Monday 8.24.09: The Desert

A long, mellow day. We had an early morning training in GPS navigation, which is hella cool, and talked about safety in the field and at camp, what to do if you get lost. Our evening patrol was mostly water drops, driving over bumpy-as-hell roads to spots near heavily-trafficked trails, marked as a "waypoint" on our GPS navigators. We didn't run into any migrants, but one of the water drops was pretty well-drained. We walked back and forth between the car and the trail, carrying jugs of water in both hands. Toward the end we split up in two groups and hiked through a canyon lined with cacti that had huge stems growing out of the top. Every few feet, Sofia cried out:

"¡Amigos y amigas! ¡Nosotros voluntarios de un grupo asesor humanitaria! ¡Tenemos agua, comida, y atención médica! ¡Gritas si necesita ayuda!" (Friends! we are volunteers with a humanitarian aide group! We have water, food, and medical attention! Yell if you need help!)

But nobody answered. I saw a sock, some bottle caps, a backpack and sweatpants next to a water drop. No people. Late morning and noon was hot, but an afternoon monsoon cooled things off. It was lovely by the time we went on our hike. Tomorrow: 6am patrol.