Arizona's Monsoon

June 22, 2015 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

According to legend and myth, the great “Thunder God” roars during the summer months in Arizona. Many of us do not find this hard to believe if we have experienced a severe and violent thunderstorm in the Apache Junction-Gold Canyon area during the summer monsoon season. The lightning, thunder and winds will convince the non-believer these storms can be dangerous and violent. Our summer monsoons are just around the corner. They usually begin in early July.

According to legend the great
“Thunder God” roars during the summer months
 in Arizona.

During the summer months most of the storms over central Arizona and the eastern portion of the Superstition Wilderness Area result from warm moist air flowing in from the Gulf of Mexico and sometimes from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez). As this air mass moves across Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico it is dried out some. Mountains force the warm moist air upward forming clouds that eventually release their moisture as they rise. This is known as “orographic life.”

These massive anvil-shaped thunderhead clouds that form over Superstition Mountain from July to September normally combine both orographic lift and convectional activity together. Convectional storm clouds result from the rapidly rising and expanding warm moist air and the rapidly falling cold moist air. It is during this convectional activity that lightning is generated. The uneven heating of the earth’s surface causes convectional activity in the atmosphere.

Lightning can be caused by the attraction of unlike electrical charges within a large storm cell. The rapid movement of ice and water molecules, going up and down in a thunderhead cell, creates friction that results in enormous amounts of static electricity being produced. A single lightning discharge can produce about 30 million volts at 125,000 amperes. A discharge can occur in less than 1/10 of a second. The results of a lightning strike can be horrific.

The rapid rising and falling of warm and cold moist air also creates violent bursts of energy. This type of storm activity can result in microbursts. A microburst can develop winds that momentarily reach up to 200 mph. As the clouds build and combine they form massive anvil-shaped thunderheads called Cumulonimbus clouds.

These clouds are massive static generators dispersing lightning and creating violent winds. These summer storms can be extremely dangerous and violent.

These giant thunderheads dominate the sky above Superstition Mountain during the monsoon season and the lightning produced by these storms over the Mountain can be spectacular.

According to most sources, the safest place during a lightning storm is in a non-grounded automobile. Don’t make yourself part of a lightning rod during an electrical storm by standing by a lone tree or on a high point. The use of your telephone during an electrical storm could be your last conversation, depending on the circumstances of a lightning strike. The same is true when connecting to the Internet during a violent lightning storm or thunderstorm.

Standing near or in a swimming pool is asking to meet your maker. Boating on a lake during an electrical storm is certainly risky behavior. This kind of activity could certainly reduce your chance of living to old age. Common sense needs to prevail during severe thunder and lightning storms.

Most Arizona monsoon storms are associated with two other dangerous conditions. They are flash floods and dust storms. A thunderstorm can dump three to ten inches of rain over a small area in an hour and create a massive flash flood. A flash flood near Payson, Arizona in the 1970’s claimed the lives of twenty-two campers along Christopher Creek. Many years ago I witnessed a four-foot wall of water roaring down Queen Creek claiming trucks, horse trailers and horses. This flash flood resulted from a thunderstorm in the mountains no one saw coming.

Huge dust clouds are often associated with Monsoons storms in the desert. Local weather reporters often refer to our dust storms as Haboobs.  Actually, Egyptian dust storms that blow in from the deserts of North Africa are known as Haboobs.

Dust storms are extremely dangerous to vehicular traffic along our state’s highways. Extreme caution should be taken when dust storms are encountered. It is recommended that motorist pull as far off the highway as possible and turn off your lights. While waiting a dust storm to blow over don’t rest your foot on the brake pedal. Your taillights or brake lights might attract drivers in the storm who might think they are following you.

If you’ve ever witnessed a violent electrical storm over Superstition Mountain it is not difficult to see why the early Native Americans held this mountain in such awe. We can partially explain the phenomena today with modern science, but the early Native Americans could only look to their religious shaman for an explanation. It certainly was their “Thunder God” with all it fury.

We, as late arrivals, should also respect the awesome power of these primitive peoples’ “Thunder God.”

Surviving the Desert in Summer

June 15, 2015 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

Summer is here and temperatures will soon be soaring above 110 degrees F and a review of some summer survival techniques might be appropriate at this time. Each summer we read or hear about a tragic death or deaths resulting from dehydration, exhaustion or sunstroke occurring during the hot summer months on the Sonoran Desert. These summer deaths could be prevented with the proper preparation and training.

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

Now, if you insist on going into the desert during the summer months when temperatures exceed 160 degrees F. on the ground and the air temperature is around 110 degrees F., you need to consider some other basic rules of 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 summer time.

When a family or group of four go trekking into the desert with their four-wheeler, sand buggy, ATV 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 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 he or she has chosen. I would like to believe a reasonable hiker or horseman wouldn’t find themselves in a remote desert setting during the summer months. However, that is not the case. Each summer Search and Rescue teams pull dehydrated hikers out of the Superstition Wilderness Area. Some succumb to the elements of the summer heat.

The next thing one should consider is their method of travel under extreme desert conditions, whether it is by vehicle, horseback or afoot. Surface temperatures can reach 180 Degrees F. on a hot summer day. Temperatures three or four feet above the ground may be only 110 Degrees F. depending on the color and texture of the surface. Dark colored material can increase your body temperature by thirty to forty per cent on a hot day. The best clothing to wear is clothing that is loose and reflects the suns rays and heat. The best color of material is always white.

