Now I lay me down to sleep
Where’s the best place to make camp after a long day of hiking? That wash looks inviting, it’s flat and easy to smooth out. It would be easy to pitch the tent or park the RV. Plenty of space for other vehicles. The kids could play in the sand. Sounds good doesn’t it? But wait a minute, let’s think about this and use some common sense.
If it rains hard enough, water will come down the wash taking out everything in its path - tents, RVs and vehicles. Yes, I know that it doesn’t rain that often in the desert. But, are you willing to bet your life that even though it’s sunny where you are, that it’s not raining in the mountains with a flash flood headed your way in the middle of the night?
There have been too many instances of people injured or killed when a flash flood surged down the wash where they were camped. This happened to a Kingman family I know while camped in a wash near Alamo Road.
There are other reasons not to camp in washes besides the possibility of flash floods. If the temperature is cold, the wash will be the coldest place because cold air sinks to the lowest elevation- the wash bottom. It’s noticeably warmer on a sidehill than in the wash bottom. Also, a tent is no match for the cold humid air that will emanate from the wash.
Be aware of what’s at your selected campsite. Are there abundant cow patties, overhanging rocks, cervices that can harbor snakes? While backpacking in the Ruby Mountain Wilderness Area of north-eastern Nevada, my wife, daughter, dog and I selected what we thought was a great camp site. We pitched the tent on a flat spot at tree line and cooked dinner. We noticed there were a lot of cow patties but didn’t think much of it. After eating dinner and telling stories until our daughter got sleepy, we crawled into our sleeping bags with Cinnamon, our terrier, at our feet. In the middle of the night Cinnamon started growling and then barking. Was it a bear? I scrambled out of the tent with the dog. In the dim moonlight I could make out a small herd of semi-wild cattle charging up the hill. Cinnamon raced ahead while I threw rocks to try and stop their charge. The cattle backed down a short distance and then charged again. This back and forth continued until I realized this was a no-win situation and gave up. We had to move our camp and quickly. We were in their spot and they weren’t going to leave us alone. While Cinnamon kept the cattle at bay, I threw everything into the tent and carried it like Santa’s toy bag to a new spot.
Looking for a camp site while backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, California.
Selecting the best campsite in the wilds requires some common sense and considering more than just ease of setting up a tent or parking an RV. Is temperature a consideration? If it’s cold, try to find a level spot above wash level to stay away from the cold humid air. If heat is a problem, a ridge might be better so hopefully there’d be a breeze. Are there rock crevices that might hide reptilian neighbors? If you want the morning sun, camp on the east-facing slope of a canyon. If you want to sleep-in, select the west facing slope. And never forget the hazard of flash floods, even if the sun is shining.
If setting up camp after dark, be aware that there are critters that aren’t active at night and might pose problems in the daytime. Pitching a tent on top of an ant’s nest could be exciting and painful when the sun comes up.
When camping in bear country, don’t eat or wash dishes at your campsite and be sure to get rid of all food smells from your person. Have a separate area so that the smells won’t attract bears or other animals to where you’ll be sleeping. On a backpacking trip with friends I was awakened in the middle of the night by my friend calling for help. We were sleeping under the stars. My friend was deep in his bag, curled up in a fetal position with a raccoon on top of the bag trying to get at the smell he’d neglected to wash off his hands. Living off-the-land in a practice-survival mode, we’d boiled crawdads for dinner. He thought the racoon was a ferocious beast and hoped the sleeping bag would protect him from being mauled. It was quite some time before we let him live down that experience.
Use common sense when selecting a campsite. Consider all factors; safety, convenience, animal neighbors and most of all, wash your hands. Raccoons are fierce animals when trying to claw through a sleeping bag.
