are clothing-optional,
but please consult with the parents at #1 Speakers will include environmental
The Desert Survivors Annual Member- Family Camp. activists from the Center for Biological
ship meeting will be held on Sunday, Sep- Diversity, California Wilderness Coalition,
tember 23, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. As last year, Food: Three pot luck meals are planned: the Desert Protective Council, U.S. Geo-
it will be on the morning of the last day Breakfast on Friday (8:00-9:30 a.m.), Din- logical Survey and the Sierra Club Desert
of our gathering at Benton Hot Springs. ner on Friday (6:30 p.m.), and Dinner on Committee.
See the accompanying article for details. Saturday (6:30 p.m.). Plus a Happy Hour
on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Presentation topics will include present
The Annual Meeting is the one time each and pending legislation on desert protec-
year that Survivor members gather to elect Miscellaneous Information: Pleasant tion, impact of global warming on
Directors and make (possible) changes to weather is expected: 70s-80s F. in the day, deserts, animal grazing and land manage-
the groups bylaws. The Annual Meeting 40s or low 50s F. at night, but it could be ment, impact of international border and
also serves as a review of what the group colder and stormy. The Desert Survivors immigration enforcement on US deserts,
has been doing the year before and as a Annual Membership meeting will be held off-road vehicle’s impact on desert soils,
forum for what can and should be done on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. air, plants, animals and people, Surprise
in the future. It’s an excellent opportunity Canyon protection, Carrizo Plain protec-
to volunteer and get involved in the orga- To Sign Up: Please send a $35 check tion, and legislative issues. Several other
nization’s educational and political efforts. payable to Desert Survivors for each adult topics will be added upon confirmation of
All members are invited. participant. Send to Steve Tabor, Attn. the speakers. Lunch will be provided.
Benton Event, PO Box 20991, Oakland,
Members will receive a packet of informa- CA 94620-0991. Include your name, For more information, please contact:
tion before the meeting. Set aside the phone, home address, and how many (and Elena Gogoleva via telephone at
Benton weekend for both fun and work as who) will be attending. Include your e-mail (415) 307-8324.
Desert Survivors faces 2008. address if you have one. A packet with all
Cover: View of the Carrizo Plain National Monument; see page 14. Photograph by Craig Deutsche.
2 The Survivor Spring 2007

3. How to Reach Us Contribute to T h e Mission Statement for
S H O RT TA K E S
(Elections for all offices will be held
September 23, 2007) S u r v i v o r –T his is the Desert Survivors
[See website for curent information] last time I’m going Desert Survivors is a nonprofit organiza-
tion dedicated to desert conservation and
Editor to ask you! exploration. Our members enjoy hiking in
Paul Brickett Deadline for the Fall issue is September and learning about America’s desert lands,
(408) 279-3129 23, 2007. Submissions (with maximum and seek to protect those areas for future
word length) may include letters-to-the-edi- generations.
tor (200), feature articles (4000), trip
Membership Information reports (2000), desert conservation issues,
Steve Tabor
(510) 769-1706
articles on desert natural history, book Sign up for Desert
reviews, backpacking/camping recipes,
member announcements and original art. Survivor E-Mail
Desert Survivor Website All submissions which relate to the mission Notices and On-Line
www.desert-survivors.org of Desert Survivors will be considered for
publication. All text must be submitted Forum
Board of Directors electronically. Please send text longer than Desert Survivors has two e-mail lists for
a paragraph as an attached file. Formats members, DSEM (DS Electronic Mail )
President currently accepted (in order of preference) Notices and DSOL (DS On Line) interac-
Steve Tabor
are: Word (.doc), WordPerfect (.wpd), Rich tive Forum. DSEM Notices allows mem-
Text Format (.rtf) and text (.txt). Please bers to receive most regular mailings from
Activities include your full name, city and state of the Board of Directors by e-mail rather
Bob Lyon residence and phone number with the sub- than paper. Trip schedules, party and meet-
mission. For photographs, please identify ing announcements, alerts – everything
the people and locations shown. Digital except renewal notices and The Sur vi vor
Communications
Paul Brickett photos need to be approximately 1600 pix- arrive in your inbox, often days before
els resolution to be printed the full width other members receive theirs in the mail.
of a page (8.5 inches). Please do not sub- You receive 100% of the text contents of
Managing mit digital photos with only 640x480 pixels the regular mailings (and nothing else).
Loretta Bauer resolution as they are impossible to print Desert Survivors protects the e-mail
with adequate size. addresses of its members fully, never lend-
Secretary ing, selling or giving them away to others.
Deborah Schreiber
DSOL is our interactive Forum,
which allows members who sign up
Volunteer to broadcast e-mail to everyone else
Lynne Buckner signed up for DSOL Forum.
Recent topics included floods, desert
At Large Directors: wildflowers, road conditions, and DS
service trips. Be careful, though, to
Jannet Schraer
not inadvertently send personal e-
mail to everyone on DSOL Forum.
Judy Kendall
Desert Survivor members may sub-
Patrick Dunn scribe to either DSEM Notices or
DSOL Forum by e-mailing tor-
Dan Seneres toise, desert-survivors.org. For the
subject use “subscribe regular mail-
ings” for DSEM Notices, and
Nick Jedenoff “subscribe listserv” for DSOL
Forum. Don’t include the quotation
General Counsel marks and do include in the body of
Alan Siraco the message your name and address
so that we can verify your member-
ship. Unfortunately, we don’t yet
Judy Kendall
The Sur vi vor is printed by have a completely automated system,
My Printer, Berkeley, CA, and Tortoise can be a little slow, so it
www.emyprinter.com. might take several days.
