Program Dates: September 13, 2011 - May 19, 2012 Project Leader: Jon Hallemeier Email: jhallemeier@thesca.org [1] Phone: 208-608-6317
Our Work [2]
Work Totals
Sites Restored 63
Linear Meters Restored 9,062
Sqare Meters Restored 18,507
Vertical Mulch (#) 2,470
Seed Pits (#) 2507
Berms Constructed (#) 11
Berms Constructed (m) 28
Hard Barriers Installed (#) 2
Hard Barrriers Installed (m) 14
Signs Installed 2
Signs Removed 6
Erosion Control Structures (#) 30
Prerestoration Sites Monitored 40
Outplanting Pods Monitored 5
Meters of Fence Constructed 47
The Rands crew spent most of the season completing restoration projects, hiding illegal off highway vehicle incursions and jump-starting natural restoration processes. The first half of the season was spent on the north side of the Rands, working on rocky, harsh, and often steep terrain. During the second half of the season the crew moved to the south side where the bulk of restoration was completed on gentle, sandy terrain.
Particularly in the last two hitches the crew also took part in various smaller projects. We completed two three-strand fences around open mine shafts and monitored the success of pods of perennials planted approximately a decade ago. In the final work days the crew completed some pre-restoration monitoring, capturing the data necessary to create a plan of work for next season’s crew, and also helped Ridgecrest BLM Archeologist Ashley Blythe collect data on features and artifacts.
All of this work would have been impossible without supportive SCA and BLM staff. In particular, the Rands crew would like to thank our primary BLM contact Steve Gomez for his organization, accessibility, and all the treats he brought to us in the field.
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The End Times [9]
Famous Last Words from the Rands:
“CIRCLE UP!”
Well folks, it is time to say “sayanora,” “see you later,” “au revoir.” Our romping in the Mojave Desert, in the Rand Mountains, has come to a close.
It’s been a beautiful closing hitch. Just to give you an idea, it has been filled with such things as game nights, jam sessions, closing circle, a 30 person hug, delicious food, a top chef competition, a raging pool party, monster incursions, rattlesnake encounters, blooming prickly pear, dirty faces, birthdays, ice cream sundays, desert torti (as we like to call them), and an incredible close community of genuine folks. To these people and things, we bid adieu.
But before we go, we would like to share a few last words with you.
From the crew:
I trust you.
-Abby
Can I not participate in this?
-Alex
My sentence will be.
-Louis
The rocket box smells like s***.
-Jamie
Yeah man.
-Jon
It’s been a great season.
-Ju
Indeed.
-Lauren
"’Love me or hate me,’ the desert seems to say, ‘this is what I am and this is what I shall remain. Go north for astonishment if you must have it. What I offer is different.’"
-Krutch, The Desert Year
The desert has truly offered us a “different,” unique, and meaningful experience. One we will take with us when we go.
To the desert and our community here: See ya later alligator.
“Ready…DODGEBALL!”
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Last Polygon Finished [20]
This hitch was a long but fun one. A lot of time spent on the road but boy, was it worth it!
Day 1 was spent touring the CSA Farm with the lovely Jawbone, Owens, and Golden Valley Crews. We learned little bits about how to farm sustainably and about how farms work, from planting to harvesting to packing. We got to try our hands at picking some pretty chamomile flowers and thin some nectarine trees. Some of us got to show off our Spanish speaking skills and some of us took some cool pictures of the wildflowers we’ve been (im)patiently waiting for. This amazing day was ended with a delicious meal at an Indian restaurant, which was much appreciated. No dinner or dish chores! Woot!
This fun, fact filled day was only surpassed by the Audubon Nature Festival and a tour of Keith Axelson’s off the grid home. Not only were we able to do some restoration work on an entirely different landscape, we were able to dunk our feet in the cool waters of the Kern River Preserve. Refreshing! And much appreciated after 7 months in the desert. There were many bird walks throughout the festival, and we got to see some orphan baby barn owls be fed. After the festival, we drove on down to Keith’s place and saw, immediately after arrival, a mating ritual between two kestrels. Scandalous! Keith’s property was a beautiful riparian area, a sight for sore eyes, filled with singing birds, buzzing hummingbirds, curious bobcat tracks, and one very healthy Saki, his cat. A nice lazy day hike and a tour of Keith’s home, followed by an account of his experience in the war, we sadly had to drive back to Ridgecrest, in order to start another day of work.
