[meteorite-list] "Death by GPS" in desert

From: Count Deiro <countdeiro_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:20:43 -0400 (EDT)
Message-ID: <24025953.1302812443575.JavaMail.root_at_elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

Hi Adam, Chris, et al,

Having been born in the desert I acclimated a long time ago. I recall some of the customs and practicalities I was taught by my elders and the Paiute indians native to the Mohave.

Vehicles didn't have air conditioning as late as the middle sixties. It was an expensive option. I remember hanging half a dozen burlap water bags on the front of my Ford. As the water seeped into the burlap it evaporated and cooled the contents. When traveling a long stretch in Nevada with temperatures up to 125 degrees, I would strip to my T-shirt and Levis and pour water over my head. I would be soaked for only twenty minutes and then be dry as a bone. But those twenty minutes were heaven.

Many cars just wouldn't operate in the summer. Once I had to jury rig a spray bar to the top of my radiator so that I could spray water to evaporate in the radiator air flow and manage the two hundred miles from Tonopah to Las Vegas.

When pitching a shelter for the night we would dig six inches down in the shady outside of an arroyo where the earth would be forty degrees cooler and put up a double fly. That's two tops eight to ten inches apart.

We used Mexican/Indian ollas of clay to keep beverages cool. We never went anywhere with less than five gallons of water and we filled our radiators with drinking water. No need for anti-freeze.

We used "swamp coolers" in our homes. They were cheap and operated off a small electric pump dripping water from an attached reservoir over mats of excelsior straw for evaporation. They worked great when there was no humidity. And in the desert there is less than 10% humidity.

I'm still puzzled as to how we kept from getting heat exhaustion as we didn't have those plastic bottles of water to carry around. I remember getting drinks from spigots and hot garden hoses and public fountains.

If your going to hunt meteorites in the desert do it in the AM before Noon. Keep the sun at your back and cover your neck. Use sun screen. Wear good UV protection sun glasses. The hottest time of the day isn't high noon. It's after three o'clock in the afternoon. Drink as much water as you can.

Forget about the creepy crawlies, snakes, or other poisonous wildlife. They are too smart to be out in the midday sun.

Keep oriented. Tell someone where your going and what to do if your late getting back. Hunt in groups and take more than one survival equipped vehicle.

Go find something. The North American Lunar Team is s leaving on expedition Saturday morning for Central Nevada. We'll share the experience when we return with America's first Lunar!!!! :0)

Best regards to all,

Count Deiro
IMCA 3536

PS Oh Yeah!... Keep your dogs out of the hot metal beds of pick ups and off the searing pavement. Give them lots of water. I'd like to hold a guy's face to the pavement when I see them abuse animals in the deaert heat.


-----Original Message-----
>From: Adam Hupe <raremeteorites at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Apr 14, 2011 8:46 AM
>To: Adam <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] "Death by GPS" in desert
>
>Hi Chris and List,
>
>Yes, the weather is excellent 9 months out of the year, I love the desert and
>you get somewhat acclimatized. I used to think 80 degrees was a little on the
>warm side, now 100 degrees feels perfectly comfortable to me. I only
>air-condition the house down to 84 degrees and feel I need a jacket when coming
>out of the heat. I have seen locals barbecuing over a hot grill and carrying on
>as normal when the ambient temperature was well over 120 degrees without
>cracking a sweat.
>
>The main thing is to drink tons of water and have a good working air-conditioner
>in your car. My air-conditioner failed one time in my truck on the way back
>from Las Vegas. It must have been over 160 degrees in the cab. Zann and I
>suffered for about 1.5 hours. If we were not somewhat acclimatized, we probably
>would have suffered from heatstroke. It is very dangerous to travel during the
>summer and they do not broadcast heat advisories very often. It is wise to make
>sure everything is in good working order in your vehicle. I carry 6 gallons of
>water, a well stocked first-aid kit, a portable battery for jump starting other
>vehicles, spare hoses and belts. I have helped over a half-dozen people who
>have broken down in the last few years. You won't last too long on the side of
>the road without everybody helping each other out.
>
>Best Regards,
>
>Adam
>
>
>
>
>-
>
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Received on Thu 14 Apr 2011 04:20:43 PM PDT