Hike at Benton Bash I (see previous page)
The Survivor Spring 2007 3

4. Letter
S H O RT TA K E S
Sempra Ends Black Rock Coal
Plant Project
July 27, 2007
You may have seen these two notices
of the final withdrawal of Sempra’s
Granite Fox Power Plant applications
to the BLM and the Nevada Public
Utilities Commission, but in case you
did not, they represent the formal end-
ing of the coal power plant project in
Gerlach Nevada by Sempra. In early
Notice of cancelation
2006 Sempra
announced that it
would not build the
plant, but would try
to sell the project to
another power devel-
oper. With these
withdrawals, Sempra
appears to have aban-
doned their attempt
to sell the project.
Michael S. Moore
David Rumsey,
Gerlach, NV
Artist’s conception of proposed power plant in Black Rock Desert, NV
Desert Survivors wilds from off-road vehicles, toxic wastes anticipate two, three or four shows lasting
and exotic water-sappers, and joining our one or two months each in Bay Area loca-
Goes To The Green fantastically diverse, talented, thrilling, and tions: cafes, libraries, REI, or community
Festival beautiful (ok, handsome) group of desert
hikers and backpackers. Please call Judy
art centers. Some work may appear on the
DS website with announcements of open-
Kendall at (510) 612-1124 to sign up for ings, etc. Exhibits will include a framed
Join us in celebrating the desert and its
one or two half-day shifts (before or after 3 information board with the Desert Sur-
“green” treasures by coming by and
p.m.), or to help with the Thursday night vivors Statement, how to become a mem-
schmoozing with all those watery green
set-up (approximately 6 to 10 p.m.) Help ber of Desert Survivors, artist statements,
folks who have no clue how to find the
us take advantage of this national event and, if the work is for sale, contact infor-
dessert in the desert. Festival is November
and put the desert “on the map” at the mation.
9, 10 and 11, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and
Green Festival. Desert Survivors needs the
Saturday, and 11 to 6 Sunday. The location The show will include original paintings,
exposure, and environmentalists need to
is the Concourse Exhibition Center, Booth prints, photography, collage, sculpture that
know that our brown desert land deserves
#365, in the Eco-Travel Section, 635 8th can be hung, and short written pieces. All
help. Call now!
Street (at Brannan), San Francisco, CA works should be “desert-inspired”. A
94103. See the Green Festival website at $5.00 per piece fee will be collected for
www.greenfestivals.com for details. Partici-
pate in desert education, activism, fun, and Call For Artists each piece chosen to defray handling costs.
Inspired by the Desert Art Show Spon- If you are interested in showing some of
socializing. Wear your DS T-shirt or buy a your work, contact Darrell Hunger at (510)
new hottie DS T-shirt (now in women’s sored by Desert Survivors
649-1923, and send four or five images to
styles) and cap. Darrell Hunger in jpg format, along with
Darrell Hunger, a long-time Desert Sur-
vivors member and San Francisco Bay Area a brief artist statement.
Want to help out? We need DS members
to staff the booth (about 5 per shift) and artist, will be putting together a series of
art shows in the Fall of 2007. The venues Help make the Desert Survivors 2007 Art
talk to folks about protecting our desert Show a success!
and times are not yet finalized, but we
4 The Survivor Spring 2007

5. Desert Survivors at Corrine helped in the afternoon and we cessful from the standpoint of raising
F E AT U R E
had a return visit from Jack Ottosen. We awareness and introducing people to the
2007 Whole Earth had a lot of traffic from people with gener- idea that the deserts are places of beauty
Festival al interest in the desert as well as from
many children and young people interested
and that they can be a travel destination
rather than an area to hurry through.
By Chuck McGinn, Davis, CA
in the box of desert artifacts that was pro-
vided by Steve. The big draws were the The original idea of the booth was to bring
F
ollowing up on an idea for recruiting bleached skulls of desert sheep and coyote in a few of the environmentally conscious
new members, Desert Survivors along with interesting minerals and fossils college students at UCD and I’m not sure
applied to the annual Davis Whole and, yes, sand. the booth was best put together for that. I
Earth Festival for an education booth. The think the desert treasures were effective in
festival celebrates alternative energy, envi- Sunday, I think, was the best day. People pulling in kids and their parents but I’m
ronment, sustainability and health. It has often like to do a quick scan of the festival not sure that is going to produce many
been doing so for the last 30 years that this on Saturday and then come back on Sun- immediate new members. For the amount
writer has attended, and finally, the country day to focus on what caught their interest. of effort spent staffing a booth for the
is catching up. There is a big focus on zero I had planned to close down shortly after weekend, I think we should contemplate
waste with all refuse from the festival being noon but more people came in for extend- what it is that interests younger people.