The Environmental Education topic for the hitch was Zoo ethics (borrowed from Jawbone’s Em. P). We had an interesting discussion where we explored each of the arguments made by Pro-Zoo and Anti-Zoo sides. Do animals have a lower or higher quality of living in zoos? Is it a valid excuse to have endangered animals in zoos for the purpose of keeping their species alive, in hopes of re-introducing them into the wild? Are the conservation efforts and funds of big zoos helping the world? How so? Is each zoo different, and therefore should be considered separately, instead of being praised or condemned on a whole, based on general stereotypes that are given? This discussion was complimented by an afternoon trip to the Feline Conservation Center.
Hitch 13 wasn’t all fun and games. Our crew kicked butt and worked through the last polygon in the Rands. YAAAAYY!!!! In just 2 full and 4 partial days, we managed to restore 6 incursions, put up 2 hard barriers (sounds easier than it actually was... solid rock, I tell you), and monitored over 2 polygons of future incursions! All this hard work was rewarded by an ice cream surprise by our wonderful project leader Jon. Cheers to the Rands Crew 2011-2012! Going out with a bang!
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Lauren Marsh [27]
Well, hi there.
I was once asked “if you had to choose a metaphor that describes you, what would it be?” My response: One day one of my best friends saw me walking down the hall ahead of her. She called out my name and as I waited for her to catch up, she said: “I knew that was you by the way you were walking—relaxed but going places.” Relaxed but going places. Since then I’ve adopted that as a sort of life motto. So, my meandering has led me—an avid rockclimber, naan with tamarind chutney lover, amateur anthropologist, and recent graduate from the University of Georgia—here to this place, the Mojave Desert. Thanks to the Notorious Rands Krew for adopting me. I’m looking forward to going places with you guys.
Cheers!
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Hitch 12 of 14. [31]
As our season is winding down the Rands Crew is making the most of it! This hitch we had the Golden Valley Crew out for a day of work. We showed them what restoration is all about as we wove Creosote bushes and built rock walls. Much joy was shared between the two crews as we laughed and restored together. After Golden Valley’s departure, Rands Crew continued to work diligently completing ten incursions in total during the hitch. But more fun was had by the crew during hitch 12! On the fifth day we joined forces with Jawbone and learned about the natural history of the area from a BLM representative. We discovered more of the history of the Rand Mountains, which as it turns out used to be a conifer forest. Archaeologists discovered, by studying pack rat middens, that Creosote bushed have only been native to the area within the past 7,000 years. Additionally, the Basque people used to herd sheep in the mountains and there used to be annual OHV races held in the area. All of this information was gladly received by the crews although there was one piece of bad news that was particularly heartbreaking to some crew members: as a result of a low amount of precipitation during the winter there will be few wildflowers founds in the Rand Mountains this season. Things have been greener in the Mountains during the last few weeks but we will not be bombarded with a mosaic of colors. However, the crew is keeping their heads up and looking for the flowers that can be spotted few and far between. After the morning lecture the two crews got down to business and restored together, shoveling, weaving and sharing techniques. Jawbone came back to camp and stayed for the night. Room in the white tent was scarce but it was made up for with smiles and some good music. The next morning Jawbone departed and the Randles got back to work, after a day of restoration we headed out of the field to prepare for Easter Outreach. We were joined by the Owens Peak Crew for outreach on the 7th. For many from the Owens Peak Crew it was their first outreach and first time in the Rands. It was a relatively calm weekend for OHV riding but good information was spread by the crews to people riding in the area. After the day of outreach is was back out into the field for the crew, we did two more days of restoration. Restoring in total this hitch 3,659.5 meters squared, which put us over our total goal for the season. The hitch ended on a high note when Jon took us out for milkshakes in Randsburg to celebrate our hard work. The crew is excited for next hitch and the Earth Day events. As the days dwindle in our season, the crew is still hopeful that we’ll see a desert tortious before it's all over!
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- Read more [31]
Esiotrot. [37]
We started this hitch down in Yucca Valley. We met Doug, a permaculturist. He showed us around his house and told the crew about basic and simple techniques to be more respectful to the environment in our living. He was big on collecting rainwater and using old things to make new ones, such as an old trampoline he turned into a star gazing surface and a surface to provide shade for his patio.
The next day, we started our LNT (Leave No Trace) course. Darren guided us and told us of the 7 pillars of LNT:
Thou shalt plan ahead and prepare.
Thou shalt travel and camp on durable surfaces.
Thou shalt dispose of waste properly.
Thou must leave what thou hast found.
Thou shalt minimize campfire impacts
Thou will respect wildlife.
Thou shalt will be considerate of other visitors.
We then left, leaving no trace whatsoever of our presence in Yucca, and headed back into the Rands, where we do what we do best : restoration and saving the tortoises. We spent 4 days, and four nights, and on the 4th night, it rained. We had the boat built, but couldn’t find any tortoises, so we gave up and sat in the tent and drank hot coco.
