This hitch was the grand finale of our epic Jawbone experience. The beginning of hitch 14 started with a farcical adventure into the Rand Mountain Management where we were using our GPS devices to monitor plants that the BLM had planted a few years ago. Unfortunately, almost all of the plants were no longer in existence and it was hard to even find the living ones.
After a day of frustration and confusion, we went to an undisclosed location in the Sierra Mountains to conduct an archaeological survey with two archaeologists from the BLM. There is an obsidian source not far away from where we were. Obsidian is a volcanic glass that, while very brittle, can be pounded to make an edge so sharp that even today it is used in a variety of surgical tools. There are thousands of years’ worth of obsidian flakes scattered through the canyon where we were, along with a variety of different artifacts. We helped survey the area for these artifacts and recorded information about them.
On Day 4, we finally got out to Jawbone to prepare for the final All Corps event. The whole Desert Restoration Corps showed up to do work in Sage Canyon. Sage Canyon is one of the few places in Jawbone that has running water year-round. There is a grove of cotton wood trees there, a meadow with tall grasses and a few pinyon pines. Back at camp the DRC ate good food, played music and had dance parties. One especially popular item at the event was an organ brought by the Rands crew that was draped in christmas lights. After three days of work together, it was time for us to part ways with restoration work in the desert. All Corps marked the beginning of the end of our time in the DRC.
-Andy