sorted for recycling or composting. ed conversation and I ended up staying on
until about 3 p.m.. In the morning I had One idea that strikes me is that there is no
The festival is traditionally held on Moth- help with the booth from Jim Moroney. common transportation. This came from
er’s Day weekend and the weather this year comments from several visitors to the
was the very best of mild spring weather During the three days we passed out about booth who didn’t have cars. I think that is
that Davis has to offer. The faire started 75 brochures on Desert Survivors, trip an obstacle to a lot of students. What if
about noon on Friday. Vehicles are strictly schedules and desert camping trips. Over- we rented a commuter van and worked
limited on the core campus and the festival all, we had about forty volunteer hours in with a college group to deliver people to a
days are no exception. After waiting off the booth. I have yet to hear whether there trip site? Well, I’m open to suggestions
campus for about an hour, I was given the are any new members from our efforts so I from all our members in advertising and
OK to drive up to the central quad and can’t yet say if the effort was an effective marketing. But it was fun and I would cer-
unload. Between my first and second trips membership tool. I do know it was suc- tainly hope that we do it again next year.
to the truck, Fern Goodman and Jack
Ottosen were
found relaxing in
the camp chairs
ready to work the
crowd. We set up
the new Desert
Survivors tent
canopy and hung
up the desert
poster boards that
were made by
Dan Seneres and
opened for busi-
ness. Shortly after
setting up we
were joined by
Bob Flett and
Rick Juricich who
helped staff the
booth through the
afternoon.
On Saturday,
Steve Tabor was
there for nearly
the whole day and
Chuck McGinn
fielded many
questions from
the visitors. Mike
Laing and his wife Fern Goodman and Jack Ottosen at the DS booth ready to great visitors on Friday
The Survivor Spring 2007 5

6. Anza- Christmas trip, joined us later that
TRIP REPORTS
evening. Many of us took advantage of
the campground’s shower facilities, nor-
Borrego mally so scarce on DS trips.
The next morning we hiked the well-con-
Carcamp structed California Riding and Hiking
Trail, which begins a few miles west of
Lucy DuPertuis
Borrego Springs. I enjoyed the desert
December 29, 2006 - surroundings and increasingly impressive
January 2, 2007 views of the valley below, but soon
lagged behind with two others who pre-
By Patrick Dunn, Elko, NV Bighorn ewe near Borrego Palm Canyon ferred a more leisurely pace. Around
Campground noon, our little split-off group met Joan-
D
esert Survivor carcamps in South- na coming back down the trail. She
ern California or Death Valley during winter months showed us a flapping boot sole, which had impeded walking so
have become my welcome escape from Elko’s northern much she had to turn around.
Nevada winter cold. So I was happy for the chance to explore
Anza-Borrego State Park for the first time, on a New Year’s trip. Our little group continued quite a bit further up the trail, though
The group, led by Lucy DuPertuis, met Friday morning (Decem- we never caught up with the others. (They lunched at the top,
ber 29), at the Anza Borrego State Park Visitor Center. The about 2,300 vertical feet from the trailhead, where they claimed
weather looked promising: sunny and mild. After our ritual meet- the best views were.) Wanting to conserve energy for the rest of
ing, we reconvened beyond the campground at the nearby Bor- the trip, we agreed on a more reasonable turnaround point. Back
rego Palm Canyon trailhead. The eight of us headed up the sur- at the cars, we discovered a note from Joanna saying she’d headed
prisingly crowded, popular, tourist-friendly trail. home because of her boot problem. We would miss her spunky
presence and famed camp cooking. Several more participants
On the very first section of the trail, two bighorn sheep ewes decided to bow out after that day’s hike, including the two women
wandered by in easy camera range-they appeared unafraid, evi- I’d hiked with most of the day. Now only five remained for the
dently used to entertaining tourists. We worked our way up to an trip’s continuation in the park’s southern area.
oasis of native California Palms at a small waterfall and pool,
which most “tourist” hikers stop to admire and rest at before A couple of hours’ winding drive past confusing crossroads
turning back. This palm oasis, a typical feature of Anza-Borrego brought us to Mountain Palm Springs “primitive” campground,
canyon hikes, featured a particularly thick stand of palms amidst our home for the next three nights, with just enough light left to
large rocks. We had to clamber over the rocks as this was the off- set up camp. “Primitive” meant only a cement-block outhouse,
trail route to the canyon beyond the tourist trail. around which a gaggle of RV’s clustered, and no shower facilities.
We camped further up-canyon by the wash which led to the palm
Farther up the deserted upper canyon we appreciated the broken groves.
beauty of each successive palm oasis. A significant
flood a few years ago had piled many broken
trunks and fronds, boulders and other debris
against each stand of trees. Even worse, many of
the palms showed scorched trunks from vandals’
setting fires-very disheartening. Unenlightened
folks apparently get an idiotic thrill from setting
alight the trees’ thick skirting of dead palm fronds.
We saw this sad sight of burned-but not dead-trees
at other palm oases throughout our trip.
The canyon offers a seven-mile tricky scramble to
its top, which we didn’t have nearly the time to
attempt before darkness fell at five p.m.. Instead,
we had lunch and turned around. After descend-
ing as far as the tourist-infested first palm grove,
we took an alternate trail back, which allowed dra-
matic views of the flood’s boulder-strewing devas-
Lucy DuPertuis
tation of Borrego Palm Canyon.
We camped in the campground and enjoyed each
other’s company around the luxury of picnic
Elaine Schwimmer, Tanya Tschesnok and Craig Deidrick ford the creek in
tables. Joanna, a survivor of Lucy’s Mecca Hills
Borrego Palm Canyon
6 The Survivor Spring 2007

7. We took two hikes on Sunday, New
TRIP REPORTS
Year’s Eve, which offered us the same
sunny, mild weather we enjoyed
throughout the trip. The first hike was
an easy jaunt up canyon from the camp,
past several (alas, also vandalized) palm
oases, to a larger stand at a spring.
