Wasteland Weekend 2015

The odd get even.

20150925-27 

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 Lord of the Wasteland with his "War Boys".

Sony Alpha 7 Mark II, 1/100 sec, ISO 64, 35mm at f/7
All photos copyright, Bill Caid 2015. All rights reserved.

The Trip

My long-time buddy Kai invited me to join him at Wasteland Weekend in the Mojave Desert north of Adelanto, CA.  We knew it was going to be "interesting", but failed to fully appreciate the degree of "interesting".

Tracking Our Location Via The SPOT

Some years ago, after a scary mechanical failure in the canyons and mesas of southern Utah, we decided that we need a better way to advertise our position and call for assistance if needed.  Kathleen found out about the SPOT which is a GPS locator that transmits your coordinates via satellite so that others can see your location.  The location is plotted on Google maps and a "bread crumb" feature is available for an additional fee.  We have the enhanced service, so you can see our historical path back 50 updates or so.  See our current location plotted on Google Maps in Real-Time via SPOT satellite geo-locator device.  This page is "book-markable" and is updated approximately every 15 minutes, but may miss updates due to inability of our transmitter to reach the satellite.  The communication is "open loop" so the device never knows if it's messages are actually going anywhere, it just keeps trying until the next update is available.  If we are in a congested urban area with high buildings (like Manhattan) or in deep canyons, the position may not update.  We try to send an "OK" message once a day just to let everyone know that we are, in fact, OK. 

Connecting and Contacting Us While on the Trip

Because of internet connectivity issues on a previous trip, we purchased a MiFi cell phone modem that allows us to connect nearly anywhere there is 3G service via cell phone (which is most of the cell phone service area available today).  But, as we all know, cell phones are useful many places, but not everywhere has coverage, particularly in the remote areas of the western U.S.  Our phones and the modem are enabled daily so you may contact us, although it may take a few days for us to respond.  But, we will respond.  My email, spelled out, is "bcaid at yahoo dot com".

Trip Details

The link table below contains links to the photos and dialog for each of the days of the expedition.  This table will be updated as the trip progresses.


Links to Daily Adventures
Part Dates Adventure Locations
1
20150925
San Diego, CA to Wasteland Weekend
2
20150926-27
Wasteland Weekend Part 2

 


Conclusions and Advice to Travelers

Wasteland Weekend is heavily attended, so plan your trip accordingly.  Buy your tickets early for the best value and plant to wait upon entry.  There were minimal vendors at the site, although there was one refrigerator truck selling ice.  But, you should plan to be fully self-contained in all aspects of your stay.

The Mojave Desert is a very big place and frequently not that hospitable to travelers.  The weather can go from very hot to very cold and back in one day.  As a consequence, the range of temperatures can be extreme.  Plan accordingly and understand the expected temperatures, particularly in the summer when heat can be life-threatening.  Water is in very short supply and unless you are staying at locations that are known to have water, you will need to be self-sufficient.  High winds and dust are common in this area and attempting to tent camp in high winds can be an exercise in futility.  Sunburn is pretty much assured if you are wearing a brief costume so sunblock should be used liberally and reapplied as needed for sun protection.

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Copyright Bill Caid 2015