What a sight it was to see. A convoy of five of our SCA-branded Dodge work trucks, four pulling trailers, driving toward a designated rendezvous destination. They were filled to the brim with enough gear, tools, and food to supply our four weathered, valiant, and battle ready Ridgecrest Desert Restoration Corps crews for The Battle of All Corps. Ordinary members of society looked on in awe as we passed by civilization on our voyage. Our objective was simple: convene with our allies, Wild Corps, at our base camp near the Big Marias. Once there, Wild Corps informed of us of our plan of attack, which included fencing and restoration, our specialty. We had 30 plus warriors battling against the forces of illegal off road routes, also known as incursions. We were to complete an existing fence, and restore four massive hill climb incursions. We learned that our course of travel to the battlefield would be intense and push us to the very edge of sanity. The work was to be severe, the sun beating, and the wind thrashing.
After our debriefing, we split forces and each crew assembled camp. Afterward, the leaders of our corps executed a scouting trip to see the things we were up against while corps members participated in activities to distract the mind of what was coming the next day. The day was full of laughter, hugs, swimming, and fun, for it was the first gathering of the corps since training. That night, we feasted and shared stories of the last three months of adventures and triumphs.
The next three days challenged the corps. The desert threw almost everything it had at us. On the first day, the sand halted several of our work trucks before the work site and shredded one tire. The second day was full of intense restoration and the completion of a post and cable fence. The third day, we were battered by extreme winds and one long hill climb. We all joined forces to form The Rock Brigade, a fire line of more than thirty people moving rock from the gathering site to the restoration site. We prevailed and executed every detail of the plan with absolute precision. ‘Merica! The last day of All Corps, camp was broken and farewells were exchanged. We were to return to our normal work areas for the remaining duration of our hitch.
Jawbone greeted us with the most stunning and beautiful rainbows one could ask for, but not without windy, wet and cold weather to go along with them. However, the Boners pushed on. We completed two incursions along SC44 and moved to the last incursion of polygon JB19. After three days of work the crew returned home to re supply and prepare for the next hitch. ‘Til next time!
-Josh