From there we scrambled up a rocky
side trail to the rim of a little valley fea-
turing widely-scattered Torotes, or Ele-
phant Trees. The grayish Torote trunks,
which store water, look swollen like the
legs of elephants. Few grow north of
Baja California. Some trees had been
tagged, evidently for botanical study.
Depending on their aspect, some trees
swelled more with moisture then others,
and only some were about to bud.
Descending back to the palm oasis at
Patrick Dunn
the spring, we spied a young couple sit-
ting yogi-style in the center of the clear-
ing, apparently deep in a meditative
(and, so it smelled, herbal) trance. Not On the California Riding and Hiking Trail, overlooking the town of Borrego Springs
wishing to disturb them, we skirted the
grove and ascended the slope on the other side, past many barrel Somehow I missed the use-trail and kept heading downhill, expect-
cacti, all bowing to the south, none yet ready to bloom. The next ing still to find it with no problem. I did see a place which looked
canyon over, by which we returned to our camp, had yet more like it might be the junction with the use-trail, but I didn’t recog-
palm oases. Despite the vandalism by fire of most, a few retained nize the spot for sure because I’d not been attentive enough to my
their beautiful protective skirting of dead fronds. surroundings on my way up. So I kept going straight down Moon-
lit Canyon and soon came to an impassable drop-off. (This, it
After lunching back at camp, one of the group, Tanya, suddenly turned out, was the sheer rock wall where the short canyon beyond
decided to hot-foot it back to the Bay Area, where she hoped to the “Do Not Enter” sign had so abruptly ended!) I then realized
reach a New Year’s Eve party before midnight. The remaining I’d missed the use-trail, which was the path back. I had no option
“final four,” Lucy, Tom, Peter, and I, then piled into a single vehi- but to head back up Moonlit Canyon, to either locate the use-trail I
cle and drove a short way north to Agua Caliente Park, which has a had missed or meet up with the others.
campground, store, indoor hot pool, and
an intriguing 2 ½ mile loop hike trail. I began to worry that the others might
have already headed off on the use-trail
Our attempt to find Moonlit Canyon, by the time I got to where it turned off.
which branches off from the loop trail, How would they know where I was?
proved challenging because of twists and Sensing the real possibility that I could
turns, rocky washes, and blocked paths, be in serious trouble, I felt the begin-
one of which was actually marked with a nings of panic. I did my best to quell
street-type “Do Not Enter” sign because this feeling and to focus on my one, best
of an impassable rock wall about two option: to follow the canyon back up
hundred feet up the trail. After reaching until I met my fellow hikers. Sure
dead ends up several more little side enough, after a few anxious minutes of
canyons, we found a faint use trail which determined, focused walking, I was much
led over a ridge to Moonlit Canyon. relieved to see the others clambering
Clambering my way over boulder after down the canyon. And they seemed
boulder up this wide, rocky canyon, I felt relieved to see me.
played out and began lagging behind the
others, who wanted to hike up to a view Once back on the park’s loop trail, we
point and return via the same route. I followed it back to the campground
soon headed back down Moonlit through a narrow, unexpectedly woody,
Patrick Dunn
Canyon, planning to stop at the junction swamp-like area. Then at last we got to
of the use-trail we’d taken to access this indulge in the park’s hot pool.
canyon.
Back at camp, we celebrated New Year’s
Bow Willow Canyon, ocotillo and cholla
The Survivor Spring 2007 7

8. Eve around my handy folding camp table Could it be? I took the bowl back to
TRIP REPORTS
by sharing a nice dinner and – after some camp, but kept it out of sight until the
cheap champagne – great stories about our appropriate moment. When, over dinner,
worst jobs and stimulating discussions of the subject of the thieving kit foxes came
our favorite literature. As a bright moon up, I asked Peter to describe the lost bowl.
rose, we noticed several bright-eyed kit “Green plastic,” he said. “Did it look like
foxes circling us. Wanting to share our this?” I asked, pulling the bowl from
revelry with his furry kin, Peter set out under my jacket with a flourish. It did.
some champagne in his green plastic din- We all had a good laugh over the complet-
ner bowl for the skulking creatures. The ed exchange with the local wildlife. That
next morning, Peter checked his bowl to evening only one kit fox joined us; like the
see if the kit foxes had imbibed the cham- previous night’s visitors, it darted about in
pagne. The bowl was gone! near-constant motion, at a wary distance
as it developed another thieving strategy.
