Surviving the Sonoran Summer

June 9, 2014 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

Summer is here and the temperatures are climbing. A review of some summer survival techniques is most appropriate. Each summer we read or hear about a tragic death resulting from dehydration, exhaustion or sunstroke occurring during the hot summer months in the Sonoran Desert. These summer deaths could be easily prevented with the proper preparation and training.

Living in the Sonoran Desert for more than sixty years doesn’t make me an expert on the topic of desert survival. However, I would like to pass on a few things I have learned. Veterans of many summer sojourns have died tragically because they took the desert for granted. The older we get, sometimes the more careless we become. The most basic rule of desert survival is to tell somebody where you are going and when you expect to return. This simple rule can save your life. 

 Now, if you insist on going into the desert during the summer months when temperatures exceed 120°F on the ground, you need to consider some other basic rules for survival. For each adult in your group you will need a minimum of one gallon of water per day to prevent dehydration. Yes, you can survive on a quart of water per day under ideal conditions. This means you are in the shade, off of the hot ground and not exerting yourself. Even under these ideal conditions a quart of water per twenty-four hour period will not prevent the onset of dehydration. A rule of thumb is always one gallon of water per day per person on any desert outing in the summertime.

When a family or group go trekking into the desert with their four-wheeler, sand buggy, ATV’s or family car they need to carry sufficient water for any emergency. Remember, if you are planning a three day trip into the desert and there are three adults in the group you need a minimum of nine gallons of drinking water. If you have a sufficient quantity of water your survival has been increased three-fold. Large quantities of water can be carried in a vehicle, but what about horsemen and hikers?

A hiker or horseman must know the sources of permanent water along the route chosen. I would like to believe a reasonable hiker or horsemen wouldn’t find themselves in a remote desert setting during the summer months, however, that is not the case. Each summer Search and Rescue pulls dehydrated hikers out of the Superstition Wilderness Area. Some succumb to the elements of the summer heat.

The next thing one should consider is the method of travel under extreme desert conditions, whether it be by vehicle, horse back or foot. Surface temperatures can reach 180°F on a hot summer day. Temperatures three or four foot above the ground may be only 110°F depending on the color and texture of the surface.  Dark colored material will increase your body temperature by thirty to forty per cent on a hot day. White material makes the best clothing because it reflects the sun's rays and heat.

If you are hiking you also must protect your feet from extreme temperatures. Few people will attempt hiking in the desert during the heat of the day (1 p.m. until 4 p.m.). If one must hike in the desert during the summer months it is best to hike in the early morning, late evening or at night. Hiking or walking at night does have its disadvantages. The desert is a host to a variety of poisonous reptiles and insects.

Vehicle operators often go into the desert during the hot summer months not giving a second thought to the operating conditions for their vehicles. Something as simple as a flat tire, broken fuel line, dead battery,  or a punctured oil pan could lead to tragedy. A simple flat board might serve as a platform to jack up a stuck vehicle in the sand or to change a flat. Brush placed under a wheel to gain traction when stuck can save your life. A vehicle will do better in sand if you lower the air pressure in the tires.

Before the many deaths of illegal immigrants trying to cross the border between the United States and Mexico, more than 60% of the desert deaths resulted from vehicle becoming stuck in the sand or high centered on a rock. The remaining 40% of victims perished from the over extension of their physical capabilities.

Remember, survival begins immediately, not ten hours after you have become stranded and realize the consequences of your decisions. People have worked all day in the hot sun trying to free their vehicles then suddenly realize they are in a hopeless situation. Once panic controls a person’s actions, survival is dramatically reduced.

No situation is hopeless if proper preplanning has been undertaken. As soon as you know that you are in a dangerous situation there are three basic rules for survival. One, don’t let yourself panic, Two, stay where you are, and Three, try to signal for help. 

You can build a signal fire from desert brush for immediate signaling with smoke. Automotive tires make the best smoke signal. The tires will give off a dense black cloud of smoke that can be seen for miles. You can use your car mirrors to signal aircraft. One important rule is always keep a signal fire ready to ignite if you see an aircraft in your vicinity. The international signal for distress is three shots, three fires, or three of anything that can be recognized as distress signals.

Many times an individual will not panic until the second or third day. The only control for panic is self-confidence in the fact that you know how to survive this situation. Staying with your vehicle is very important. From the air, it is much easier to spot a car in the desert then a human being, and most searches are conducted from the air.

