Jawbone 2012-2013

For mid-season Allcorps, all five crews camped together outside of the tiny town of Tecopa (population 10, according to the road sign). Jawbone caravanned with Kiavah and Grass Valley for the four hour journey to the campsite. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a desert wetland site where we took some time to stretch our legs and explore the seemingly oxymoronic landscape. That evening upon arriving at our campsite, a flat area surrounded by two ravines, the crews set up whitewalls, green monsters, and personal tents. One challenge of this flat area with little vegetation, where the line of site goes on for miles, was finding places to put the rocket boxes. A clever team of members was able to hide them down in the wash beside the road, a ten minute walk from the crowded camp. The system was so clever that some felt we needed a treasure map in order to locate the latrines.

The day after we arrived we went on a couple field trips. First we went to the Dumont Dunes, deposited on a dry lake bed between lines of mountains. The great white mounds seem out of place and surreal standing in contrast to the surrounding mountains. Here we climbed and rolled, burrowed and buried, sledded and Frisbee-ed. We emerged covered in sand and ready to rinse off at the Tecopa hot springs. The springs were luxuriously warm in comparison to the brisk air and there were only a few naked people at this spring. Some chose to go all out and cover their entire bodies with the muddy substrate from the bottom of the pool, and for those of us who attempted to avoid mud to face contact as much as possible were out of luck. Mud fights soon broke out, and no bystander was spared hits from the crossfire. In true dirtbag form, we kicked off the week of not showering by rolling in sand then bathing in the thick sulfurous mud of the springs.

On Monday we started work at the China Ranch Date Farm, a farm with hiking trails that lead onto BLM land. We scrambled crews, dividing into pods that rotated throughout the week so that everyone had an opportunity to work on a variety of different trail projects. The trail projects included building foot bridges over a submerged, mucky trail; building rock erosion-control walls on hillsides; building rock staircases in hillsides; and everyone’s favorite project, the mesquite “tunnel of love”. The mesquite tunnel involved forging a new trail through a solid tangled web of thorny mesquite tree branches. Two groups worked on either end of the trail clearing the thorny webs of strong wood, trying to link up the two sides of the trail and meet in the middle. Each day, the pods who’d been battling with the mesquite were known by the fresh scratches riddling their forearms and faces. For those on the front line swamping behind the chainsaws, the scratches were worse and the level of exhaustion higher. But at the end of the day, they were hailed as brave heroes. The trail work for the week was a new brand of work for many of us- more physical than we’re used to, but very satisfying in that there’s a very visible product at the end of the long day.

Life at camp during Allcorps was a lively change for the Jawbone crew. This was the first time the entire Corps was back together since Septoberfest, and four months into the program the group feels small and the atmosphere familiar, in contrast to the whirlwind of new faces from the first days of training. Members spent evenings after work playing hacky-sack, making music, exercising, playing cribbage, and reading. The themed dinners planned by Wildcorps were potluck style, with members travelling from tent to tent to sample the creations from all five crews. Some were able to master the art of hitting all five tents- a careful balance of eating while travelling and collecting the most popular meals before they were ravaged. Some found the ordeal entirely too stressful and stuck to visiting just a couple tents each night. One theme night for dinner was a chili cook-off between four crews with Wildcorps members judging. Chef Matt and sou chef Cee brought home the gold for Jawbone, a free stay at the Yucca Valley crew house resort as long as we do Scott’s laundry, with their expert culinary skills.

We left the Allcorps site on the morning of the 15th and drove back to Ridgecrest with the Rands crew. On the return journey, we took the scenic route through Death Valley National Park. Driving through the vast, breathtaking landscape was a great way to conclude the Allcorps experience. We were able to drive by some famous sites, such as the lowest elevation point in the country, Telescope Peak, and the mesquite sand dunes.

For the last couple days of our hitch, we underwent the stark transition from boulder heaving and tree limb-dragging to outreach with the BLM. President’s weekend is a very popular time for families to camp and enjoy a couple days of riding, so it is a prime time for outreach. We teamed up with the Rands crew and BLM officers at stations in the Jawbone and Rands recreation areas handing out maps of the area and signing OHV permits. It was a good way to rest our aching muscles after a week of hard trail work.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This was our first hitch of 2013 after coming back from a nice Christmas break. This hitch was slightly different from our other ones; we actually got to stay in our house eveHry night! You know what that means? Nice warm showers, a cozy kitchen to cook in that doesn’t require lighting the lantern, indoor plumbing, and the handy dandy internet that provides hours of entertainment and a way to keep in touch with our family and friends.

