Desert Hiking - Camping in the Desert

PICKING YOUR CAMPSITE

To help preserve your own sense of wildness and that of others, choose a campsite out of sight of other campers and hikers. If you've been following a trail, move a couple of hundred yards away from it, and use rock outcrops, low ridges, or brush to block the view in that direction.

Avoid campsites near rock piles, old buildings, pack rat nests, or other piles of debris. These are favorite sites for rodents who may decide your presence signals a free dinner, and worse, for rattlesnakes who feast on the rodents. Insects are also more common in such areas.

Don't camp near desert water sources unless you can't avoid it (in a narrow canyon, for example). Animals usually move to water at night, and your presence may prevent them from getting a much-needed drink. In addition, the area around springs and natural water tanks tend to be overused. In Arizona, there's actually a state law that prohibits camping near a spring. Consider, too, that mice and other camp robbers are more numerous near water.

Learn to dry camp. Camping dry will open up many superb campsites, such as rimrock areas, ridges, and even mountain peaks. To avoid having to carry a heavy load of water all day, plan to pass a reliable water source during late afternoon. Pick up enough water to camp and to reach the next reliable water source the next day. Start looking for a campsite whenever you feel like it and camp wherever you like.

Camp on ground that resists damage. Sand, gravel, and rock ledges are excellent choices. As tempting as it might be, don't camp in desert flower fields or meadows during the wet season. Also, avoid cryptobiotic soil.

You'll want a reasonably level tent or bed site, but don't excavate one. You may be able to find small level sites on the uphill sides of trees or boulders.

If rain or stormy weather threatens, pick a well-drained campsite. A gentle slope, or slightly dome-shaped area keeps water from pooling under your tent.

Look for absorbent ground, such as pine needles (there are trees in many desert mountain ranges!), sand, or gravel. Never dig drainage ditches around your campsite—this outdated practice causes too much damage to soil and slow-growing vegetation.

Never camp in dry washes or drainages below the flood level, even in apparently stable weather. Heavy rain falling miles away can turn your camp into a deadly torrent with very little warning. At best, you'll lose all your gear, and at worst, you may lose your life.

In warm weather, you may wish to site your camp so it is in the shade as long as possible in the morning. In cold weather, you'll probably want the sun to hit your frosty tent or sleeping bag as early as possible. Check the direction of the sunrise on the first morning of your trip, then site your later camps appropriately.

Before leaving, restore your campsite to the natural condition it was in before your visit. Carefully look for bits of litter and gear you may have dropped or forgotten. Use a dead piece of brush to whisk over your tracks.

GO WITHOUT FIRE

Campfires are part of the wilderness experience for many hikers. Unfortunately, fires should not be part of the desert experience—there simply isn't enough wood. A responsible hiker should not build fires with scarce wood supplies. Land managers close some areas to campfires.

During periods of high fire danger, campfires may be illegal. Before your trip, check with the agency that manages your hiking area to see if any fire restrictions are in effect.

KEEPING FOOD FROM NIGHT VISITORS

Avoid heavily used campsites when possible. At these sites, camp-robber animals are used to humans and their food. Your arrival is the ringing of the dinner bell. At one desert campsite, a large, fearless skunk greeted my friend and I within minutes of our arrival. He walked right up to us as we were laying out our groundsheets, and it seemed to us that he had "Feed me!" written all over his face. We picked up our packs and hiked for another hour by headlamp rather than spend a sleepless night fending him off.

Never feed wild animals. Human food is not good for them, and they become dependent on handouts. Then they start to seek out human food and become camp robbers.

If you have trees in your campsite, hang your food sacks

from a 10- or 15-foot high tree limb, if possible. The foolproof technique is to divide your food into two equal sacks. Use a stone to toss the end of a piece of nylon cord over the limb well out from the trunk, then tie half your food to the end. Pull the food up to the limb, and then tie your remaining food sack onto the cord as high as you can reach. Stuff the excess cord into the food sack, then use a stick to push the second sack several feet higher than your head. The first sack will act as a counterweight and descend a few feet, but it should remain at least as high as the second sack. In the morning, use a stick to pull down one of the sacks. This method is successful against most animals, even bears, if the sacks are at least 10 feet above the ground. However, any height you can achieve is better than leaving your food on the ground.

If there aren't any trees, look for a couple of boulders you can use to support a length of nylon cord horizontally.

The top of a single boulder can support a horizontal hiking stick or branch, extended into the air on one side. Weight the end of the stick with stones or jam it into a crack. Next, hang your food bags from the projecting end.

A party of three or more hikers can use walking sticks to make a tripod by lashing the tops together with cord. Since mice and other rodents can easily climb the sticks, hang your food bags low enough to be well away from the legs, but high enough so that animals can't jump onto the sacks.

If there's nothing at all to hang your food from, then you may have no choice but to leave it in your pack. Close all the plastic food bags to minimize odor, but leave the stuff sack open. Leave all the zippers and closures open on your pack, so mice won't chew a hole trying to get in. With luck, you'll only lose one or two of the more enticing items in your pack. Actually, if you camp in areas with little use, chances are you won't be bothered at all. Truly wild animals are very shy about approaching a human camp; usually you won't have problems unless you camp in the same site for several days.

BREAKING CAMP

Everything you carry into wild areas, you must also carry out.

At home, repackage your food into resealable, zipper-locked bags to minimize the amount of trash created on the trip.

Never bury food scraps, packaging, or any sort of trash. Animals will dig up anything with a food odor, and in the dry climate, trash lasts just about forever.

Never burn trash in a campfire. Many packaging materials contain thin layers of aluminum, which do not burn in even the hottest campfire. Like plastic, it fuses into small blobs. Old fire pits scar popular camping areas and glitter with bits of aluminum and plastic. In addition, some plastics give off highly toxic fumes when burned.

Carry out trash left by others. This is especially practical toward the end of your trip when your pack is light.