Mojave Road Adventure
Today, I leave on the last Mojave Road Adventure - at least until next fall (Check out www.4x4training.com for the fall trips).
This continues to be an unusual year for weather. The forecast for Needles and Baker are for 109 to 112 degrees this weekend. This is 20 to 25 degrees hotter then in normal years.
In addition to the normal risks of traveling in the Mojave (rattle snakes, sandy wash traps, tempting old killer mine, sticky mud that can swallow a vehicle,etc. ),we have killer temperatures.
But what would an “Adventure” be if there were no risks?
I sent the following message out to the Mojave crew a few days ago.
“I recommend you double check your vehicles cooling system to make sure it is up on fluids.
Bring plenty of water to drink. The only method our bodies have to stay cool is by sweating. And that water must be replaced to prevent dehydration. You will need to drink water even if you do not feel thirsty. Over hydration is never a problem (just remind me to make extra pit stops known as 10-100 breaks). At these temperatures, you might need as much as 3 gallons of water per person per day. Most guide books round this up to 5 gallons per person per day as a safety buffer. A case of 24 bottles of water at 16 oz each is 3 gallons if you go that route. You might supplement it with bulk water in 2.5 or 5 gallon jugs. Recycled milk or juice jugs might pack better in the space you have. It is a lot more enjoyable to have cold or cool water. I suggest you freeze a bunch of the 16 oz bottles and use them in your cooler to replace some of the ice. Later you can drink off the melted water and keep adding new water from a warm bottle until the ice is gone.
If you have and use your cars air conditioner, some of the impact of the high temps will be reduced. However, please prepare for the worse, such as not being able to run the AC because the engine is over heating. BTW the extra AC drag on your engine may use more fuel. Please bring extra gas.
Make sure you have a hat, long sleeve shirt and long pants in order to cover up when necessary. These should be baggy and of light weight. The clothes help prevent water loss. Also, there is nothing worse then sun burned and dehydrated.”
On another thought -- maybe this is why we go.
The Mojave provokes all types of strange events -- For example all the hype surrounding the phone booth on Aikens Mine Road. The phone booth is gone now, but for a few years between 1999 and 2000 it was the buzz of the Mojave Desert. This phone booth sat all by itself at an intersection with no one around. No doubt it rarely was used until the phone number was published on the internet. People from all over the world called to see if anyone would answer. Check out this link. It is fun reading. Too bad we will not be able to see it on our trip!
www.deuceofclubs.com/moj/mojave.htm
Tom
This continues to be an unusual year for weather. The forecast for Needles and Baker are for 109 to 112 degrees this weekend. This is 20 to 25 degrees hotter then in normal years.
In addition to the normal risks of traveling in the Mojave (rattle snakes, sandy wash traps, tempting old killer mine, sticky mud that can swallow a vehicle,etc. ),we have killer temperatures.
But what would an “Adventure” be if there were no risks?
I sent the following message out to the Mojave crew a few days ago.
“I recommend you double check your vehicles cooling system to make sure it is up on fluids.
Bring plenty of water to drink. The only method our bodies have to stay cool is by sweating. And that water must be replaced to prevent dehydration. You will need to drink water even if you do not feel thirsty. Over hydration is never a problem (just remind me to make extra pit stops known as 10-100 breaks). At these temperatures, you might need as much as 3 gallons of water per person per day. Most guide books round this up to 5 gallons per person per day as a safety buffer. A case of 24 bottles of water at 16 oz each is 3 gallons if you go that route. You might supplement it with bulk water in 2.5 or 5 gallon jugs. Recycled milk or juice jugs might pack better in the space you have. It is a lot more enjoyable to have cold or cool water. I suggest you freeze a bunch of the 16 oz bottles and use them in your cooler to replace some of the ice. Later you can drink off the melted water and keep adding new water from a warm bottle until the ice is gone.
If you have and use your cars air conditioner, some of the impact of the high temps will be reduced. However, please prepare for the worse, such as not being able to run the AC because the engine is over heating. BTW the extra AC drag on your engine may use more fuel. Please bring extra gas.
Make sure you have a hat, long sleeve shirt and long pants in order to cover up when necessary. These should be baggy and of light weight. The clothes help prevent water loss. Also, there is nothing worse then sun burned and dehydrated.”
On another thought -- maybe this is why we go.
The Mojave provokes all types of strange events -- For example all the hype surrounding the phone booth on Aikens Mine Road. The phone booth is gone now, but for a few years between 1999 and 2000 it was the buzz of the Mojave Desert. This phone booth sat all by itself at an intersection with no one around. No doubt it rarely was used until the phone number was published on the internet. People from all over the world called to see if anyone would answer. Check out this link. It is fun reading. Too bad we will not be able to see it on our trip!
www.deuceofclubs.com/moj/mojave.htm
Tom
posted by Tom Severin at 9:24 AM
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