It was another good day, sunny but neither Lucy desperately wanted to photograph it,
hot nor windy. We drove to nearby Bow but after she dug out her camera and fig-
Willow Canyon to begin a loop hike. I ured out how to work the flash, the fox
found the primitive, iconic desert topogra- vanished.
phy and vegetation on this day’s hike quite
captivating. Cactus, ocotillo, large rocks For the fifth and final day, we carpooled
and boulders abounded, and good use south to look for slot canyons in the Car-
trails led through much of it. From Bow rizo Badlands, a maze of mudhills and
Willow Canyon we followed a wash and canyons which extend for miles across the
traversed over a broad ridge and down park’s broad central valley. After a few
another wash into wide Rock House false leads, we found a decent slot with
Canyon, a few miles up which we lunched some tight squeezes which topped out at a
at the Rock House. More of a line shack great view point. Quite different from the
Patrick Dunn
for cattle rustlers, the house was built previous days’ hikes, this one was not too
mostly of rocks into the side of a hill. I strenuous and a lot of fun.
was content in this rustic setting, casually
observing an ant working hard to get a Threading the needle, slot canyon (Carrizo After breaking camp the next morning I
load of food out of my lunch bag. badlands) said good-bye and headed home. I had
taxed myself enough, and a day and a half
A short but steep climb over a low pass led back to Bow Willow of driving awaited me, so I elected not to join the others for a hike
Canyon. I started to lag behind once again in this canyon, but this in Blair Valley. They wanted to hike up a steep trail to the lone-
time I was not concerned. We were going downhill on a flat, wide some remains of a home where Marshal South and his wife had
sandy wash full of smoke and palo verde trees on an obvious route tried to live like natives and raise their family for many years in the
back to the trailhead with no confusing junction choices. When 1930’s.
getting lost is not an issue, walking through the desert by yourself,
engulfed in silence and solitude, is a very therapeutic and enjoyable Though I felt rushed at times (I maintain that hurrying through the
exercise. desert does not increase the enjoyment of it), I was very glad I
stayed nearly the whole trip. I loved the region, we had great
Back at camp in the waning day- weather and no major injuries,
light I took a muscle-stretching and I came away with something
pre-dinner stroll up a closed road entirely unexpected from a desert
to a previously allowed but now adventure -a renewed enthusiasm
forbidden camping area, which I for great world literature. Thanks
was curious to explore. This largely to Peter, I am now part of
area had a better view and was a reading challenge at the library
more secluded than where we had where I work: sometime during
to camp, and there was no appar- the year, we will read The Broth-
ent reason to prohibit its use. ers Karamozov. I’ve already
But some park official had obvi- warmed up with Crime and Pun-
ously decided to close it. On my ishment.
way down from the forbidden
Lucy DuPertuis
camp I came upon a large bur- So, here are my lessons from this
row-belonging to kit foxes, per- trip: don’t wander off; kit foxes
haps? Near the burrow I spied are thieves; and reading the clas-
something conspicuous: a green sics can actually be fun!
plastic bowl! Native California Palm Leaf
8 The Survivor Spring 2007

9. Wind Wolves Preserve Service Trip
TRIP REPORTS
January 20-21, 2007
By Craig Deutsche, Los Angeles
It is hard to imagine that a private wildlife preserve can be
bigger than all but a very few of the wilderness areas in Cali-
fornia, but it is true. The Wind Wolves preserve, located at
the very southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, includes
100,000 acres. It is owned and run by the Wildlands Conser-
vancy, a non-profit group with a two-fold mission: preserva-
tion of a transitional habitat, and education of the public
about wildlands, their value, and their beauty. While the pre-
serve is reasonably well funded, volunteers do a great deal of
the restoration that occurs on the property, and that is why
this Desert Survivor service trip went there.
Craig Deutsche
Some of our group camped at the preserve Friday evening,
the night before the actual project. This requires that either
the entrance gate be unlocked, or else visitors must be given
the combination in advance, as the land is not only preserved View north to the San Joaquin valley
but also protected. Groups are welcomed, but they must make
from a bush. Speculations ran to rattlesnakes, mammals, and
arrangements in advance. The remainder of our group arrived on
ghosts. Further investigation resolved the question with the dis-
Saturday morning, and at 9:00 a.m. David Clendenen, director, met
covery of a leaky irrigation pipe.
the group and gave the initial instructions. Although previous
groups have removed tamarisk, planted oak trees, or modified The preserve ranges from an elevation of perhaps 1500 feet up to
barbed wire, the assignment on this occasion was planting 6000 feet immediately below the Los Padres Forest and Mt. Pinos.
mesquite at the lower elevations below the campsite. This is not a On the tour, we encountered at least 50 elk, several deer, several
technical job, but still it is important to have a hole of proper size, coyotes, a golden eagle, and olfactory evidence of skunk, as well as
to use enough mulch, to bury the seedling roots to the proper smaller birds and a collection of rodents. One of the treats was a
depth, and to install the drip irrigation system upon completion. visit to a Chumash rock art site. This is one of the premier sites in
For a year water will be provided, and after that the roots will be southern California and is only available to groups guided by a
deep enough that the plants can manage on their own. The pur- member of the preserve staff.
pose of the planting ultimately was to provide cover and habitat
for birds and small mammals where former grazing had stripped The third weekend of every month (summer excluded by heat) is a
the ground. work party at the preserve. There is no need to participate as an
organized group–individuals are welcome, although it is wise to
One of the unex- make advance
pected pleasures of arrangements by
working at this pre- calling the phone
serve is that volun- number listed on
teers are given a their website
barbeque dinner on (www.wildlandscon-
Saturday evening servancy.org) for
and then taken on a Wind Wolves pre-
tour of the preserve serve.
the following morn-
ing. Perhaps the And the name?
highlight of the When winds blow
evening occurred across prairie grass-
when two of the lands, it is said that
group took a walk wolves are running
up the road in the out of sight and
dark and then
Craig Deutsche
Craig Deutsche
moving the grass.
rushed back to These are the
camp with reports wolves for which
of a spooky gur- the preserve is
gling noise coming named.