On our final day of work, we went to Sand Canyon to help teach the local children about the desert. Lots of fun and laughter.
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Welcome to the Southside [43]
“It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty” ~Jeannette Walls
As we came around the bend, gazing upon for the first time the southern face of the Rands Mountains we were greeted with a new sight: Joshua trees. Their tall anthropomorphic limbs topped by sharp radial leaves seemed to wave and welcome us to our new home on the southside. Several bumped heads and scratched shoulders later, we discovered they were prickly friends at best. If it is the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it beauty, as Jeannette Walls describes, then it is our struggling together as a crew that gives us our camaraderie and beauty. Lugging a giant, dead Joshua tree upon all seven of our shoulders across many yards of desert in order to mask and incursion is no small feat. This was the first of many challenges and new adventures we faced on the south side. Several monstrous incursions awaited our restoration, plus numerous smaller routes in need of disguise and rehabilitation. But we pushed through and completed almost 3000 square meters of restoration this hitch. Wahoo! Way to go Randalls!
Aside from the newness of the terrain and challenging restoration work, camp life was also filled with surprises. Kangaroo rats and pack rats are not uncommon on the north side, though they are shy. On the south side, however, these creatures may be described with one word: fearless. These trespassers and thefts invaded our camp with unabashed abandon, infiltrating our tents, stealing watches, stealing cayenne pepper jars, and refusing to leave our kitchen tent though ushered out the door many times. Aye!
Nonetheless we spent many a peaceful afternoon enjoying warm sunshine, exciting novels, bluesy guitar music, and Frisbee-throwing. The tranquility of a full moon, including a few richly orange harvest moons, and cozy sleeping bags called a close to each day.
The Navajo believe that when a coyote crosses your path, unexpected things are headed your way in the near future. This could not have been more true for the Rands crew, as the day after a coyote crossed in front of our truck while driving to work, the winds came raging in. Those who’ve lived in the desert know the desert silence, and the desert winds that obliterate this silence. Cold and battered, when we thought we could handle no more, the winds subsided. As the weather improved, so did our spirits as we excitedly prepared for our sleepover with the Jawbone crew.
Once more, we set out on a new adventure to new territory: Jawbone-Butterbredt ACEC. We spent a wonderful evening joking around over dinner in the Jawboners’ tent, packed like sardines but content. And how great it was the following day as Steve and Ashley from the BLM gave us an informal lecture on Kawaiisu Native American culture, allowing us to explore a Kawaiisu archaeological site filled with pottery shards, bedrock grinding mills, and rock art.
Back at the Rands, we wrapped up the hitch with a new twist… “And the winner is, drum roll please…Yucca Taste My Orange;” congratulations Ju and Abby, our Rands Top Chefs! The last three nights of our time in the field everyone paired off into teams and competed for the title of Rands Top Chef (as well as for an assortment of silly prizes). Each evening a new secret ingredient, an edible plant from the desert, was revealed. Each team did their best to create tasty, unique dishes using the ingredient plus produce from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box. Ju and Abby’s dish of sautéed veggies over quinoa with an orange sauce and fried yucca swept away the competition. Alex and Louis’ Choice and Freedom Soup was not far behind. And Jamie and Jon’s Nopalitos Tacos, though taking the bronze, were quite tasty. The competition provided a fun means of incorporating edible desert plants and locally grown produce into our hitch diet. Yum!
If communal struggling builds camaraderie, then campfires allow us to relax and enjoy that communal bond. Winding down after the competition on day 9 we cozied up to a warm campfire, comfortable and content in each others’ company.
It was an exciting hitch with a beautiful end. Though we’ve bid the south side adieu for a few days, much more is left to be explored. Stay tuned for more adventures in the Rands!
Cheers!
Rands Crew 2011-2012
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Hitch 9 [54]
Well hitch nine is over and what a fun hitch it was.
For the first two days the Rands Crew teamed up with the o so lovely Boners and did some awesome outreach together. It was Presidents Day, which means it was a busy riding weekend in the Rand Mountains. Similar to our Thanksgiving hitch, we teamed up with the Boners and members from the BLM and set up stations all over the Rands. We educated riders and passed out permits. It wasn’t quite as busy as Thanksgiving, but we still talked to and gave out over 500 permits.
We also spent three days of this hitch at the Salt Flats BLM Fire station and got certified in chainsaw usage. We learned all about the safety of chain sawing, as well as learning about various techniques. We spent the first day doing a lot of classroom work, and then moved onto actually using chainsaws on the second say. We made many pie cuts, back cuts, and made many holding blocks. It was a lot of fun and all the fire guys treated us great. On the third day we had our exam, and after we all passed with flying colors, we were federally certified to use a chainsaw. Even though we don’t use chainsaws too much in our normal work, it sure is a great way to beef up our resumes. Gotta love the SCA and BLM!