If you decide to leave your vehicle it is important that you leave some kind of signal letting rescuers know which direction you are traveling away from your vehicle. Sticks and rocks can serve as excellent markers if properly arranged to indicate direction.

The above suggestions are not guaranteed to save your life, but they will increase your chances of survival. If you choose to walk out, try to walk during the cooler hours of the morning or late evening. Walking after dark would be the best, but there are many hazards on the desert if you don’t have proper lighting. Cactus spines, venomous animals, mine shafts, and pits are just a few of the hazards you could come in contact with in the dark.

The Superstition Wilderness Area, and other desert regions of Arizona, have claimed hundreds of lives over the decades from dehydration, exhaustion, and sunstroke. Many illegal aliens die each summer trying to cross the border between the United States and Mexico. Often summer deaths on the desert exceed one hundred human beings. Yes, the desert can be extremely dangerous in the summer months. Please use care and preplanning before going off into the desert for a summer adventure.

Finally, I would like to leave you with a comment about leaving children or pets in a car in the summer. If the windows are rolled up they will suffer from heat stroke or die. Most people will break out your window to rescue a child or pet left in a hot car. Think about that when you are shopping in the summer, even in late evening. Don’t leave children or pets in a car.

Also don’t walk your pets across a hot parking lot. The temperature of asphalt in the summer can fry an egg— what do you suppose it will do to your pet?

The Bark Notes

June 2, 2014 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

Old newspaper photo of James E. Bark
taken in Phoenix, c. 1900.

James E. Bark was born in New York in 1860 and became a prominent rancher and businessmen in Arizona Territory between 1890-1930. He first learned the printing business before he got involved in the cattle business. He arrived in Arizona around 1879 and soon became partners with Frank Criswell. He became the president of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association. Bark also was on the ballot for Sheriff of Maricopa County.

Jim Bark, as he was best known, was a man interested in lost gold mines and stories about them. He had gold mining claims up the Salt River near Box Canyon. This area was known as the Volcanic Mining District, and Bark and his partner found a little placer gold in the area, but nothing that proved significant. He also made a trip to Nome, Alaska searching for gold and ended up selling cattle to the Alaskans. Probably Bark’s greatest legacy were the “Bark Notes.”

Bark and Criswell acquired the old Marlar Ranch in Pinal County in the 1890s. He became friends with a man named Sims Ely shortly after, and Ely knew a lot of important people in those days and he introduced Jim Bark around. Ely actually thought a lot of Jim Bark and they became close friends. Both men prospected the Superstition Mountain together from his ranch in Pinal County just off the southeast end of Superstition Mountain near Willow Canyon. Today his old ranch is known as the Quarter Circle U Ranch and is owned and operated by Charles and Judy Backus.

When Jim Bark choose to talk about the Lost Dutchman gold mine people would listen. Bark was never convinced Jacob Waltz had a mine in the Superstition Mountains. He believed Waltz might have found a rich cache. Bark was a terrific storyteller. As late as 1936 he was still giving talks about the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. He gave his last public talk about the Lost Dutchman mine on December 9, 1936, for the Arizona Historical Society at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He was seventy-seven years old.

Bark moved to Pasadena, California in 1928, claiming his wife couldn’t take the heat in the valley. However, Jim Bark continued to return to Arizona to search for the elusive Lost Dutchman mine. His nephew, John Spangler, often accompanied him on these Arizona expeditions. Bark always had a story to tell those who were willing to listen.

Bark’s best-known story was the one about Jacob Waltz going into the Superstition Mountains and finding a cache of rich gold ore. Bark never believed Waltz had a gold mine. Bark was a contemporary of Jacob Waltz and many people have said he knew Jacob Waltz quite well. He always believed Waltz had found a rich Mexican cache hidden before 1847.

Bark was convinced the Mexicans had worked a rich gold deposit in the Goldfield area. When the Apaches struck and killed most of the mining party they packed up their high-grade ore and took it back into the mountains and hid it in a cave on the side of a cliff where the cache would be safe from detection. Bark searched a lot in Needle Canyon because he believed the cave was located on the west face of Bluff Springs Mountain. As a matter of fact, Bark was given credit for naming Bluff Spring Mountain. There has always been a discussion as to whether or not the mountain is named because of its bluffs or because of the buff color. Bark always said it should have been known as Buff Springs Mountain.

