Single Travel

[Jim Andrada]

I used to live in Los Gatos before moving to Tucson - had a good friend down the street who was always telling me to not wander around in the mountains between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. I never knew why he was so nervous about the hills - until another friend mentioned that long before I moved to Silicon Valley my first friend's oldest son had gone hiking in the hills with a few high school classmates and had gotten separated. They found his body the next morning at the bottom of a hill - apparently murdered for stumbling on to an illegal operation of some kind.

[Rayt]

I was walking on the dunes at White Sands with my 4x5 looking for a shot when I became disoriented. It was getting dark and I couldn’t follow the right set of footprints back to my car and dammit I didn’t have portable GPS or a trail of bread crumbs. Finally I got off the dunes onto the road to wander around holding the tripod with one hand and the camera with the other in the dark. Finally a Good Samaritan stopped and drove me around. Lesson learned.

I prefer to travel solo unless my pals are dedicated enough for the morning calls. Travelling with a non photographer is a nightmare especially the spouse. Just take the picture with the phone and let’s go. Ha ha so true. For small format street photography it is very helpful to shoot in packs. I am more inspired in a group street shoot.

[abruzzi]

I was walking on the dunes at White Sands with my 4x5 looking for a shot when I became disoriented. It was getting dark and I couldn’t follow the right set of footprints back to my car and dammit I didn’t have portable GPS or a trail of bread crumbs. Finally I got off the dunes onto the road to wander around holding the tripod with one hand and the camera with the other in the dark. Finally a Good Samaritan stopped and drove me around. Lesson learned.

If you were in the northern "Alkali Flats" area of White Sands, you can get deep and far from roads or any other landmarks. I don't head up there without some clear way to backtracks. The first couple of miles in, and you'll usually be able to use other people walking around as guides, but after that and people thin out and become few and far between.

[Tin Can]

Don't get stuck at Sleeping Bear sand dunes. It could cost you thousands.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ue/1817532001/

[Tin Can]

and watch out if stuck inside a rescue vehicle

Why Ford is heating inside of police SUVs to 133 degrees

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...at/5264453002/

[Willie]

and watch out if stuck inside a rescue vehicle

Why Ford is heating inside of police SUVs to 133 degrees

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...at/5264453002/

Why don't the just park them with the windshield facing the sun? A few years back had a Cassette tape sitting on the passenger seat and while I was inside for medical stuff it apparently got really hot in the car. When I came back out the cassette had melted on the leather seat. A real mess to clean up - had to get a shop to do a new seat bottom.

I can see it now - Global Warming tied to Police Cars idling putting out more heat than all Hollywood Car Wreck explosions combined.

[seall]

Buy a good quality compass then learn to use it and keep it on you, not in your pack.

If you are going into potentially hazardous areas get some survival training, and listen well.

The chances are if you ever find yourself in a life threatening situation without prior experience of the the same or a similar scenario your biggest problem will not just be what equipment you are carrying, it will be how you control your mind. Learn how to consider the risk of the unknown against the known.

Like what Drew said about swollen streams, crossing one may get you home wet. Or you could not cross a 2 foot deep swollen stream and stay the night on a ledge during an electrical storm getting hypothermia, consider the option carefully as the first option may get you home wet, and dead... Whilst you can prepare for hypothermia, especially if you have all night to do so. It won't be good fun trying and failing to build a shelter in a torrential downpour, burning your resin filters for heat, nor will it be enjoyable when you start to get strange and worrying thoughts then begin crying for no apparent reason, the difference is you walk or crawl out alive. All because you made the correct decision not to cross that swollen stream since you already know that you cannot gauge the force of moving water safely. There are things you can do to mitigate the dangers of crossing like sensing depth with a staff which can help you stay upright, unbuckling your beloved pack and being ready to let go of it if it's too heavy to float but that takes training and is foolish to try if you are alone and not experienced. Of course exposure brings it's own set of problems, I could write a book on some of the easily avoidable mistakes folk have made on Scottish hill areas to their own cost.

Merino wool, Drybags, Proper walking boots, Layering your clothes, bivi bag, fancy stove, all things that can help get into a situation of your choosing. Ultimately it is your mind that will get you out of a situation safely and you can fuel it with experience by reading and speaking to ex-forces personnel, survival experts, rescue teams and other very knowledgeable people who specialize in harsh environments.

If you have to exceed your own limits do so with the knowledge that you can handle the outcome.

[Tin Can]

To Build a Fire

by Jack London

Read here https://americanliterature.com/autho...o-build-a-fire

[Drew Wiley]

Jim - I briefly lived in Santa Cruz back when it was a major hub of the heroin pipeline, and the hills had lots of weird dangerous guru cult communes as well as druggie operations. One of the infamous serial killers of that era hung around the beach and even parked his VW bug along my driveway without permission, so I had to repeatedly chase him out. I had already left town when he was arrested and convicted; but there were plenty of other really spooky weirdos in the area back then. I stayed out of the woods for a good reason. That was a long time ago, back when runaway teenagers became exploited Flower Children and so forth. Santa Cruz was economically depressed. Now the place is unaffordable due to all the Silicon Valley property buyouts. And I'd be more worried about Lyme ticks in the woods than Zodiac or the Trailside Killer.