Summer desert camping

[robtattoo]

These pant-shitteners......

 

[EastHumboldt]

OK… To quote a guy I know from the Internet. Nope nope, nopitty nope nope!!

My shoulder neck and chest muscles are kind of squirming just from looking at the pictures.

 

[Billogna]

These pant-shitteners......

View attachment 901609
View attachment 901610

BIG 'OL STEAMING PILE OF NOPE!!

 

[robtattoo]

OK… To quote a guy I know from the Internet. Nope nope, nopitty nope nope!!

My shoulder neck and chest muscles are kind of squirming just from looking at the pictures.

BIG 'OL STEAMING PILE OF NOPE!!

Right?!

Okay, so I think I'm squared away.

Enclosed tent is on its way, I'll be carrying at least 3 liters of water & topping that up at every gas stop.
Don't camp in low spots & sleep with boots in the tent. Check everything in the vestibule or outside before I put it on or pick it up.
Helmet inside tent, for certain!

Anyone have a rough idea of nighttime temperatures? I'm banking on over 100⁰ every day & riding mostly early mornings & late evenings with (hopefully) an indoor rest stop between 12ish & 4ish, when possible.

 

[EastHumboldt]

Nighttime temps will depend on your altitude quite a bit. I think you said August and September? In northern Nevada Nighttime temps can drop into the 50s and sometimes lower in late August and September. If we get a cold front, it might even get in the 30s. that’s great basin desert. In the Sonoran desert, much lower altitude, much warmer nighttime temps. Probably a blanket and a good woman. Ha ha, what I actually said was woobie, Although, if you can wrangle a woman, that’s handy.!

 

[COJoe]

My thoughts were that you probably want to bail out of the trip but since you made it public, you kinda have to go forward with your plans, lol. Wish you luck..... I don't want anything to do with them big ugly spiders.

 

[EastHumboldt]

You can research weather history on this site. I’ve also found them to be pretty darn accurate on forecast.

Minden, NV Weather Calendar | Weather Underground

 

[robtattoo]

My thoughts were that you probably want to bail out of the trip but since you made it public, you kinda have to go forward with your plans, lol. Wish you luck..... I don't want anything to do with them big ugly spiders.

I've considered delaying it a bit, but it's a super convenient time for me to leave the business. Kids are just back at school & nobody is taking vacations & leaving their dogs with us. Much later & I'm getting into the fall break silly season & after that, I'm hunting!

I'm honestly super excited about seeing as much as I can. I just enjoy riding around & seeing new places!

 

[Tilzbow]

I’m a lifetime western guy who’s dealt with August archery hunts during high 90 degree temperatures on an annual basis for 45 years. The last 3 months I’ve been all over the southern U.S. (including TN just recently) and dealing with 90 degrees and humidity up to 90%. All I can say is that at least in the west, when you sweat it evaporates and cools you down. Down south I sweat, get wet from sweat, drink just as much water as back home but my doesn’t cool itself down nearly as efficiently as it does when the humidity is sub 30%. My lord this southern heat is a bitch! Point is if you can handle the TN heat and humidity you can handle the AZ heat.

 

[robtattoo]

I’m a lifetime western guy who’s dealt with August archery hunts during high 90 degree temperatures on an annual basis for 45 years. The last 3 months I’ve been all over the southern U.S. (including TN just recently) and dealing with 90 degrees and humidity up to 90%. All I can say is that at least in the west, when you sweat it evaporates and cools you down. Down south I sweat, get wet from sweat, drink just as much water as back home but my doesn’t cool itself down nearly as efficiently as it does when the humidity is sub 30%. My lord this southern heat is a bitch! Point is if you can handle the TN heat and humidity you can handle the AZ heat.

Someone mentioned earlier that our 90 is your 110 & I can believe that! You can't beat the feeling of sweating, while you're trying to dry yourself off after getting a cool shower.
It's like trying to brush your teeth & eat an Oreo at the same time!

The nearest I've come was an oddball, single 90⁰ day in Western Wyoming one September. Absolutely bone dry. I'm not sure how it'll feel straddling a 200⁰ bike, on 150⁰ blacktop with 110⁰ air temperature though.

Probably a lot like a cookie!

 

[EastHumboldt]

Feels like a piece of jerky in a convection oven.

 

[Fatcamp]

Just to reiterate, by the way, I'm not doing any extended camping or hiking, this is purely a motorcycle road trip through the southwest with the possibility of maybe 2 or 3 nights camping.

