Why Wander through the Desert? Well, if you haven't experienced The Great Southwest then you're missing out. And as a middle aged dude, that grew up in Durango Colorado, I'm continually amazed at how LITTLE of The Great Southwest that I've actually experienced in my 1st 40 years. Maybe I'll quit my job and Wander a bit more. Maybe.
The Decision(s) to Wander through the Desert, this time:
Every now and then The Judd and and others head out into the wilderness to escape Big Brother, aka, The Corporation. The goal is to see America, as you can only see when removed from the grind of society and paved civilization. So this time The Crew was rounded out with a new set of characters. Most of the Ludacracy that 'evolved' over the long trip is withheld, because most of the time the memories must remain in the desert... waiting for us to return.
This specific trip was tied to a few events. That's right, there is always a strategy, in development, in that Organ commonly called The Judd's brain. And this time the strategy was driven by the upcoming Arizona Trail Race. So, in classic super endurance 'athlete' fashion, The Judd scheduled a final training session 2 weeks prior to the big 'race'. And no, this wasn't a training session for the legs. It was an adventure for the feet & body & mind. It was a desert based adventure full of heat and sand and crazy ascents and descents and camping and.... but more importantly is was a trip with friends into The Great Southwest.
And that's it.
WHAT A VIEW... to wake up to
and then there is the 'standard' desert sunrise
The Location:
To use Hayduke terminology... we traveled two and a half six-packs from Albuquerque. That's all I'm saying. That's all I need to say.
The Crew:
- The Judd, Doctor of Philosophy, aka, The Philosofizer, The Hustorian, The Founder
- Seldom Shady, aka, Seldom Shady. And remember. Seldom Shady is... a Contributor
- Prob-eee, aka, Mr Probe, The Probe
- Belle, aka, Bear
* The true identities of most of those involved in The Wander are witheld by for reasons of secrecy and safety. That's just the way it is.
Lessons Learned:
- If The Judd is reading The Book, it's hard to find the Little Ceasars Pizza in Shiprock.
- If Seldom Shady is driving, without hands, texting, playing DJ AND signing along, looking for indian ruins and talking to The Judd, all at the same time... it's easy to find the Little Ceasars in Shiprock. Seriously.
- The 'mandatory' 10 minute video, at the ranger station, is really 18 minutes of Idiocracy. Seriously.
- If there are a million gnats and mosquitos hang'n near the creek, chances are that the millions of man / woman eating bugs will attack Seldom Shady and The Probe. The Judd roll'd out of the creek bed with one bite. No joke.
- What could drive the bugs away from The Judd... Interesting. Maybe The Judd 'smells' too good to eat. Maybe The Judd's B.A.C. is not calibrated to the palate of the insects. It's a mystery.
- If one fireball is good enough for the fire building task, then 4 fireballs are better. AND if Seldom Shady is empowered with the 'fire'. STAND BACK!
- If you have a 50L pack and only use up 30L... then stuff it with 100oz of beer (4 La Cumbre IPAs, 2 Modus Hoperandi and one Marble IPA) and 4 small boxes of wine. You'll be happy you did. I think.
- and don't forget to encourage Prob-eee to pack in his own booze.
- Freeze dried food - date 2005. It's ok. Shovel it into the garbage gut and wash it down with some IPA. NO PROBLEM!
The SHORT Conversation of the Trip:
- Seldom Shady: I don't remember seeing that ruin, down there, last time I was here.
- The Judd: Well, it's probably a 'new' ruin.
The Quote of the Trip:
- Seldom Shady: If you reveal my true identity... I will DROP you.
The Word(s) of the Trip:
The Prob-a-tion:
Yep, Prob-eee being Prob-eee is entertaining, to say the least. So, I've created a new section called The Prob-a-tion. Because Prob-eee is and will always be on Probation... at the back of the pack.
- When it rains, put on your rain gear and start walking through the soon to be mud. Cuz chill'n in the cave with Seldom Shady and The Judd doesn't make much sense. It really doesn't.
- When going on a 6+ hour set of day hikes, leave all your food back at base camp. Packing a bivy is smart, but food isn't really a requirement.
- When Seldom Shady is cruise'n at 100mph, put The Fit on cruise too... but at 65mph.
* and as The Morale Chairman eloquently noted during the post adventure debrief... "What, does f'n Prob-eee think he is on an African Safari, or something."
The Pistachio War:
For some reason a full on Pistachio War started on Night 1 and ended on Night 4. And all the tough Pistachios where tossed towards (at?) The Judd. Why... because... "Any Nut, Judd will bust it"
and just because we can:
Don't be afraid to pull a Hayduke at 9:30 at night, in the middle of nowhere. Don't know what I'm talking about? Well, maybe Seldom Shady will tell you about it. But probably not.
How do we Roll... when we Wander through The Desert:
Forever in Blue Jeans....
and as Seldom Shady routinely reminds us... I am I said
And a Question to Ponder:
As The Judd prepares for the Arizona Trail 300 the question about water & survival in the desert is on The Mind. And the question is... How much water do you really need? Is the 'need' defined by The Want or The Need. Seriously.
And... ancient indian ruins are cool. But Dinosaur Tracks are WICKED COOL:
Where did The Crew go... where did The Crew wander? Who knows:
The Raid at Comb Ridge:
"Now you've it," Doc agreed. "We're not dealing with human beings. We're up against the megamachine. A megalomaniacal megamachine"
Yep... Megalomaniacal Megamachine. That's a new phrase we'll use and reuse... at the back of the pack.
Random Pics, just because:
The Judd... The Book... gotta stay educated
sunsets are cool... especially when traveling the backroads through The Navajo Nation
going into the canyon
water water everywhere, for now
how about a swim? sorry, instructional video says "NO SWIMMING"
just a panorama shot
this ain't the Prob-eee that WAS known around the world.
That Prob-eee is (was?) a vegetarian.
no, we aren't texting in a canyon, we are manipulating photos... in a canyon
can you see the cliff dwelling?
check out these cliff dwellings, see them?
The Judd taking a break, under a tree
many people have many names for The Judd
can you guess what The Probe's favorite name is... for The Judd
just a big boulder... just
cruise'n up a canyon
when you feet are hot, put them in 40 deg water. awesome!
nice bench, in the middle of nowhere
when in a tough spot...
you better have friends that can get you out of tough spots. seriously
just 700 feet down... into the canyon
or 700 feet up... from the canyon
the end or the beginning or something
if you know anything about The Judd's theory of life
then you can guess what this petroglyph reveals... to The Judd
... ?...
a levitating Modus
it's normal... at the back of the pack
climbing up in the wind
that's a long way down
but no problem if you lived here many many years ago
uh, won't comment on this petroglyph
interesting... fun to theorize about this
wicked fingers
the walk down
chill'n deep in a cave
just a ruin, 1000 years old, or older
some local art
nothing like seeing something 1000+ years old.
snow in April, awesome. not really
And if you made it this far, how about a thought from Edward Abbey himself:
from a 1984 interview with Mother Earth News. "I'm... something of an anarchist, because I learned long ago to distrust the government, and not only the government but all big institutions: big business, big military, big cities, big churches, big labor unions . . . any institution that grows so large that it's no longer under the control of its membership. My kind of anarchism is no more than democracy pushed as far as it can be pushed, government by the people, decentralized power in all its forms."