The incursions we had to restore were at Robbers Roost, an area where we went as a crew for our First Five way back in September. Here’s a quick summary of our typical “house hitch” workday: breakfast at 7:00, leave the house at 8:00, the commute to work takes about half an hour or so, we have snack at 10:30, lunch at 12:30, pack up and leave the work site by 3:10, dinner’s at 5:30, and then the rest of the day is ours to enjoy. If we were out in the field, most of us would probably be reading after work. Since we have the luxury of the house and the town, our list of things to do after work has increased. We could go to the local park to exercise, run around the entire block while the Ridgecrest dogs are viciously barking at you, go to the nearest burger place because you’re simply craving it, stay up late to play The Settlers of Catan with your crew, watch hours and hours of Netflix, spontaneously bake some brownies, Youtube something funny just because you can, Facetime and Skype your family, do a quick run to the store to buy some cookie dough ice cream, and even play the dice game called Farkle.
This was a house hitch because we had three days of chainsaw training with the BLM firefighters at Salt-Wells Station. The Kiavah crew was also there taking the classes with us, as always, we enjoy their company. The first day of training was mainly about chainsaw safety and learning different cuts, second day we finally got to start the chainsaw and learn about the maintenance that is involved and we all took turns sharpening the chains, the last day we all got to do a “pie cut” and “buckling” on wooden poles. By the end of that day, everyone received a certificate saying we have successfully completed “S-212 Wildfire Powersaws” training.
One of my favorite highlights from this hitch would probably be our unofficial hair salon in the backyard. We save a lot of money by cutting one another’s hair, though we’re not professionals, the results have turned out fairly well. If you want the whole “business in front, party in the back” mullet or merely just trimming your split ends, the Jawbone crew can do that for you.

Overall, this hitch was a nice change of pace. We are really grateful that we didn’t have to stay out in the field overnight because the temperature definitely dropped and it was quite frigid. I’ve learned to appreciate the simple things that the average person would take for granted, such as the fridge and washing machine. I hope that 2013 would bring great changes for all of us and yesterday (1/13) was officially our halfway mark through the DRC program. 4 more months together and we will be parting ways to begin our next adventures and go wherever life takes us.
-Suradee Thongkiattikul

Although we are called Jawbone we spent our third straight hitch not in but in the THC land once again, our last time working there. We camped at a different site than our previous two hitches. Our campsite was situated behind a knoll that hid us from the main road. Contrasting with the campsite from our first two hitches where we would see amazing sunrises, this campsite let us view marvelous sunsets of beautiful colors.
Some shocking, bizarre, and unfortunate things occurred on this hitch. Our first day of arrival was the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving weekend is a haven for OHVers. When we turned on the main road that led us into the THC land, the landscape was littered with white dots from RVs and a cloud of dust hung over the area from the OHV use. They prominently left on Sunday to return to civilization.
For the first time on hitch we experienced the wonder that is called rain. Some of us had forgotten what rain actually was. At midnight of one of the nights we heard the magical raindrops on our tent. None of our belongings got wet due to the durability of our pup tents. The rain provided the morning with tremendous fog. Vegging (where we go out and get dead branches for vertical mulch) in the morning was like walking in a horror movie; we could hardly see our surroundings. It did not rain the rest of the hitch, but the desert would be coated with a layer of moisture in the morning and the morning skies would be dark, cloudy, and ominous. Hopefully, this will lead to beautiful wildflowers in the spring. Even with the rain and cloudy days, the weather was much warmer than our previous two hitches. It never got below freezing which was a blessing and provided for some nice nights of rest.
One of the most bizarre and unusual encounters happened on the evening of day 10. Coming back from a long day of work, we saw a Toyota Prius on the side of the road and remarked how odd that was. Later that evening, the Prius was parked near or rocket box and eventually the Prius rolled up to our camp site. Andy and Emlyn were the first to talk to him and the rest of us were soon to follow. This man loved hearing himself talk. He was out there to hunt coyotes by attracting them with various animal calls. When asked if he ate the meat, he claimed that he didn’t but he hangs the pelt on the wall and says to himself “well there’s one less coyote.” Then he proceeded to bust out a few packs of cards and show us magic tricks for at least 20 minutes. Some of things he talked about were how his wife and child were “weak,” prison wine, his experience on pain medication, and making fun of us for doing this job. He never gave us his name but I nicknamed him Magic Mike. He shall never be forgotten.
This hitch was plagued with sickness. I was the first one to get sick with a sore throat and the sickness spread to some of the other crew members. Because of the sickness, and because we were done with the work that the THC set out for us, we were able to leave the field a day early.
For the actual work part of our hitch we worked on incursions in the area for the first seven days. On day 8-11, we went back a check out previous incursions we worked on in our previous hitches. We found that some had been run over by OHVers which was a huge disappointment but most of the incursions we worked on were intact. The THC land was interesting and provided us with many bizarre moments but it will be comforting to return to Jawbone, a place we have not been since Septoberfest.
I started playing Pokemon Red to catch all 151 Pokemon. My Pokemon count is at 45.
-Jason Matott

