2010-10-09: Yuha Desert BorregoFest Prerun

[BorregoWrangler]

We discovered new trails, explored old legends, and marveled at the history of the land and its people.



It started out great!

But didn't end as well as i had planned...



My full write-up is here: http://johnandautumnsadventures.blogspo ... ofest.html

And we'll still have pics from everyone else who came along, so stay tuned!

[dionysius]

Sorry to hear about your jeep. It was a beautiful day, great day to get out and explore.

Denis

[OLLIE]

Damn John... Looks like a great run with a very crappy ending. Hope it gets fixed before BorregoFest. Great write up on the history of the area.

[Willie H]

Where was that sign? Thats pretty cool!

My afternoon got kind of interesting after we parted ways. The short-round version goes like this...

I stopped to air up about 20 feet from the 98, right across the Crucifixion Thorns South Bound turn off of the 98. Airing up took about 15 min, once again the $49.00 MV-50 worked like a champ and didn't shut down! Just as I'm packing the compressor up to pull back on the highway, a late model F-350 with a bed, and a trailer full or hay stops right in front of the trail head. My initial though was trouble, but as I pull out they drive moved out of my way. I noticed the rear right tire was destroyed on the trailer so I pulled in front to see if I could help out at all. As it turns out I did. They had no cell coverage, and I did. Beyond that, I was able to get a contact on the radio that was standing by to call for assistance if the cell phone didn't work. God Bless repeaters! Being such a warm afternoon, and the couple in the truck had no provisions to call for help if anything strange happened I decided to stay till their rig was back up and running. After about 45min. of waiting I notice a black speck "bobbling" in the distance due south from us. What could it be... yep, you guessed it. Another desperate soul testing the brutal Yuha Basin in search of prosperity in America. This was my first encounter with an illegal in the desert, the same for the couple in the Ford. We lightly armed our selves with a trench spade and a 3 cell mag light, and waited to see what the was going to do. The guy walked right up the truck and asked for help. No of us really knew what to do. I pointed him in the direction of the nearest water cache, and called the proper authorities to come help him. This is the part that I find funny... We saw a lot of Border Patrol activity all day. Trucks, and Air Patrol, however after making a call it was at least 45 min before we saw anyone. Meantime, a new tire for the Campo Couple showed up, I made sure they would be ok getting home and hit the road.

Has anyone else had encounters at the border?

[smslavin]

Wish I could have gone with you guys. Next one for sure. Sorry to hear about the breakdown.

Willie, good on you for stopping to help.

Glad to you guys had a good trip.

[DaveK]

Where was that sign? Thats pretty cool!

My afternoon got kind of interesting after we parted ways. The short-round version goes like this...

I stopped to air up about 20 feet from the 98, right across the Crucifixion Thorns South Bound turn off of the 98. Airing up took about 15 min, once again the $49.00 MV-50 worked like a champ and didn't shut down! Just as I'm packing the compressor up to pull back on the highway, a late model F-350 with a bed, and a trailer full or hay stops right in front of the trail head. My initial though was trouble, but as I pull out they drive moved out of my way. I noticed the rear right tire was destroyed on the trailer so I pulled in front to see if I could help out at all. As it turns out I did. They had no cell coverage, and I did. Beyond that, I was able to get a contact on the radio that was standing by to call for assistance if the cell phone didn't work. God Bless repeaters! Being such a warm afternoon, and the couple in the truck had no provisions to call for help if anything strange happened I decided to stay till their rig was back up and running. After about 45min. of waiting I notice a black speck "bobbling" in the distance due south from us. What could it be... yep, you guessed it. Another desperate soul testing the brutal Yuha Basin in search of prosperity in America. This was my first encounter with an illegal in the desert, the same for the couple in the Ford. We lightly armed our selves with a trench spade and a 3 cell mag light, and waited to see what the was going to do. The guy walked right up the truck and asked for help. No of us really knew what to do. I pointed him in the direction of the nearest water cache, and called the proper authorities to come help him. This is the part that I find funny... We saw a lot of Border Patrol activity all day. Trucks, and Air Patrol, however after making a call it was at least 45 min before we saw anyone. Meantime, a new tire for the Campo Couple showed up, I made sure they would be ok getting home and hit the road.

Has anyone else had encounters at the border?

