The Trail-Part 1

*The following is an adventure story full of thrills, sudden plot twists, and daring rescues. I would advise caution in reading this, it is not for the faint of heart.*

Today, I have decided to share a story of a trip I took when I was involved in a scouting program in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the time I was a 15-year-old apathetic young adult with no idea that in nearly a decade I would be where I am now, greatness and dexterity flowing from my very being.

Pictured: Dexterity and Greatness

It might surprise some of my readers that I was once a boy scout, traversing America's wildernesses, sailing dangerous waterways, shooting high powered weapons, and tying knots.

Actually...mostly just tying nots

As a scout we often got opportunities to go on "high adventure camps." One of these camps we went on was to Death Valley, a land of beauty...and death.

A great amount of death

If you ask any 15 year-old how they would enjoy spending a week I can assure you that trudging around a deserted, barren wasteland while the sun slowly drains them of life would not make their short list. The morning of our trip we packed the 10 boys of the troop along with 4 adult leaders into two vehicles. It is important to note that the first vehicle was a high clearance Astro Van that sat 12, had great power, and was well-equipped for the terrain.

The second vehicle was mini-van that had the clearance of a skateboard and about the same powering mechanism. 

"Make it Ollie dad!"

We drove for an hour and a half before finally arriving at the turnoff for our destination. At this turnoff was a gas station which symbolized the last real civilization before the plunge into Death Valley. To call this gas station "bizarre" would be an understatement. In front of the gas station was an animatronic display of miners that put on a little show. The show consisted mainly of the miner in front swaying a pan back and forth while he appeared to urinate on it.

After our troop took in the amazing performance we piled once more into the two vans and set out at a brisk pace into the frontier. For those who don't know this area, it is home to some of the best hikes and natural wonders in the world. It is also very very dangerous and many vehicles end up getting stranded by going off road. One wrong move in the sweltering heat of this desert and a fun vacation turns into a nightmare rapidly.

"Hey dad, are we there yet?"

The first day we mostly hiked about on the natural rock formations, explored a cave, and even went down inside an inactive volcano. But that night was when the real adventure happened. To set up the story the road in Death Valley is a gigantic arc shape as shown on this map.

At the end of the evening we were at Furnace Creek and the plan was to camp out near the Death Valley Scenic Byway. As you can tell this would require making our way back around the arch which frankly to a group full of men with intelligence, and a general natural sense of direction...seemed dumb. 

"Roads are a bunch liberal malarky, Tom"

One of the scoutmasters seemed to recall being able to take a trail across 20 years earlier, however my confidence in his statement was thin due to the fact he had spent the entire trip saying, "Are we in Arizona right now?" We drove for another 30 minutes further down away from the arc, until he stopped us and expressed in a confident tone that this area appeard to be where he had crossed previously. 

"Seems a bit overgrown since the last time we came through"

No one really objected to literally driving vans across a desert which just shows we probably all deserved to die. So we set out on "the trail" travelling at a leisurely pace.

To Be Continued...