It’s the Mojave’s golden afternoons in total silence that still make me pause and revel in all that light and all those earthy tones. I find, in fact, that this period after the day’s labor and before the evening’s chill is home to many fine moments. Between two and three, Jawbone members might be found enjoying a persimmon over a classic novel, between three and four, a political discussion and an oatmeal cookie. Perhaps as a necessity of our environment, I find that we are a group about our fundamentals. These being: good eats, warmth, and literature. Little else seems of much importance.
It very suddenly became winter in the midst of hitch; twenty degree mornings and darkness settling in before five. Our warmth was threatened. You might now begin to understand our joy at having a lantern for the first time. A rather sad image, Jawbone could be found huddled around the Coleman morning and evening. From the outside, in the dark dawn and dusk, the whitewall tent bloomed with the light of the lantern. Our figures playing on the canvas like a grand shadow show.
One of the few things that could coerce a member from the tent was the harrowing call of the rocket box, our waste disposal system. On the subject, you might remember from last hitch the two artifacts in the red Isuzu that laid claim to sixteen rolls of our toilet paper. Little did we know, our rocket box woes were far from over. On Thursday the eighth the first of the Barstow Boy Scouts of America set up their camp a mere thirty yards from our white wall. Over the next twenty four hours a shanty town of tents and SUVs had spilled out onto the lake bed, encroaching even further on our small encampment. The following afternoon the pistols, rifles, and shot guns began to bark. That night they slept in their cars because of the cold, and the purr of their engines hung in the air. It was also noted that our bath room set up was regularly found oddly altered or not properly shut down, and shadowy suspicions began to cultivate in the backs of our minds. Matt Bristol, in all his genius, set a simple trap of a small stone placed on a corner of each of the three containers. When the next user found the pebbles missing, we had our answer. The scouts drove away the next morning, leaving many a shot gun shell, a dusting of clay pigeons over the lake bed, and seven bitter restorators.
In an effort to rid ourselves of such earthly plagues we looked to sky, and found plenty to marvel at. The desert puts on sunrises and sunsets of particular magnificence, and we had jets from the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station ever above our heads. Multiple times they flew literally two hundred feet over us, and the thunderous boom of the sound barrier being broken was a daily regular.
Thanks to Jeanne Lemlin’s Vegetarian Pleasures and the Ridgecrest CSA we ate like royalty; crepes with strawberries, polenta with cauliflower, tomatoes, and hot peppers, pumpkin and corn chowder with grilled cheese, and vegetable risotto to name but a few meals.

Such grand fare primed us for MW2-A, the Autobahn of incursions, which we tackled during our last days. The six meter wide site took over fifty vertical mulch installations. The area around this incursion was equally notable; traces of old settlements, massive craters, and perfect circles in the sand featuring strange scripture nearly twenty feet in diameter. What a wacky place.
As we drove across the expanse of the dry lake bed into camp on our second to last evening we spotted a familiar vehicle parked not twenty yards from our whitewall. We stared at the red Isuzu. The two grizzled old men were wandering about the boy scouts old camp salvaging metal bits, that golden afternoon sun drawn to their white and wispy crowns. We steppe d from the cars and stood for a while, waved to each other, and then retired to our tent, persimmons in hand.

By Emlyn Agnew

Dates: Sept. 18, 2012 to May 13, 2013 Project Leader: Andrew Mazur Project Email: amazur@thesca.org Phone: 208-608-6326 Address:300 S Richmond Ave Ridgecrest, CA 93555

I was a member of the Jawbone crew last season. The desert sucked me in and I could not resist the opportunity to come back as Project Leader.

I am from the middle of Pennsylvania. I have lived there almost my entire life. I enjoy going on long bicycle trips, long runs and jumping off of things into water.

I am excited to get to know the desert better with its hidden abundance of life. I am also excited to share this experience with a bunch of people crazy enough to spend months in the Mojave doing restoration.

Hello! I'm Hannah Heyworth, and I just graduated from high school. I deferred my place at the University of Pennsylvania to take a gap year, and I am beyond excited to spend that time with the SCA.
Aside from biology, which I intend to major in, I love playing piano, writing, foreign food, my huge family and caves. I am lucky enough that travel is both a passion and a regular part of my life; I was raised in England, Canada, and the US, and I was an exchange student to India during my senior year.
Being outdoors makes me feel at peace, and I can’t stand staying inside for too long. I am dedicated to the cause of conservation, and I am intrigued by the idea of achieving it in a desert. The Mohave seems like an extraordinary place, and I can't wait to meet the rest of the Jawbone crew and get started!

The SCA has long been a part of my life. My journey began in 2008 as a crew member on a national high school conservation crew in Denali National Park and Preserve where we rerouted an old hiking trail. Every year since that first crew, I have been involved with the SCA performing trail work in places all over the nation from California to Pennsylvania. However, I decided to take a break from the SCA after graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in May of 2012. This past summer, I’ve been working with the Institute for Bird Populations as a bird bander to monitor avian productivity and survivorship in southern Indiana. The SCA’s allure couldn’t keep me away for too long though. I’m back and excited to take part in restoration efforts in the desert; a place I have not yet visited. I’m also thrilled to once again be a part of the SCA community.