During hitch there was also two solid days of restoration in which we did some of our best work and restored four whole incursions as well as some data monitoring and updating. Steve our BLM contact also came to help us out a bit and brought us some excellent sticky buns. We love you Steve.
Then Saturday morning we woke up well before the sunrise and took off for the fabulous Kern River Hot Springs. Here we learned a great deal about how hot springs work plus all the beneficial health effects of soaking in hot springs. It was very educational. Not to mention we met four very interesting (and naked!) locals who gave us some history on the area as well as immersing us in some very interesting conversations.
It was a great hitch. The weather was great (we can feel spring approaching very quickly), and it was the birthday of our awesome crew member Abigail Brokaw. So happy 24th Abby, hope it will be great year.
As always, thanks for reading and we will talk to you soon.
Randals
Well hitch nine is over and what a fun hitch it was.
For the first two days the Rands Crew teamed up with the o so lovely Boners and did some awesome outreach together. It was Presidents Day, which means it was a busy riding weekend in the Rand Mountains. Similar to our Thanksgiving hitch, we teamed up with the Boners and members from the BLM and set up stations all over the Rands. We educated riders and passed out permits. It wasn’t quite as busy as Thanksgiving, but we still talked to and gave out over 500 permits.
We also spent three days of this hitch at the Salt Flats BLM Fire station and got certified in chainsaw usage. We learned all about the safety of chain sawing, as well as learning about various techniques. We spent the first day doing a lot of classroom work, and then moved onto actually using chainsaws on the second say. We made many pie cuts, back cuts, and made many holding blocks. It was a lot of fun and all the fire guys treated us great. On the third day we had our exam, and after we all passed with flying colors, we were federally certified to use a chainsaw. Even though we don’t use chainsaws too much in our normal work, it sure is a great way to beef up our resumes. Gotta love the SCA and BLM!
During hitch there was also two solid days of restoration in which we did some of our best work and restored four whole incursions as well as some data monitoring and updating. Steve our BLM contact also came to help us out a bit and brought us some excellent sticky buns. We love you Steve.
Then Saturday morning we woke up well before the sunrise and took off for the fabulous Kern River Hot Springs. Here we learned a great deal about how hot springs work plus all the beneficial health effects of soaking in hot springs. It was very educational. Not to mention we met four very interesting (and naked!) locals who gave us some history on the area as well as immersing us in some very interesting conversations.
It was a great hitch. The weather was great (we can feel spring approaching very quickly), and it was the birthday of our awesome crew member Abigail Brokaw. So happy 24th Abby, hope it will be great year.
As always, thanks for reading and we will talk to you soon.
Randals
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Hitch 8 [65]
February in the Rand Mountains means clear skies and 60’s- I would compare it to autumn in the Midwest, which is great because fall is much better late than never. We had exciting things happen this hitch. First and foremost, we welcomed out new project leader, Jon, to our family. HI JON! We also celebrated the birth of our beloved James Kennedy with chocolate lava cake (compliments of Ju), mandolin playing, birthday hats (made of recycled materials), and pin the tail on the monkey! We were fortunate enough to enjoy a birthday dinner with some gentlemen from the local placer mine. The gold miners showed us how to pan for gold in the Rands, made us a delicious meal, and exchanged stories with us. We awoke to a presentation on canning and all made our very own jar of habanero pepper jelly! The Rands crew completed a lot of great work this hitch and will be relocating to the other side of the Mountains for the remainder of the season---hooray for Joshua Trees!!!! The hitch ended with a rendezvous through Death Valley National Park, accompanied by the 4 other crews, for a desert conference in the town of Shoshone. The conference allowed us a nice opportunity to further educate ourselves on pressing issues within and around the areas that we are working. The crew was also able to visit a date farm (and enjoy date milkshakes) as well as submerging ourselves in the local hot springs! All in all, we’re trucking along- continuing to learn and appreciate one another as well as our surrounding environment.
Hi mom!
Peace and lentil sprouts,
Alex
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All-Corps [75]
This hitch was not like any other hitch. No, this hitch, we took the might of the Rands Crew and combined it with the powers of the other DRC crews (Boners, Owens & Golden Valley) and headed down south to go help Wild Corp in Blythe, Ca. Yes, it was an all corps hitch!
Before getting to the work part, I believe that food is more important. At AllCoprs, there was some major cook-downs going on. At 5pm, the day was not over. Oh no! Each crew would head back to the cook tent and prepare their special meals. There were different categories of meals to be prepared:
Things you can eat with your hands between bread
Seitan worship
Breakfast for dinner
Crew favorites
Crew members rushed from kitchen to kitchen, filling their bowls up and maintaining a high cholesterol level.