David Clendenen, Preserve Director Mortar
The Survivor Spring 2007 9

10. Halloran Summit to Miller Spring
TRIP REPORTS
Backpack; Segments P, Q and R of the
California Desert Trail
February 4-9, 2007 We got on the “trail” about noon on February 4, leaving on
foot from Halloran Summit on Interstate 15, about 18 miles
By George “Grubstake” Huxtable, east of Baker. Of course, the Desert Trail is only a trail in the
San Mateo, CA mind’s eye, a pencil line drawn on folded topo maps. Howev-
er, it is thoroughly documented in a series of well-written
guidebooks by Steve Tabor covering the Desert Trail of Cali-
I
t was 5 years ago that we started fornia and Nevada. They are what bring the “trail” to life.
the Desert Trail at Jacumba, at
the Mexican border. This year From Halloran Summit, the route quickly
we would cross into Death Valley moves away from the pounding interstate free-
National Park, arriving at Miller way, into low-lying hills laced with old 4X4
Spring in Greenwater Valley, a dis- roads. The vegetation is classic Mojave; lots of
tance of 468 miles. We planned to creosote, Joshua trees, blackbrush and bur-
cover the last 85 of those 468 miles roweed. We came to the base of Solomon’s
by completing the Shadow Mountains, Valjean- Knob, a prominent lava outcropping, and
Amargosa and Ibex Hills segments of the Desert dropped over a minor plateau
Trail. into Bull Spring Wash. We
camped in the hills that
Pete “Cactus” Campbell, Don “Dusty” Brown evening beyond the wash.
and myself met at Miller Spring in the southern
end of Greenwater Valley on Saturday, February Continuing north the next
3. I was the last to arrive, via Shoshone, pulling day, we moved quickly over
in at night. Dusty already had a grill sizzling away agreeable terrain and into the
with teriyaki chicken, roast potatoes and salad which we thorough- western part of Shadow Val-
ly enjoyed, knowing it would be our last “real” meal for many days. ley. We crossed under several
massive transmission lines
We were up the next day, Sunday, before daylight, and began orga- that ran between Las Vegas
nizing our equipment. It always amazes me how much equipment and Los Angeles. The high
detail is involved in such a simple endeavor as backpacking. Then tension wires looked like spi-
as the sun was rising, we left my Jeep and began our caching rou- der webs shimmering in the
tine with the two other vehicles. One cache was left at Tecopa in sunlight draped from tower
one of our vehicles behind a trailer park and the other buried Location of segments P, Q, R to tower for miles, and utterly
about 10 miles east of Highway 127, along Kingston Road. dwarfed by the even more
massive scale of a blank desert. Two helicopters swooped over-
head, apparently inspecting the lines or thinking twice about our
large backpacks. The route turned west, following a more narrow
wash before coming to heavily choked and waterless Kingston
Spring. We camped a few miles west of the spring, late in the day
on February 5. Cactus had announced earlier that he had brought
a cribbage board, with which he would refresh Dusty and my rec-
ollections of the game to play after dinner. Expecting a small,
lightweight plastic board, we were surprised to watch Cactus pull
an oversize, solid wood cribbage board from his pack! We enjoyed
George “Grubstake” Huxtable
a couple of games by headlamp before turning in for the night.
The next morning, after two days and 32 miles, we arrived at our
cache along Kingston Road in the morning. We reloaded food and
water and spirited north across Valjean Valley at a quick pace.
After crossing Kingston Wash, we wrapped around the Valjean
Hills to the east side of the Dumont Dunes. The terrain clearly
showed the vicinity of the dunes with sand blown loosely all
North over Bull Spring Wash
10 The Survivor Spring 2007

11. around. We camped in the outer reaches of the dunes on Febru-
TRIP REPORTS
ary 6, very near the site of the Dumont station of the Tonopah
and Tidewater (T&T) Railroad, now obliterated by sand and time.
The next morning, Dusty found a small, but lethal scorpion tucked
away under his pack. The scorpion seemed to be sleeping due to
the cool temperatures, but when disturbed, he quickly came to life
and was in no mood for our company. Having missed the last
train leaving Dumont station, we finished getting our packs on and
hiked on the railroad bed toward Amargosa Canyon with beautiful
George “Grubstake” Huxtable
views of the Dumont Dunes to our left.
The railroad bed is largely intact from the T&T’s original operation
between 1907 and 1940. It was built by borax magnate Francis
Marion Smith mainly for borax transport. The old rail bed, well
engineered above intermittent side washes, soon turned north and
entered the Amargosa River drainage. The river was running
about 6 to 8 inches deep and 10 to 15 feet across, dried salts on
Don on the Amargosa
the river banks looked like an odd dusting of snow in the winter.
We followed the railroad bed the entire way, at times along the That night we ate dinner and looked down on the “city lights” of
river and at other times well above it along the steep rocky slopes. Tecopa, about 1,200 feet below us.
As the terrain changed, engineers had built culverts and bridges to
The next morning we were back into canyon country working our
way up an easy, yet twisting and colorful wash toward Sheephead
Pass. Once at the pass, there are long northwest views toward
Death Valley and Telescope Peak. Our route turned north from
the pass “across the grain” of awkwardly angled contours, so we
decided to change our route to the west and exit the Ibex Hills
well south of Salsberry Pass. We approached Salsberry Pass from
the southwest and then continued north down the long, gentle
slope into Greenwater Valley.