Willie:

This post deserves to be the post of the month, if we had a post-of-the-month competition. In three important ways, it is what we are all about - helping someone in need, taking advantage of the benefits of Amateur Radio, and (of course) enjoying the outdoors. Very well done!!

[OLLIE]

Where was that sign? Thats pretty cool!

My afternoon got kind of interesting after we parted ways. The short-round version goes like this...

I stopped to air up about 20 feet from the 98, right across the Crucifixion Thorns South Bound turn off of the 98. Airing up took about 15 min, once again the $49.00 MV-50 worked like a champ and didn't shut down! Just as I'm packing the compressor up to pull back on the highway, a late model F-350 with a bed, and a trailer full or hay stops right in front of the trail head. My initial though was trouble, but as I pull out they drive moved out of my way. I noticed the rear right tire was destroyed on the trailer so I pulled in front to see if I could help out at all. As it turns out I did. They had no cell coverage, and I did. Beyond that, I was able to get a contact on the radio that was standing by to call for assistance if the cell phone didn't work. God Bless repeaters! Being such a warm afternoon, and the couple in the truck had no provisions to call for help if anything strange happened I decided to stay till their rig was back up and running. After about 45min. of waiting I notice a black speck "bobbling" in the distance due south from us. What could it be... yep, you guessed it. Another desperate soul testing the brutal Yuha Basin in search of prosperity in America. This was my first encounter with an illegal in the desert, the same for the couple in the Ford. We lightly armed our selves with a trench spade and a 3 cell mag light, and waited to see what the was going to do. The guy walked right up the truck and asked for help. No of us really knew what to do. I pointed him in the direction of the nearest water cache, and called the proper authorities to come help him. This is the part that I find funny... We saw a lot of Border Patrol activity all day. Trucks, and Air Patrol, however after making a call it was at least 45 min before we saw anyone. Meantime, a new tire for the Campo Couple showed up, I made sure they would be ok getting home and hit the road.

Has anyone else had encounters at the border?

I have to agree with Dave. Awesome post. Maybe Dave has a good idea for a new OAUSA contest too.

I have had a couple of similar illegal immigrant encounters. I've had them ask me to contact the BP to get them back across the border. I generally contact the BP then give them some water to tide them over. I have never had a bad encounter with an illegal immigrant as far as hostility goes.

[BorregoWrangler]

Where was that sign? Thats pretty cool!

That was just a ways below the overlook monument.

My afternoon got kind of interesting after we parted ways. The short-round version goes like this...

I stopped to air up about 20 feet from the 98, right across the Crucifixion Thorns South Bound turn off of the 98. Airing up took about 15 min, once again the $49.00 MV-50 worked like a champ and didn't shut down! Just as I'm packing the compressor up to pull back on the highway, a late model F-350 with a bed, and a trailer full or hay stops right in front of the trail head. My initial though was trouble, but as I pull out they drive moved out of my way. I noticed the rear right tire was destroyed on the trailer so I pulled in front to see if I could help out at all. As it turns out I did. They had no cell coverage, and I did. Beyond that, I was able to get a contact on the radio that was standing by to call for assistance if the cell phone didn't work. God Bless repeaters! Being such a warm afternoon, and the couple in the truck had no provisions to call for help if anything strange happened I decided to stay till their rig was back up and running. After about 45min. of waiting I notice a black speck "bobbling" in the distance due south from us. What could it be... yep, you guessed it. Another desperate soul testing the brutal Yuha Basin in search of prosperity in America. This was my first encounter with an illegal in the desert, the same for the couple in the Ford. We lightly armed our selves with a trench spade and a 3 cell mag light, and waited to see what the was going to do. The guy walked right up the truck and asked for help. No of us really knew what to do. I pointed him in the direction of the nearest water cache, and called the proper authorities to come help him. This is the part that I find funny... We saw a lot of Border Patrol activity all day. Trucks, and Air Patrol, however after making a call it was at least 45 min before we saw anyone. Meantime, a new tire for the Campo Couple showed up, I made sure they would be ok getting home and hit the road.

Has anyone else had encounters at the border?

That is a great post! Thanks for keeping us updated on the radios while we were out there.

As for encounters with immigrants, of the few I've had none have ever been bad. I've either given them water and contacted the authorities, or they've split as soon as they saw me.

[Zam15]

Getting ready for the next moon mission - NASA budget cuts

[BorregoWrangler]

Making progress with my repairs.









Picked up a new hub assembly. Hoping to have everything finished tomorrow.