To welcome the Ridgecrestian crews, WildCorp brought us to a nearby river where we all swam and splashed around. The next day though, stuff got serious and everybody headed to 'The Dune' where most of us got stuck in deep sand. After 3hours of digging trucks out, we got to the work sight where we began fence work, and a killer hill climb. We finished the hill climb after 2days of fire lining rock bags to the incursion.
We headed back to the Rands and discovered that keeping rain pant in one's backpack is way more useful than keeping it in out tents. The wind was crazy and setting up our tents was a tough task. This was the 1st rain in the Rands since september 2011. We kicked ass and completed 2 incursions in 2days work (and a few hours).
We also welcomed our new Project Leader. Jon is now going to be leading the Randsies. Our new P.L. plays fiddle and mandolin, which we all know are instruments that kick ass. We are now the musical dominant crew.
Jack leaves us, but we will remember him and especially his Seitan Shepard's Pie, which looked more like a stew. Farewell Jack.
Rands.
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Hitch #6: A New Year, A New Friend, and New Adventures! [81]
Well it’s 2012 and what a start to the New Year it has been.
After a long and restful holiday break we all returned to sunny California, tired, but ready to get back to work. We were welcomed back in the grandest fashion, a way that only the fabulous California could offer. After our chilly couple of days at home in the east, we returned to sunny skies and 75-degree weather everyday. O California, how lovely you are.
The weather however was not the only exciting part about getting back. We knew that in a few days that the most awesome Rands Crew would be getting a new member, making our team complete. The anticipation was high, and it made the first few days of work very difficult. Not to mention, we were also faced with an incursion like we have never seen before. It seemed to stretch for miles, over hill after hill. There is no other word to describe it besides monstrous. But like the professionals we are, we got to work right away, even without our beloved project leader Mr. Fahey, who was out of the field for various reasons. The five members worked hard and worked with a purpose, knowing that if we wanted to defeat the beast, we would have to be on the top of our game. Day 5 rolled around and it seemed like we had started to tame the beast, but this was the day in which the new member was supposed to arrive. We worked hard knowing that our attention might be focused away for a while, while we got to know our new member. We returned to camp after feeling good about the incursion, and found our beloved Mr. Fahey along with our stupendous new team member, Lauren, waiting for us.
We spent the night getting to know each other, and the next day we got the privilege of showing Lauren around the fabulous Rand Mountain recreation area. We went on an excellent early morning hike with provided great views and landscapes, and then made our way down the notorious Cohen Lake to have a picnic lunch. While there a curious fellow in a green station wagon stopped by to say hello. His name was John and he happened to be the lead technician of the nearby rocket testing facility. We spent some time talking to John and his two loveable dogs, Chewy and Spock (most likely referring to Star Wars and Star Trek). He even showed us some of his rockets and gave us a demonstration on how the rocket fuel burns, creating a very cool light display.
We returned back to work the next day, and gave Lauren a small tutorial on what we do and how we go about doing it. However, we soon realized that our help wasn’t really needed because Lauren was a natural. She caught on right away and did some great work. With the addition of her and Mr. Fahey, our team was complete and the Rands Crew had a renewed faith that we would be able to slay the mighty beast before us. Three days later the beast was tamed. No longer was the incursion visible from anywhere, no longer would any OHV’s be driving over the vast openness that once was, and no longer would the Rands Crew ever be afraid of an incursion again.
The hitch ended on a rather high note and with an epic adventure, leading Ju and Alex to climb a heaping mountain of trash to retrieve our lost toilet seat (don’t ask). Nevertheless, it was a long hitch as usual, but also as usual the Rands Crew succeeded once again and is more than ready to move on to whatever challenges await us in this New Year. Not to mention we are all super excited about Lauren, which there is no doubt will make an excellent addition to our team.
Happy New Years, and see you soon,
Rands
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Hitch 5: Four Wheel Freeride and a Frosty Wake-up [100]
Hitch number five marks that last work week before our holiday break.
We were graced with the comforts of home for several nights because the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) spent time training us how to ride ATV’s. It was nice to gain perspective into the OHV (off-road highway vehicles) community, and feel what it’s like to operate that type of vehicle.
As for some brain activity, we discussed and created art together. Each of us designed a piece from the nature that surrounds us. These art creations were constructed to last a short amount of time and will remain in the desert until the natural elements (such as wind, rain, sun, ect.) ‘wash’ them away. Each of us did a great job. Jack also took us on an educational adventure to the Burro Schmidt tunnel which runs through the El Paso Moutains. The 2,000 foot tunnel was hand built by William Henry Schmidt in the early 1900’s. Polenta pie (pizza with a cornmeal crust) and tomato soup was a crew favorite.The box that we get each week from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) was filled with color!----kobocha squash, oranges, aruglua, sweet potatoes, pears--so much deliciousness. We continuously have a nice time adventuring learning, and concocting recipes together.