George “Grubstake” Huxtable
We arrived at the vehicle just after sunset, where we had enjoyed a
grilled chicken dinner almost a week earlier. After several days of
hiking, the body gets used to having things go by at 2 to 3 miles an
hour. Now, sitting in a speeding car, the creosote bushes were
swept aside as our senses quickly adjusted. It was a great trip and
each of us were anxious to get home. But food was on our minds,
and the next stop was to be The Greek in Baker where desert rats
Shadows on Dumont Dunes like us fit right in with tourists, long haul truckers and flashy Vegas
gamblers.
move the train route along the river drainage. There were frequent
places where the rail bed was completely washed away requiring us
to drop down to the river, remove our boots and push through
reeds and thorned vegetation to the other side and back again.
Parts of the river, particularly the confluence of the Amargosa and
the China Ranch drainage, are quite dramatic with Utah-like carved
river banks and colored hills. We camped along the Amargosa on
February 7, played some cribbage after dinner, and listened to coy-
ote calls echoing up the canyon.
George “Grubstake” Huxtable
On February 8 we arrived in Tecopa, known for mineral springs
and trailer parks. Here we again replenished the food and water
from our second cache just in time to catch the outbound T&T
from the Tecopa station. The railroad bed is well preserved just to
the west of Tecopa amidst Amargosa River wetlands. We left the
railroad bed at Tecopa Hot Springs Road, briefly followed the
road, crossed over Highway 127, and entered the lower end of
Greenwater Valley. Our westerly route went directly toward a low
point in the Ibex Hills where we later found a good campsite. Enroute to Miller Spring
The Survivor Spring 2007 11

12. Black Rock Mountains and Beyond
TRIP REPORTS
Black Rock High Points Backpack, May 10-14, Northwestern NV
By Cathy Luchetti, Oakland, CA
W
e had two choices: to reach the meeting place on Don-
nelly Creek road by driving Nevada’s Black Rock Desert
playa, or by rattling along Soldier Meadows road, just
west of Gerlach, for thirty miles or more. The playa, a great
inland desert lakebed, stretched more than 160,000-acres ahead,
beckoning in the dusk, white and misty, each lonely mile echoing
with the seasonal shouts of the Burning Man revelers. Wondering
whether to drive it or not, we worried about wet playa turning into
quicksand. In the fading light, who knew if it were wet or dry?
We opted for the road instead, and after missing the meeting place
several times, finally spotted a car headlight flashing, far away on
the mesa.
This is lonesome country. You can travel for hours along the Rock near summit
playa’s ancient shoreline, an area so barren and flat that on a clear of Chief Truckee. “I was a very small child when the first white
day, you can see the curvature of the earth. Hiking up the Calico people came into our country. They came like a lion, yes, like a
Mountains toward Donnelly Peak, the wilderness turns even more roaring lion, and have continued so ever since.”
remote. We started out early: 15-miles with a 4,000-foot elevation
gain would take all day. We fought our way uphill, scrunching Settlers must have “roared” right through the Calico wilderness,
through sticky monkeypod, bitterroot, and fragrant sage, finding because hardly a trace of anyone remains today. Yet wherever the
along the rocky way hunks of turquoise, finely carved arrowheads, view turned wonderful, or a tiny seep of water invited flowers-sun-
glistening obsidian shards, and a dimpled, metallic-looking rock, cups, lupine, wooly yellow daisy or Spanish clover-shards littered
about 3 feet high, a possible meteorite found by Stan. The dark, the ground, evidence that the bygone tribes, like us, wanted to rest
spiky tufa seemed ordinary enough until Lynne Brei found tiny in a lovely spot and watch the sunset.
crystals, buried deep in the innermost crevices, sparkling in the
light. Exhausted from the peak’s 8,539-foot elevation and the hours of
constant bushwhacking, we crawled into camp at dusk, shaking
As the group struggled upward – leader John Wilkinson, Lynne ticks from our shirts like a hail of watermelon seeds. The next
Brei, Mike Tadeschi, Bruce Loeb, Michael Sorenson, Stan Huncil- day’s adventure was a backpack into the Pahute Peak Wilderness to
man, Cathy Luchetti – we pushed our way through sharp crevices climb Big Mountain, starting at the trailhead, an arid, abandoned
in the towering rock faces and around high cliff walls, the view mining site at Copper Canyon. The trail led us quickly into the
expanding with every step. The Calico mountains are home to a Nevada Serengheti, a lush, spring-dotted area filled with antelope,
population of 150 California bighorn sheep, yet a hundred years golden eagles, and nonstop wild horses. The day before, we’d seen
ago, the mountains also sheltered roving bands of Paiute Indians. shy horses in groups of three-a stallion and two mares who danced
“My people were scattered over nearly all of the territory now away from us, skittish and aloof. The paints and palominos of the
known as Nevada” wrote Paiute Sarah Winnemuca, granddaughter Calico Range, on the other hand, were born entertainers, starved
for an audience, with wavy manes and snappy hooves, who cavort-
ed up and down the hillside, making mock war on one another,
then regrouping before picking another horse to nip and harass.
Minutes later, the ousted horse would roar back, nipping and frol-
icking in return, forcing himself back into the herd. Friends again,
the nippers would gallop side by side, the wind fanning out their
long tails–exuberant, wild, free roaming horses, several of the
thousand in Nevada protected by federal law and managed by the
BLM.
