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My camera shoots fascists

Just returned from a very long water drop day in the desert. Two of us schlepped 10 gallons of water between us and some food to a trail normally heavily used by people crossing the desert north of the Mexican border.

None of the various groups had been to this area in almost two months, so we expected supplies to be depleted. Instead, it was untouched. The trail had wildflower stalks, long since dead and gone to seed, unbroken in the middle of it. The slightest touch snapped their crispy-dry stems flat, indicating that no one had even walked it since the weather warmed.

This route has three "drops", places where we leave water, food, socks and, in the winter, blankets. We did find a new, though not recently used, trail that descended from a canyon and crossed the main one, so we moved an unused drop and its crate to the junction. We'll monitor that spot to see if it gets use.

Hover for longer explanations in alt text.

Two black plastic water bottles and a third bottle covered in a camouflaged piece of fabric, all lying on rocky ground. They are slung together by a strip of fabric. These are commonly carried by migrants crossing the desert and are abandoned when empty. They are sold in Mexican border towns specifically for this purpose and can be found on migrant routes across the region. They use black because it doesn't stand out as much if they have to hide. This spot is about 10 miles north of the border. Anyone walking north to Interstate 8, has another 80 miles to go across desert wilderness.
A white, plastic, 5-gallon bucket with a snap-on lid viewed from the top. Around it is dried grass and brush. It is tucked in partial shade under a desert bush. On the lid, humanitarian aid volunteers have used a felt pen to write "Comida" (food in Spanish), "Buena suerte" (good luck) plus two hearts. Buckets like this are used to protect food and socks from the elements and animals. We usually leave food that is cheap (for us to buy on a limited budget), light weight and easy for us and them to carry and high energy. This often means pop-top canned beans or soft-pack beans, tuna or other fish in easy-open containers, energy bars and electrolyte mix for the water. Socks are important because serious blisters can impede a person's ability to continue across the desert, placing them in a life-threatening situation very quickly.
A typical "drop". There is a white plastic bucket with a lid full of food and socks. There is a large rock on top to help keep it from blowing over in the wind or being knocked over by animals. There is a blue plastic milk crate overturned. Inside, six 1-gallon jugs of water fit nicely. The crate is necessary to protect them from animals who will chew through the flimsy plastic and drink the water. The crate also helps protect the bottle from UV rays which will rapidly degrade the plastic in the intense desert sun. This crate has a purplish colored wool blanket, held down by a large rock, atop it. Blankets are left in the winter because temperatures can routinely dip below freezing and the area is subject to cold winter rains that are the perfect storm for hypothermia. In the summer, the blankets can be used to soften the hard ground for sleeping. These drops are left along trails, usually at established resting places or at natural passes where the topography naturally funnels people even if they lose the trail in the dark. This is important because most migrants travel at night, both to avoid detection and to avoid the blistering summer heat. As the days heat up, we'll prioritize stocking water over everything else.
#migration#DesertAid#HumanitarianAid
May 03, 2023, 01:20 AM·Public
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My camera shoots fascists

When I go on these desert aid hikes, I usually don't have room for my big camera, so I use my phone to document what I see. One of the subjects that most intrigues me are the shoes left behind by migrants.

It is not possible to walk here without shoes. The rocks are sharp and hot and the ground is covered with thorns, the worst being "cholla balls", broken off stems of the segmented, spiny cactus that cover the landscape. I'm assuming people brought a second pair. These from today's hike were all within 10 miles of the border, I hope the replacements lasted the remaining 80 miles across the wilderness.

I find discarded shoes along trails and out in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes a pair, sometimes solitary. Sometimes obviously unusable, but occasionally still perfectly serviceable. Running shoes, sneakers, work boots, cowboy boots. All kinds. Mostly adults', but occasionally a child's shoe. I hope they all made it.

If you had to walk 80 miles across the desert, would your shoes hold up? Would you?

The torn up remains of a shoe, sitting in dead weeds on rocky desert soil.
The torn up remains of a white running shoe, sitting in dead weeds on rocky desert soil.
The torn up remains of a shoe, sitting in dead weeds on rocky desert soil. Pieces of the yellow foam padding are protruding from gaps where the shoe has ripped apart. Based on its condition and the dead weeds growing around it, it has probably been there a couple years.
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