The weather was chilly in the field. We woke up to frost upon the earths surface and it made me think of how comfortable we’ve all become with our surroundings. We’ve nearly made it half way through the season. At this point, we’re all cozy with one another- we’re past the careful phase and are becoming much more intertwined as a group. The desert is an interesting place. My personal skepticism for the landscape has finally escaped me. There’s something special here. The sense of freedom that a human being gains while spending time in such an open space. It’s the perfect place to learn how to balance your life--to spend time alone with our thoughts and then share yourself with others. The ecosystem is much different than what we’re all accustomed to. You’ve never turly seen the sky, in all its grace, until you’ve spent time in the desert. The way the clouds move as the sun rises over the Rand Mountains--and how the early mornings provide just enough silence and solitude to prepare for the day. And the sunset, behind the El Paso Mountains, provides a sense of gathering and celebration as the night sky begins to glitter with stars. There’s no other experience that compares to this.
The hitch ended with a sweet and savory treat- chocolate covered bacon bars!!!-- and lots of music sharing for our holiday travels.
Wishing you all warmth and joy this holiday season from the Rands Crew.
Peace and Carrots,
Alex
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Randsburg, Pinata and the Santa Ana Winds [108]
Hitch four got off to a very exciting start for the Rands Crew. The first two days were spent doing outreach to Off Highways Vehicle riders. For many of us it was our first exposure to OHV users and quite the cultural experience. We passed out maps and permits to educate the riders about staying on designated routes and the area of critical concern. The area of critical concern is the area most highly populated by the endangered species, the Desert Tortoise in the Rands Mountains. The crew were able to explore new parts of the Rands during the outreach and get a better grasp of their management area. Two lucky Randies (Ju and Alex) got to take a helicopter ride and get an aerial view of the Rands.
After the holiday weekend was over and most of the OHV riders had headed home, we set out into the field. It was warm and sunny the first few days but as the week went on the frigid northern winds picked up. The crew experienced our windiest hitch yet and with any luck the windiest we’ll experience. It was heard that this was the highest the winds had been in the last twenty years and that it was blowing in from Santa Anna. As the winds picked up the crew worked on (with a couple dozen layers of clothing of course)! Although it can be very difficult to carry a large pile of sticks, which act as a sail, while the wind is trying to blow you over. At night we hunkered down in our kitchen tent playing UNO and discovered our new favorite crew meal…Tempeh Ruben Sandwiches! Mmmm. Thousand Island dressing and sauerkraut! Delicious! Jamie saved our lives one terrifying evening. Now out of the field and back in our home with walls we are proud to report that we restored four incursions this hitch. To break that down into numbers we restored a total of 700 square meters and planted 125 vertical mulch plants. The Randies are happy to be home but excited for next hitch, especially for our ATV training, when we finally get to take to the desert trails. Another highlight of our hitch was crew member Ju’s 23rd birthday. In celebration there was pizza, deliciously made red velvet cake, and a homemade desert tortoise piñata (complete with batted eyelashes, a psychedelic shell, and of course, Ju’s favorite dessert… candy)!
Till next time!
Love,
The Rands Crew
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Hitch3 : Another one in the Rands [116]
Pre-hitch planning and food prep got started with some concern about our fellow corps members that were late-returning from a Death Valley camping weekend. None the less, tortilla making and bread baking was underway in our kitchen; members were hard at work (baking) in hopes of getting out in the field later in the day. We had some new menu ideas for this hitch: foods like kimbap, carrot soup, and cookies (they turned out delicious unintentionally from a new found recipe!)
Our late arriving team members showed up around 3pm. We all decided a good night’s rest would benefit us all before leaving bright and early the next morning.
On day two we arrived at last week’s same camp site where we dropped off our gear and went straight to a prior incursion that we had prepped last hitch. Both excited and motivated we got the incursion completed in a span in 3 hours and couldn’t wait to do more. Right down Road 65 we had an unexpected surprise waiting for us.-A long, hard, rigorous and jaw-dropping hill-climb. This job needed lots of work! There were many rock walls and water bars as well as chevrons; we all looked at one another, jumped into action with no hesitation. While Jack was off retrieving a CSA box we had our heads in the game, really working the project. Little did we know Jack was bringing a surprise visitor back to camp upon his return.
