If you have advice for backcountry campers, email us and we'll consider placing it on our web site. |
This page has been brought to you by the Backcountry Times, an affiliate of the Backcountry Depot and Total Control Distributorships. Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. |
Backcountry Camping Camping in the Southern California area can be a wonderful experience. However, it can become a trying experience if you are unprepared for the elements. Especially in the Backcountry area in which we live. Campo has the worlds' largest degree variance in daytime and nighttime temperatures! Often changing up to 70 degress difference, if not more. The high mountain desert challenges all hikers, and campers to their utmost abilities! Survival may be the word that echos in the few who do challenge unprepared, and live to tell about the experience. I have camped all over such area's, and must admit that I feel true pride in being prepared when so many others are not. For example, April 1, 2000, I took my daughter, Carol, age 4, and my granddaughter, Kaila, age 10, to Boulevard's Lk. Domingus. Leaving Spring Valley, the weather was hot and clear. Upon arriving at the Lake, it was beginning to rain. When we awoke the next morning and opened up the makeshift tent flap, we were surprised by a winter wonderland, and 10 degree temperatures, even though the sun was shining brightly. Our tent was frozen, but we were all warm and well. Leaving there that morning (because the kids were cold) we heard on the radio that 14 Mexicans had tried to cross the border that same night and all were found dead... in Boulevard! Now you know what I mean. If I could give any advice, it would be to have a good running vehicle that likes cold mornings and to pack for all, and I stress ALL, types of weather! Secondly, LOTS OF WATER, if you have the space for transporting it. As the summer drags on, the drought does also, and water will be hard to find if any even exists where you are. That's the beauty of the desert regions...survival without much water...perserverance through the parching sun! Mainly, just be prepared! People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan! Get maps, weather forecasts, climate calculations, as well as elevations you will be visiting, and plan! When coming from sea level, every 1000 ft. in elevation will bring another set of climate conditions, as well as environmental changes. And, with such rugged and beautiful places to visit, your stay should be enjoyable, as long as the weather holds. And if you're anything like I am, when the weather hits that is the most beautiful time anyway...as long as you're prepared! We all know that these wonderful places are disappearing, and many more protected places may bite the big one with Bush in office! So it is even more important to keep these areas protected for the animals that they were set aside for! We are the human element, that ventures into the wilderness, and destroys the fragile system that supports the environment. We must be more aware of what we do here, than in any other environment that exists! Don't come to destroy, come to enjoy! Pick up after yourself and leave the place you visit better than you found it! Keep a close eye on any children, so they do not wander off into the brush. Which is disorienting for even an adult, who can see over the chapperal. Hang your food and bury your feces so as to not attract wild animals. And if woman, do not venture into the wilderness when having your monthly, for man may be unaware, but the animals are not! The less contact you have with the animanls the better for everyone. Remember, this is their protected land, not ours! And there should be no reason to hunt down a mountain lion in his territory, because he scared a human and seemed threatening...would you not threaten the cat if he was in your home?! Check in at the local ranger station for specific rules in the different parks throughout the Backcountry, and follow them like you would Jesus, cause the fines can become quite costly for a family excursion. If fires are allowed, make sure your pit is deep, encircled with rocks and clear of any dry trees or brush, around and overhead. Fill the pit with dirt, and pack it down, well before you leave, to ensure that the fire is truely out. Pick up only fallen dry limbs for fuel, or check out the ranger station for they often supply firewood for campers. Lastly, if you're a loner, like I, make sure someone knows where you will be going, and when you should return. Whether it be family or the rangers, just in case something happens while there. With the massive boulders you will be manuvering over and around, many hikers have been hurt, and even killed while climbing. Not to mention lost, dehydrated, scared, hungry, disoriented, and desperate! Making a beautiful day, dreadful! Remember, people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan! Oh! And don't forget to have FUN! |
This page has been brought to you by the Backcountry Times, an affiliate of the Backcountry Depot and Total Control Distributorships. Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. |
If you have advice for backcountry campers, email us and we'll consider placing it on our web site. |