The vista point we occupied was perfect. Despite the cold wind,
we could watch the horses while gazing out over the mountains,
long meadows and faraway desert, misty purple in the gathering
Cathy Luchetti
dusk, hiding the secret of the nearby Lassen-Clapper murder site,
which John promised to tell us about. To the east lay Big Moun-
tain, the next day’s destination. Yet as we sipped Bruce Loeb’s gin
and tonics, shivering in the cold, the charm of our site grew. Did
Donnelly Peak
12 The Survivor Spring 2007

13. anyone really golden eagle, the size of a small wildcat. An eagle can have up to
TRIP REPORTS
want to leave? 7,000 light, strong, stylishly interlocked feathers set in ruffled, con-
After all, Stan, centric swirls-as this one did. It lives in rugged, high terrain,
accompanied where it scans the ground for prey and waits for a lively updraft to
by Mike T., carry its slightly hefty (this one was about 15 pounds) body into
had driven off the air. Eagles generally live for fifteen to twenty years, although
the cows and the shock of looking up and seeing three faces staring down at it
appropriated could have shortened this one’s life considerably. With a snap and
their watering a flap of five-foot wings, the eagle soared away, highly annoyed.
Cathy Luchetti
hole. Instead We sat there, dazed. No one had ever been this close to a Golden
of cow muck, eagle before, an exciting moment, one of many on this beautiful
we now had a exploration.
Water supply pvc pipe stuck
directly into As we left the mountains, a single delight remained: Soldier Mead-
the hillside spring and could refill with sparkling water at will. We ows Hot Springs, an oasis of tule reeds, verdant marsh grass, tiny
also had ringside seats for the Wild Horse Rodeo and an enticing flowers and birds surrounding a chin-deep pool of warm water,
rocky outcrop nearby to climb. Why not stay? nearly the size of a small swimming pool. As our toes sank into
the soft, hot mud, we
Fired by the idea of radical leisure, one by one we made other sighed, floated, stayed until
plans for the day, deciding to hike back in the early afternoon after the sun sank, the constella-
Mike S. climbed a far peak, and the rest of us launched our own tions whirled overhead, and
explorations. The wind had died, the sunlit landscape shone like the night birds sounded.
gold. The steep hill, its rocky crest serrated as a Spanish castle, Coyotes howled from the
was a madness of dark, crusted, rhyolite magma, erupted up from desert, and still, we lingered
lava flows, frozen by time into flinty gargoyles-bent, pulled, bro- in the warm water, trying to
ken, twisted, perfect for climbing. The top, flat and windswept, led imagine the Paiutes who had
to an overlook of many hundreds of feet straight down, down, probably bathed and sighed
Cathy Luchetti
down until - what? Stan pulled back excitedly from the edge, ges- in this same delightful water,
turing to us to be quiet, he’d found an eagle. We crept silently, sinking their toes into the
pulling ourselves Marine style along the ground, trying not to make same deep mud. A wonder-
a ruckus as we looked down on the head of a perfectly coiffed ful trip, enjoyed by all.
Soldier Meadows Hot Springs
Eagle Sighting in Black Rock Yet soon my ego sobered me, for there at land’s end was by but a
few feet a higher point! Keys of boulders and lavic extrusions,
Range feeble redoubts fell. There I stood at points end an arc of
precipice to my side as if cape in wind. There my invigoration cli-
By Stan Huncilman, Berkeley, CA
maxed as I braced against the strong breeze that swept the point.
M
idmorning Sunday Cathy Luchetti and I scrambled to At this moment I decided to give a quick inspection to the ram-
the top of an unnamed bump north of Big Mountain part at toe’s edge in order that I discern a nest or some other con-
affording an excellent view of the sage carpeted lavic struct of the swallows. As I peered over the edge, there not three
tablelands and King Lear Peak. As it was flat on top I took feet from my shoe perched a golden eagle. He was upon a small
advantage of the north face of the bump to satisfy my desire for a rock ledge. Such was its size that in order to land or exit he would
bit of exposure. There one finds a shear face of at least 300 feet, have to enable a fall or drop. The wind had deafened him to my
basaltic in composition, with enough fragments and cracks to be a presence. This bird, lord of these skies, what reason had he to
breathtaking compliment to the tranquil sea of sage below. All look upward? What a voyeur’s delight that he so keen of sight
was in balance. Emotive tranquility expressed in an endless vista should be now so blind! Ever vigilant he methodically scanned
whilst me the physical acknowledged corporeal modesty. the horizon; only the occasional roar of the darting swallow gave
him start. Had I but been the Aztec I would have stood at Heav-
Swallows were enjoying the air’s eddies courtesy of the escarp- en’s Gate.
ment. It is one of nature’s keenest moments to stand above the
birds and see as I did that day the swallows dart and fetch. No I slowly retreated. I wanted Cathy and Bruce, who had recently
mountain view affords such juxtaposition of the senses as does come up to the escarpment, to see the raptor. I made my way
the avian from atop and here I stood as nature’s most joyous-of- back and informed them and together we returned. We all
creatures, birds, engaged in matters of import known only to approached on hands and knees. Our king still held court. As I
them. That birds may one day care! Oh weigh not but wings in prepared to take a photograph, a pause in wind or lens’ reflection
heaven’s breathe. -Titus Meius gave him notice of our presence. Not startled, but annoyed, he
stepped and dropped to open wings and soon was beyond our
sight.
The Survivor Spring 2007 13