WildCorps Hitch 6 in the Palen McCoy Wilderness

Work Totals:
Mining Sites Monitored: 52
Miles Hiked: 56

Water Sources Monitored: 4
Miles Hiked: 34

Miles of Boundary Monitored: 7
Incursions Monitored: 26
Signs Placed: 3

Hitch 6 was a hitch of opposites: it’s the middle of January, which at least where I’m from means layers of coats and scarves and mittens, and we were sleeping under the stars and wearing t-shirts in 80-degree weather; there were times I would wake up in the middle of the night convinced I was late for breakfast because the moon was brighter than the sun was during the day; and we were working with the rolling mountain ranges of the gorgeous Palen/McCoy Wilderness to our north, and the state prison glistening like a city that never sleeps to our south.
Despite the confusion, all WildCorps members are in agreement that this hitch has to be the smoothest and glitch-less so far. We’ve gotten into a pretty great routine with each other and the work – which I think is pretty funny since our expertise is basically being prepared for really anything whatever BLM field office we’re working for throws at us. The other DRC crews may be experts at restoration, but we’ve got days of continually getting lost in the desert with nothing but a moody GPS and our topos to guide us down pat! Which is basically what we did all hitch – chased after abandoned mine prospects, “water sources” (puddles in the desert), and any possible illegal roads leading into wilderness areas. Every morning we’d wake up to the moonlight, eat a quick breakfast, split up the days destinations, and set off into the wilderness – across desert pavement, through washes and canyons, over mountain ranges, down the occasional old mining road or animal path – not to return until the moon again rose over the Little Maria Mountains to compete with the headlights from I-10. I loved exploring old mining sites – despite the fact that we rarely saw what I know to be a mining entrance (most of what we were monitoring can only be described as piles of rock), the sites were endlessly fascinating to speculate on who these miners were and how they got out to these sites in vehicles when we could hardly cross the terrain on foot.
Honestly, I think we were all surprised when we looked up one day and realized it was time to come home. We’re all kind of workaholics when work means wandering around the desert, and it sure is hard being in a house in front of a computer screen.
Sure am excited for AllCorps!