General Correspondence

I don’t share private e-mails but I think this one is anonymous enough to pass. A friend in the field just e-mailed me. That person detailed their recent activities and past experiences, I replied with mine. You can’t tell what the other person has brought up but I am responding to those points. What outdoor people write about at 12:26 in the morning.

Attached is a photo of my shower solution which is really slick. Maybe $35 at the time and totally worth it. Uses a USB chargeable self-contained lithium ion battery. I have a portable lithium battery about the size of a small car battery that can charge it and my other electronics. The pump goes into a five gallon bucket. Tube and shower head connects easily to the pump. Has a hook to hang the shower head. It’s perfect.

Two years ago I went to Great Basin for a bioblitz the NPS was putting on to study lichen. Bunch of volunteers like me running around, helping the real scientists catalog the lichen in the field. (I really like blue lichen.) I learned later that one group identified a species new to science. Cool beans. Anyway, I drove into one of the dry campgrounds which I knew would be less crowded. Which it was. Nearly deserted. I filled up my water containers later at the wet campground (with faucets) a mile down the road and it was a zoo. Kids and dogs all over, arguing families, yuch.

After setting up camp at the dry campground I walked the grounds. A young woman came along who was walking toward the primitive bathroom with a towel around her shoulders. Do you know where the water is? Or the showers? OMG. This woman has driven hundreds of miles with zero research. Who goes past Baker not knowing what is going on? I told her this was a dry campground and she looked crestfallen since her camp was already set up. Okay, I said, I have a new pop up shower enclosure I had bought in case this campground was crowded. We set it up at her site and then I showed her the pump and how to use it. Gave her my extra/emergency/nonused five gallon collapsible water jug and told her to fill it up at the next campground.

There were so few people in camp that I just poured a gallon jug over my head in the morning to shower. As I had done in the past. No big whoop. That might seem like great lengths to help out someone unaware but I have had years and years of helping people out with problems during long distance hikes. Some people simply need help in the beginning, they will in time, I hope, learn. The wilderness needs more friends and I don’t want anyone staying at home after some mistake with preparedness,

My big disappointment was with the vaunted dark sky conditions. Not that long weekend. Just like in the Sierra, the mountains make their own weather. Cloudy every night. Desert floor would have been better. Like back at Baker. Drove to the top of the last parking lot on top of Wheeler, did not hike it. Another insanely crowded campground up there. But, I contributed to the effort of the BioBlitz.

As to gold, I do not mind if I get very little. I need to be out prospecting. When I was prospecting the forks of the American River I often did catch and release gold when sampling with my pan. Wasn’t interested in a few colors, just looking for more colors upstream or on the shoulders of the river. Often swam the river with all of my gear to get to interesting sand bars. Used a kayaker’s waterproof case to keep my first aid kit and other things dry. The big strike I had in 2004 has kept me going through all the thin years of prospecting. It was a find of a lifetime and I knew it at the time. No chance of finding another chunk of quartz the size of a bowling ball laced with gold. Now, I just want to find gold where other people aren’t. That area I was just in has no history of any mining whatsoever. No historical claims. None. Obviously, not paying amounts for a commercial operator. For a small scale miner like me off by themselves, a few flakes is enough. I’ve found many other amazing things beside gold during my hunts. And now that I hunt for UV and U and fossils, well, it’s enough to be out and about.

Sounds like you have a vehicle you can work on. What an amazing concept! I’m not sure I could do much with my vehicle since the engine bay is so cramped. I do have a sat based text messaging device (A SpotX) and I have membership in an off road vehicle recovery service. I can use the SpotX to communicate with them to get help.

Good luck at Tucson, I wish you well. I only went once for one day at the Big Show and left screaming the next day. The parking and congestion got to me really badly and I couldn’t handle it. Lots of interesting things but the shuttle had stopped working before The Big Show and navigating that city was just unmanageable. Took the tour of the ASARCO open pit mine the next day, that was great, and then fled to the Gold Show in Quartzsite the same day. I’ll be in Tuscon in 2021 for the fluorescent mineral theme but that is it. Probably, not again.

The commercials for SUVs like the Subarus make driving on a beach or off road seem amazingly simple and fun. What nonsense. I have seen one Subaru outfitted with LT tires and that was it. The only ones that make sense are their team rally vehicles. That’s what Subaru wants people to think they are getting. Sheesh. I did see a full on Porsche rally car on pavement in Temecula once and I have to admit I kind of liked it. Tom

“Ivation Portable Outdoor Shower, Battery Powered - Compact Handheld Rechargeable Camping Showerhead” Amazon.


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