As we thought the project was wrapped up on the lower section, we soon learned there was more to do; we had just begun. Crew members were both hard at work on the top of the hill digging into what appeared to be almost solid rock, while others were putting the finishing texture touches on the lower half so there were no longer any traces of off-road vehicle paths. In the middle of our efforts, we heard loud yelling and saw someone jumping up and down on the middle of the hill. Apparently, a crew member spotted a large tarantula making its way over to him. Soon there was a rush of crew members crowding around the unexpected creature trying to study it.
Later in the evening we all found something to do in our off time waiting for our new guest.
When Jack returned with our Program Coordinator, Darren Gruetze, we greeted them with a great field desert of chocolate covered bananas, dried fruit and nuts.
The next day at work Darren and Jack led the charge on the other side of the hill that turned out to be steeper, longer and a lot more rocky than the prior day. We had to all take out berms and disguise the scars that were the result of over-use by off-highway vehicles. We worked on the other side of this incursion for the remaining time of our hitch. It was great to realize that after this hitch we had a few days off for Thanksgiving break!
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Back to the Rands for the First Time [118]
First hitch in the Rands! Better late than never. :-)
We started our first day with some exciting lectures at the BLM office. We learned some really cool archaeological and biological facts about the areas we (Jawbone and Rands) are to work in. Desert tortoises pee as a last defense! Old glass has bubbles in it and trash that is more than fifty years old is considered historic and is to be protected. Go figure! Also had some AMAZING pizza. Grateful shout out to the BLM for a great time! *shouts out*
Pre-hitch was banged out pretty quickly due to a wonderfully efficient crew. Go Randies! Food preparations went off spectacularly. Smoked Granola Especial and the Peanut Butter Brothers' Special Peanut Butter. Did you know the PBBs put 10% whale in every one of their products?? Whoa! Dolphin substitute for the gluten intolerant of course! OF COURSE!
Day two was our first real day in the Rands and was it amazing or what? Beautiful views of the sun setting behind the mountains were probably my favorite. Colors I never even thought possible, cloud formations only the most creative artists could imagine… I should have been born a poet. Or an artist. At least that way I could somehow convey the beauty of sunsets in the Rands. Our first dinner was Gratin, prepared by our lovely crew members Alex and Louis. It was a nice way to start off our wonderful week of tasty dinners. DELICIOUS!
So, let's get down to work, shall we? In total, we have restored SIX incursions. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I said SIX! Pretty darn good for the Randies' first hitch. We have busted our butts de-compacting 1268.81 square meters of OHV caused dead space and filling them in with beautiful creosote bushes. And some small bushes of various species. How many bushes you ask? One hundred and… THIRTEEN! Yes! One One Three! That's a lot of bushes. All joking around aside, we Randies have learned a lot about how various biotic and abiotic elements of nature come together to form an entire landscape. Yes, we need to pay attention to the size and species of vegetation. But we also need to pay attention to the spatial patterns, the soil type, and much more. Restoration in the bottoms of washes was avoided since it would just be washed away. Gravel was moved into the incursion to blend it with the surrounding landscape and we were careful not to take too much dead vegetation from any one plant. The work was hard and sometimes monotonous but it was well appreciated by the crew. The most rewarding experience was probably when we came back to finish up on an incursion and had a hard time finding it. Let's face it. The Randies are just too good at our job.
All work and no play makes the Randals a very dull crew. The Randies also like to party. Can you say "Star Party"? The Rands Crew and the Jawbone Crew met up at Red Rock Canyon for an awesome Star Party. Ted, an astrophysicist with a really big telescope, taught us about lots of constellations and let us look through his telescope. The moon has craters…. within… ready for this? CRATERS! There are craters in craters in craters people!!! We also saw Jupiter and a couple other planets, as well as some galaxies like the Milky Way. It was a fun way to end Day 3. It was a bit cold though… not as cold as later on in the week, however. It got pretty darn cold as the week went on and some of us were glad to have brought extra sleeping bags.
Well, now that I've exhausted my vocabulary of all its adjectives, I bid you adieu. Stay tuned for more blogs about the Randies!
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Rands’ Hitch One in Angeles [127]
Holy smokes. What just happened? The crew just got back from our first hitch and it was a doozy. Due to a tenuous funding situation as a result of new regulations regarding government grant contracts, the Rands crew could not legally begin work in the Rands by the start of our first hitch. In lieu of a regular restoration hitch, the seven of us drove down to Angeles National Forest to volunteer in some invasive plant removal.
The Angeles Forest was badly burned in 2009 by a wildfire that swept across over two thirds of the park and threatened homes on the northern edge of the metro Los Angeles area. Much of the tree cover is scorched and only low brush is coming back in a big way. One of the most resilient plants is the Spanish Broom (spartium junceum). The problem is that this plant has no business living in Southern California. It hogs resources such as water and sunlight and tends to out grow and outcompete everything in the area, threatening the plants that naturally live here and support the diverse ecosystem.
