What to Expect on a Desert Trip
Desert Trips and Water Drop Trips can be full of change and variety. You can expect the unexpected. What follows are the basics and what usually happens.
Sign-Up
Desert trips include Searches and Water Drops. Once you have attended one of our bi-weekly meetings, you will receive our emails. The Search and Water Drop schedules are emailed twice a month. You will contact the trip leader to get on board. You can also find Contact information on this website or appended to the Meeting Highlights. However, a personal contact at a meeting or by phone is necessary.
Day Before The Trip
The driver should call you to let you know where to meet and what time to meet. Prepare as for any desert trip with a backpack, sunscreen, lunch/snacks and water for yourself. Wear long pants, a hat, walking or hiking shoes and another layer, such as a long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt or windbreaker. Clothes with Samaritan insignia are encouraged.
Trip Members
Trips have a trip leader, who is probably the driver, a Spanish speaker, someone with medical experience and another rider. Drivers have experience in safely driving a 4WD vehicle through rugged terrain; they know how to use map apps, satellite phones, GPS and SPOT emergency equipment; they are usually the ones who are experienced at interacting with migrants, Border Patrol and others.
Physical Requirements
Some Desert Searches require walking; many do not with the exception of Water Drop Trips. Water Drop Trips usually require the ability to carry 1-2 gallons of water up to 1/4 mile. Discuss this with the driver ahead of time if you have any physical concerns. Trip requirements do vary.
Restrooms are few and far between. You may need to duck behind a tree. Some trips stop for lunch but not all.
Water Drop trips follow fixed routes and usually last 4 to 6 hours; Desert Searches are more varied and usually last 6 to 8 hours. The actual length of time depends on the route and any unexpected event which may occur.
Extended Interactions with Migrants
Trips may encounter groups of asylum seekers who wish to be picked up by Border Patrol. Our practice is to wait for the pick-up. This may include food preparation and time to converse, even play with children or kick a soccer ball around. Other possibilities are waiting with a sick or injured migrant who needs emergency attention.
Supplies On Board
Search and Water Drop vehicles somewhat vary in the supplies that they carry. Here is a general list:
Water jugs and half-liter bottles
LifeStraws for drinking dirty water
Prepared food packs
Selected foodstuffs such as granola bars, fruit, string cheese, or hardboiled eggs
Depending on the season: Ice water or hot water for coffee, tea, cocoa or Cup-a-Noodles
Blankets, jackets, hoodies, beanies, gloves
First aid kit
Portable phone chargers
Mechanical tool kit
Maps and personal map apps on phones
GPS
SPOT emergency signaling device
Satellite phone
Clothing, socks and shoes
Child’s stuffed toy, diapers, feminine hygiene packets
Bear Witness
Whether or not migrants are encountered, it is important for Samaritans to be in the desert. Our job is to constantly observe our surroundings, looking for people and for items abandoned in the desert. If we find someone suffering, we offer him/her water, food, clean socks or first aid. If we find someone, it is usually because he/she is giving up or is in need of serious medical attention and may want us to call Border Patrol. We will discuss options with people we encounter in an unhurried manner. If we find identification papers, we notify the consulate. If we find a person who has died, we notify the appropriate county sheriff's department.
We make a point to converse with others whom we encounter on our trips: Border Patrol, Fish and Wildlife officers, contractors, ranchers, hunters, birders, militia and other humanitarian aid groups volunteers. These people have a range of political views; we are respectful to all. You are expected to follow the lead of the trip leader.
If you bring a camera, work with your trip leader. Always ask migrants for their permission to take a photo. Do not photograph faces that might be recognizable. It is legal to photograph or record Border Patrol agents operating in public spaces. There may be differences of opinion as to what is public space and what constitutes interference.
Sign-Up
Desert trips include Searches and Water Drops. Once you have attended one of our bi-weekly meetings, you will receive our emails. The Search and Water Drop schedules are emailed twice a month. You will contact the trip leader to get on board. You can also find Contact information on this website or appended to the Meeting Highlights. However, a personal contact at a meeting or by phone is necessary.
Day Before The Trip
The driver should call you to let you know where to meet and what time to meet. Prepare as for any desert trip with a backpack, sunscreen, lunch/snacks and water for yourself. Wear long pants, a hat, walking or hiking shoes and another layer, such as a long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt or windbreaker. Clothes with Samaritan insignia are encouraged.
Trip Members
Trips have a trip leader, who is probably the driver, a Spanish speaker, someone with medical experience and another rider. Drivers have experience in safely driving a 4WD vehicle through rugged terrain; they know how to use map apps, satellite phones, GPS and SPOT emergency equipment; they are usually the ones who are experienced at interacting with migrants, Border Patrol and others.
Physical Requirements
Some Desert Searches require walking; many do not with the exception of Water Drop Trips. Water Drop Trips usually require the ability to carry 1-2 gallons of water up to 1/4 mile. Discuss this with the driver ahead of time if you have any physical concerns. Trip requirements do vary.
Restrooms are few and far between. You may need to duck behind a tree. Some trips stop for lunch but not all.
Water Drop trips follow fixed routes and usually last 4 to 6 hours; Desert Searches are more varied and usually last 6 to 8 hours. The actual length of time depends on the route and any unexpected event which may occur.
Extended Interactions with Migrants
Trips may encounter groups of asylum seekers who wish to be picked up by Border Patrol. Our practice is to wait for the pick-up. This may include food preparation and time to converse, even play with children or kick a soccer ball around. Other possibilities are waiting with a sick or injured migrant who needs emergency attention.
Supplies On Board
Search and Water Drop vehicles somewhat vary in the supplies that they carry. Here is a general list:
Water jugs and half-liter bottles
LifeStraws for drinking dirty water
Prepared food packs
Selected foodstuffs such as granola bars, fruit, string cheese, or hardboiled eggs
Depending on the season: Ice water or hot water for coffee, tea, cocoa or Cup-a-Noodles
Blankets, jackets, hoodies, beanies, gloves
First aid kit
Portable phone chargers
Mechanical tool kit
Maps and personal map apps on phones
GPS
SPOT emergency signaling device
Satellite phone
Clothing, socks and shoes
Child’s stuffed toy, diapers, feminine hygiene packets
Bear Witness
Whether or not migrants are encountered, it is important for Samaritans to be in the desert. Our job is to constantly observe our surroundings, looking for people and for items abandoned in the desert. If we find someone suffering, we offer him/her water, food, clean socks or first aid. If we find someone, it is usually because he/she is giving up or is in need of serious medical attention and may want us to call Border Patrol. We will discuss options with people we encounter in an unhurried manner. If we find identification papers, we notify the consulate. If we find a person who has died, we notify the appropriate county sheriff's department.
We make a point to converse with others whom we encounter on our trips: Border Patrol, Fish and Wildlife officers, contractors, ranchers, hunters, birders, militia and other humanitarian aid groups volunteers. These people have a range of political views; we are respectful to all. You are expected to follow the lead of the trip leader.
If you bring a camera, work with your trip leader. Always ask migrants for their permission to take a photo. Do not photograph faces that might be recognizable. It is legal to photograph or record Border Patrol agents operating in public spaces. There may be differences of opinion as to what is public space and what constitutes interference.