Leave super early. Lots of cold fluids and electrolyte replacement. Stop early.

Treat rehydration like a job.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

Don't worry... its a "Dry Heat".

Hilleberg Akto has a setup to use the bathtub mesh inner "tent", that is what I have used to keep the critters out, stay cool at night and enjoy the stars during hot summer camping.

 

[MuleyFever]

I just about shivered out of my chair with that last photo. I'm not going back up to quote it. I don't like spiders. For some reason those little fuzzy jumping ones don't bother me though.

 

[EastHumboldt]

The fuzzy little jumping spiders don’t bother me either and I’ll even pick them up. Don’t know what the difference is, but they’re actually kind of cute. Prolly be a different story if they were the size of a tarantula or banana spider.

 

[mgstucson]

I grew up in AL, which is hotter and more humid than TN ( I have spent time there also.) When I was young, I did landscaping work in 100 plus degree heat, 90 plus percent humidity, 12 hours per day. In the dog days of summer those conditions can persist for 30 - 40 days without abatement. I have been in Tucson over 20 years now. In AL, you do drip with sweat as soon as you are out of the shower, and worse outside. The heat and insects are so miserable, most only recreate around water in the summer. When you stop sweating and skin gets clammy, you know you are in trouble and need help immediately. The big difference is out west, you are sweating more but not getting wet because it evaporates so quickly. You never get that warning that you are really in trouble. You slip into a cognitively demented state due to dehydration before you realize it. It can happen in just a few hours.

Thank goodness for Liquid IV. You should never go out without it here. Last week a relative woke up to a flat tire and texted for help early in AM, but it was already over 100 degrees. I woke up and went without hydrating or eating. BIG MISTAKE! I changed the tire, put the old tire and floor jack back in the vehicle, and nearly passed out. They went inside to get me a Liquid IV and before they came back I was sitting on the ground, back against the bumper, knees up, and head between them (I had to sit down before I fell down). It was difficult just to keep my knees up, but if I put them down, I would start to pass out. I never felt too hot or unwell until I started to get dizzy. After drinking about 40 or 50 oz's of water with Liquid IV in it, and eating a small snack, in about 20 min. I was able to stand up and drive myself home, but I was pretty well worthless the rest of the day.

We lost another poor hiker this week. Local guy, late 20's, extremely trim and fit, went on a solo hike on the edge of town and never made it back to car. I have hiked solo on that trail many times, but not in 110 degree heat. Sherrif Dept. found his car at the trailhead same day (late) and started helicopter and on foot search. Did not find him before dark. helicopter found him dead off trail the next day. Probably got confused due to dehydration and wandered off trail for a while until he sat down, passed out, and didn't wake up. He was young, trim, fit, and an experienced hiker and got in trouble so fast he could not save himself. Tragic.

 

[North of 60]

Another option for those who aren't ground dwellers may be a good hammock.. The Tensa hammock stand is nice if you have a way to carry it (vehicle) and there are no trees. Some variations Tensa has on the Tensa stand are very lightweight.

Deep South heat/humidity this time of year is relentless and unbearable...the spiders, red bugs and skeeters and hurricanes just make it worse.

And i personally prefer snakes to spiders as i can usually see snakes and know which are venomous...not so with the damn spiders.

 

[robtattoo]

Thanks for all the advice & help folks!
I'm all sorted with my sleeping arrangements now & I have a good evaporative cooling vest & good clothing.
I've got my basic route planned & I'm absolutely itching to set off now!

I'm headed out from sweaty TN ('Weather you can wear!') on the 21st & should land at my buddy's place in Colorado the next day.

My first overnight bike stop will be a spot called Glamping Canyonlands, just north of Monticello, UT.
Don't giggle, I'll spend enough time roughing it!

Moon Barrel – Glamping Canyonlands

glampingcanyonlands.com

 

[Mormegil3]

I’ve done a lot of cowboy camping in Nevada and Utah and California deserts and have never had an issue with wildlife of any sort, just sleeping in my bag on a pad on a tarp. Seems like your movements and night noises are probably generally enough to keep those kinds of things away.

 

[signing off]

Hey you might want to see Newspaper rock near Monticello. Or edge of the cedars State Park for a daytime break. Moki dugway is a crazy switchback road in that general area too. Camping on top if I remember correctly.
I heard my first elk bugle in a tent out there(not on dugway). At night. My wife had no clue what she was hearing. LOL. Her mind was picturing a girl not having a good time with young boys running the show. Out in the middle of nowhere.