I did a ten day desert trekking in Joshua Tree Nat’l Park, CA. It was awesome. It was the last course they offered in the season, in late September, so it was around 80-90 degrees during the day and slightly below freezing during the night. The course focused mostly on walking through long expanses of desert with a seventy pound pack trying to avoid kicking cacti(the quills will pierce the thickest leather). We stopped at a few outcroppings for on-belay rock climbing and rappeling. Occasionally we would pass an old mining shaft that had been blocked off by thick iron bars.
The scenery was incredible. Red painted sunsets over red painted rocks and moonlight hikes through the boulders that made me feel like I was on the moon were totally unforgettable.
The highlight was definitely the rock climbing, where I was allowed to scale a 100’ rock face blindfolded and actually scaled it much quicker without the use of my eyes. I also attempted the same task while my leg was tied to another person, requiring that we communicate constantly and share ledges. Very interesting.
I saw a Big Horn Sheep which must have weighed over 250lbs. and held a tarantula in my hand… yes… tarantulas were everywhere.
We scaled one of the taller mountains in the park where we found and signed a roster that included everyone who had scaled the peak in the past ten or fifteen years.
We were required to spend 24 hours in complete solitude which was no major feat considering that we were confined to a quarter mile area. I made a shelter, sat, read my contraband book, made a few towers out of stones, and organized my G.o.R.P.
There were many smaller canyons(Gunsight?) that required us to duck in and out of large boulders in order to descend them. During summer months they are dry but are teeming with white water through most of the winter.
I didn’t learn as many wilderness survival skills as I had expected. There really aren’t many edible plants in Joshua Tree, but water can be found without much effort. Then again, so can other human beings. Everything I learned about desert survival can be found here.