If you are hiking, you also must protect your feet from extreme ground 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, insects and even an occasional mine shaft or prospect hole.

Vehicle operators often go into the desert during the hot summer months not giving a second thought to the operating conditions of their vehicles.

Tragedies can be caused by a flat tire, broken fuel line, dead battery, or a punctured oil pan in the summer time or just simply running out of fuel. 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 in sand can save your life. A vehicle will do better in sand if you lower the air pressure in the tires.

Of the many deaths of illegal immigrants trying to cross the border between the United States and Mexico, more than sixty per cent of those desert deaths resulted from a vehicle becoming stuck in the sand or high centered on a rock. A large percentage of victims perished from the over extension of their physical capabilities.

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

No situation is hopeless if 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 to 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 from the air or from a distance.

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 the situation. Staying with your vehicle is very important. It is much easier to spot a car than a human being on the desert from the air. 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.

These 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 in the desert if you don’t have proper lighting. Cactus spines, venomous animals, mineshafts, and pits are just a few of the hazards you could encounter while walking 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. 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.

Also, I would like to make comment about leaving children or pets in a car in the summer time. If the windows are rolled up they will suffer from heat stroke or die. Most people would break out your windows to rescue a child or pet left in a hot car. Think about that when you are shopping in the summer time 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 sometimes, what do you think it will do to your pet’s feet?

Think about the heat at all times when you are going shopping during the summer months and you may save a child or pet’s life.

Desert Flash Floods

June 8, 2015 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

As I rode northeastward toward Miner’s Needle Summit from the old Quarter Circle U Ranch that day, the furthest thing from my mind was a flash flood. I had ridden these draws and canyons of the wilderness for many years. I knew heavy rain could produce dangerous flooding conditions. But this particular day my mind was not on rain, flash floods or blizzards. This was April and it seldom rained in the mountains this time of the year. Most severe flash floods occurred during the summer months from late June until mid September.

In just minutes, a desert downpour can create a raging river like this one in Queen Creek Canyon.

 On this particular day I was checking the water sources at Bluff Springs, Charlebois Springs, Music Springs, Trap Canyon Springs and White Rock Springs. This would be a long day, it was very hot and very humid. The sky was filled with cumulus clouds, but they certainly didn’t look threatening in any manner. Actually it was quite unusual to see clouds like these this time of the year. The winter rains ceased around March and things dry out until the summer rains.

My boss wanted me to check all the main springs and see if they needed any repair work before it really got hot on the desert. The first spring I checked was Bluff Springs. When I arrived I found the concrete tank filled with water and there was a continuous flow of water from the spring up under the cliff which meant the pipe was not leaking or was not broken.

I then rode down Bluff Spring Canyon trail to La Barge Canyon. I checked the concrete tank at Music Springs and found a lot of sand and silt in it. I spent a couple hours at the tank scraping out as much of the debris as I could with my hands and a small Army shovel I had tied on the back of saddle.

After I finished my job at Music Springs I rode on down to White Rock Spring. The water was plentiful there. The Cottonwoods were leafing out and ready for spring.

From White Rock I rode back up La Barge to Charlebois Spring and checked the concrete tank and pipeline. Everything was working fine and the system was delivering water to the concrete tank. At this point it had been a long day on horseback from the Quarter Circle U Ranch. I rested a few minutes and looked up into the huge Sycamore trees that surrounded the area. It was then I first notice the heavy dark clouds gathering to the southeast. I thought momentarily, this is April not July. I still wasn’t really expecting any rain.

I climbed back into the saddle and rode back up La Barge Canyon toward Music Springs and Trap Canyon. Riding along the trail in La Barge it began to rain. All of a sudden the raindrops were huge. I put my slicker on and was able to stay somewhat dry and warm. The rain pelted me for at least thirty minutes as I rode up La Barge toward the outlet of Trap Canyon. I wanted to check the water source at Trap and then head back to the ranch. As I crossed La Barge near the mouth of Trap Canyon I notice the flow of La Barge was increasing rapidly.

It was at this point something in my psyche told me to get out of the canyon. I immediately turned my horse around and rode through the rapidly rising water to the opposite side of La Barge Canyon. All of a sudden I could hear the roar of water and the tumbling of rocks that sounded like a freight train coming down the canyon. The roar of the water and rocks was deafening. As my horse climbed the bank on the opposite side of the canyon the mass of water and debris roared by.

I was one lucky inexperienced cowboy that day.  As I sat there and pondered my life-threatening experience I realized cowboys had to think for themselves quickly if they were to stay healthy in the occupation. My time on the old Quarter U Ranch was a well-earned education I will never forget.

This flash flood down La Barge Canyon took out huge Cottonwood trees and even altered the course of the streambed in many places. This was the first actual flash flood I had witnessed up close. From that day on when it rained heavy in the desert and surrounding mountains I became concerned and cautious about my surroundings. Several years ago twenty-three campers drowned near Payson when they were caught in a devastating flash flood.              

As I rode over Miner’s Summit on the way back to the ranch that evening I thought about my experience in La Barge Canyon. The storm had raged, then became a drizzle and before I arrived back at the ranch it had completely quit raining and the sky had cleared. You couldn’t tell by looking at me that I had been through such an experience.