The task before us was essentially to cut down the tall thin stalks of the brooms and then dig out around the root structures until we had freed the roots to the point where we could pull the whole thing out with a weed wrench -- basically a large lever with a gripping vice at the end. It was hard, arduous work, but with every plant we pulled out we got a great feeling of satisfaction and progress in the face of such a mammoth undertaking.
We did manage to have a great time this hitch despite the odd nature of the trip and the uncertainty of our futures. Our hill top campsite was beautiful, surrounded by enormous big cone douglas fir trees and lit up by the strangely beautiful view of the sprawling city lights below us at night.
We even had the dubious luxury of spending a couple of nights in an empty fire barracks on the far side of the Forest. One little wrinkle in our plans was that the area we were living and working in is also home to a nefarious plant called poodle dog bush (turricula parryi). The plant is covered in tiny hairs that attach themselves to animals (such as humans) that walk by; contact with which purportedly causing a nasty rash comparable to poison oak or stinging nettles. There were a few crew member encounters with the bush causing us to treat the ‘patient’ with Tecnu lotion/all purpose cleanser and heading back to the barracks to shower and run laundry. As of two days since hitch ended, nobody broke out in a bad rash, so it looks like we made it out unscathed.
Midway through the hitch, we received word that our funding had come through and that we would in fact have a season. We celebrated with cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream and dancing (well, I danced). We finally returned home to Ridgecrest, stopping off at a farm stand where I experienced my first fresh coconut water straight out of the nut. Or is it a fruit? Anyway, it was delicious. We hammered out a successful post hitch cleanup and then everyone went out for sushi. Can’t wait for our first hitch in our true stomping grounds, the Rand Mountains!
Jack
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Twenty Two Days of Randal [135]
-- Fast Five and Septoberfest --
The story of the 2011-12 Rands Crew has begun in grand style. The six volunteers converged on the desert from all ends of the Western Hemisphere on the thirteenth of September and got right into the swing of things. The crewmembers introduced themselves and moved into their rooms; then we started the long and exciting process of getting to know each other and creating this community we’ll all share for the next nine months.
Once everyone was settled, we headed out into the Rand Mountains for a few nights to get acquainted with our new home away from home away from home. We had fantastic weather, camped out under copious stars at night and hiked around during the day. We even discovered a new recipe while we were out there; gado gado – the corps favorite composed of stir fry in a spicy peanut sauce – only now served over pan fried potatoes. It was a big hit and is sure to be repeated throughout the season.
We also got some solid work done, including ratifying our crew’s community contract and learning about our vehicles and the norms of camp life. Who knew you had to be taught how to go to the bathroom in the desert?
After our first five days of orientation, we all packed up our tools and gear and headed up to Great Falls Basin for corps member training. All the DRC crews were in attendance; the Ridgecrest crews of Owens Peak, Golden/Grass Valley, Jawbone, and the Randals, plus Wildcorps came all the way up from Yucca Valley to join in the fun. The crew members were trained in DRC field operating standards, off road 4x4 driving and constructive community dynamics. Then began a nine day course with Aerie EMT trainers to certify the members as wilderness first responders (and CPR!).
After those intense seventeen days of camping out and training together, the crews came together to share another minute together and come together in a sweet and stinky group hug. At that point, each crew packed up camp and scattered to the winds to begin their seasons for real.
Jack
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Jon Hallemeier: Project Leader [143]
Woot! Back in the mojave.
I am a former corps member, having spent the 2010-11 season living it up in the Owens Peak Wilderness. I'm happy to return as a Project Leader and expand my knowledge of the Rand Mountains and continue my exploration of the southern Sierra Nevada and the various ranges and basins to the east. I also look forward to many more nights of sleeping under the stars and living a life filled with breathtaking sunrises and sunsets and wonderful people.
To the crew: Thanks for having me!
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James Kennedy [146]
Hello, my name is Jamie Kennedy and I am very proud to hail from the great state of Ohio. I recently graduated from Ohio University down in the little ol' town of Athens (woohoo #1 party school!), with a degree in Political Science. However, somewhere along the line I realized that I am far too smelly to ever go into politics, so I decided to take the complete opposite path and move out to the middle of the California desert. Besides, I really hate wearing ties....Anyways, I am really excited for this experience, and I really hope to meet some other smelly cats out there in the great California wilderness.
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Louis Waters [149]
I want to serve the land to do something that has a true meaning and that will affect next generations. The world seems to be going down the tubes, and by joining, even if what we do on the crew is not nearly enough, it is something that can make others realize what a mess the place is and that thy too should get down to work. I also am doing it for personal development.
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