General Field Safety
Heading out into the backcountry goldfields can be a dicey situation for an
experienced outdoorsman and downright deadly for the stupid. The desert
particularly can be a dangerous place and if you get crazy and start to care
more about finding a $10 nugget than you do about making it home alive, you are
eventually going to get in trouble. It's important to consider and take
responsibility for your own safety when venturing out into the field.
When I go into the backcountry or even just a short trip into the desert, common
sense tells me that I should have the following:
A well maintained 4x4 vehicle with extra parts and basic tools that I am
unwilling to push beyond it's capacity to avoid breakdowns and getting stuck. I
think about how far back I am and how long it would take me to walk out.
Regardless of the time of year, I always bring more water than I could drink in
a day. I use a GPS unit to help me find my way home if I get confused. A good
first aid kit is not a bad idea either.
I bring clothing appropriate to the season, bringing a raincoat if necessary. I
wear gloves to avoid rusty metal and scorpions. I wear snake chaps well before
and after rattlesnake season. I wear sun block to avoid sunburn and sun
poisoning. I wear a good set of boots and I tread carefully and try to always
maintain an awareness of where I am at, paying extra attention on steep slopes.
A short 10 foot fall could ruin your day and take your life.
I have good hunting partners that have their heads screwed on right and don’t
take stupid chances. I don’t drink alcohol in the field and neither do they. We
almost always take more than one vehicle in case of breakdown and if we can only
take one, we only drive within a few miles of the other trucks.
These are just a few ideas and of course, I can’t cover everything. You are
responsible for your actions and your safety. Be smart, get out alive.
Hiking Safety
As nuggetshooters and placer gold prospectors we often hike into interesting
and sometimes dicey situations in the field. The desert can be a dangerous place
as it is. Add to that a motivated prospector with a modern PI. (Read that as
crazed individual with 50 extra pounds of weight on his back along with a very
sharp pick).
Hopefully he is not overconcerned about protecting his several thousand dollar
detector investment in favor of saving his butt if he should accidently fall.
Face it, a fall in the desert could kill you! It's one thing to slip on a rock
in the LSD and end up with a chipped tooth and a face full of cholla cactus.
Another thing to slip and fall 10 feet off a high steep bench to the rocks in
the wash below or even worse, slip and fall 50 feet down a steep incline where
you shouldn't be hiking and then hit the rocks below. All this in the deep
backcountry. Hope you're lucky and have good partners!
This can't be a lesson in how to hike. It's a warning. I'm a fairly experienced
hiker but definitely not an expert. I've fallen in the desert. Hard. Lucky for
me, it's been on flat ground. I know others have fallen as well. It can be a
scary thing or a deadly thing. I've also climbed in places that were extremely
steep, exposed and with a bad landing and just plain got lucky.
Think!
Be Careful!
Have a hunting partner and if solo, don't push it at all!
If you have never fallen in the desert, think about it hard and take steps to
avoid it. For me, that's mostly good equipment that doesn't get in my way and a
clear head that is willing to stop, breathe, think and consider before acting.
Always be aware of how far you could fall if you slipped and what you would hit
when you came to rest.
Make sure you wear a good pair of boots, tennis shoes don't really cut it
in most circumstances.
Always remember that you are responsible for your actions in the field as well
as the consequences and please be careful.