Bark spent several weeks of the later years of life with his nephew John Spangler searching for the cache. After Jim Bark’s death on November 8, 1938, Spangler returned to the Superstition Mountains many times to continue the search. It was at Charlebois Spring that Chuck Aylor allegedly copied the “Bark Notes” in secret from John Spangler after Bark’s death.

Spangler did not know Aylor copied the notes. Bark kept notes on all his exploration trips and always stated what he believed to be true and supporting information. Whether you agreed with Bark or not, his notes are one of the best examples of pioneer notes on the Lost Dutchman mine. Today these notes have been interpreted and re-written by different people for various reasons. Many of these pseudo-notes look nothing like the original “Bark Notes.”

Today it is difficult or maybe impossible to find an original set of the “Bark Notes”. I have in my collection four different versions of the Bark Notes, and I know where there are other versions. I am not convinced I have an original set of the “Bark Notes.”

Again, like many things associated with the Lost Dutchman mine, the “Bark Notes” are an enigma to many who have examined them.

The Lost Dutchman Gold Route

May 26, 2014 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

This plaque was installed at the Lost Dutchman Monument on Sunday, October 22, 1961, by the Don’s Club of Arizona.

Not many people remember the dedication ceremony of the “Lost Dutchman Gold Route,” stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans passing through Apache Junction on Main Street.

Bill Creighton served as the Master of Ceremonies for the event. The media reported U.S. Highway 70 would be renamed “The Lost Dutchman Gold Route” running from Moorehead City, North Carolina to Los Angeles, California.

This all came about starting around 1955 when the “great flood” hit Apache Junction. Water flowed across U.S. Highway 60-70 about eighteen inches deep and much of Apache Junction was damaged by floodwaters.

After this flood, control dikes were built north of Apache Junction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, protecting Apache Junction from future flooding. Our streets still flood during downpours of rain, but not like prior to 1955 when water would run across U.S. Highway 60-70. This was long before the freeway south of Apache Junction opened in 1991.

After the “Great Apache Junction Flood,” serious development was proposed for the Apache Junction area. First, there was the development on the north side of the road that replaced the old Apache Junction Inn. A Texaco service station went up, then there was the Jones Steakhouse and Bar that became the Lucky Nugget (burned down about 1984).

Bayless put in a large grocery store and parking lot. Then in 1959 construction began on the Superstition Ho Hotel (later the Grand Hotel). Also work began on the Apacheland Movie Set by Superstition Mountain Enterprises. All of this was followed by other development along the Apache Trail or Main Street.

This all became reality through the effort of William “Bill” Creighton. He continued to promote projects such as Geronimo Field for major league baseball. For two years (1961-1962) the Houston Colt 45’s held their spring practice in Apache Junction as the community played host to some famous baseball players including Willie Mays and others.

Bill Creighton was convinced Apache Junction needed something to get it national and international recognition. He started promoting the idea of Highway 70 being named nationally the “Lost Dutchman Gold Route.” He encouraged governors along Highway 70 in various states to rename the route. He claimed the route was the trail of 49er gold miners going to California in search of gold.

Creighton’s campaign to change the name of Highway 70 was nationally successful and the task was finally accomplished in the summer of 1961. Creighton and his committee then began the task of organizing and transporting dignitaries from Europe and the United States to Apache Junction for a ceremony dedicating Highway 70 on Sunday, October 22, 1961.

When the highway was dedicated, Apache Junction had grown and changed considerably. It was no longer a sleepy desert hamlet, but had become a more vibrant community. The Apacheland Movie Studio was up and running, Superstition Ho Hotel was open, and the Bayless store was open for business. There where other businesses active in the area including the Yucca Café, Cobbs, Ribeye, Hacienda, Apache Junction Greyhound Park, Herb Jordan’s Chevron, and many more.

There were three large cast bronze plaques designating the Lost Dutchman Gold Route. One would be placed in Moorehead City, North Carolina, one in Los Angeles, California and one in Apache Junction. The plaques were put in place according to stories.

The one placed in Apache Junction was soon stolen. Ron Feldman and Tom Kollenborn recovered the plaque many years later.  Today this plaque can be found just north of the Dutchman’s Monument at the Focal Point Center in Apache Junction.

Believe it or not, there are individuals who still refer to Highway 70 as the “Lost Dutchman Gold Route.”

These characters have to be in their seventies because the dedication was fifty-three years ago.