On Saturday I walked the tiny migrant trails that criss-cross the desert near the border of Mexico. I was with a retired 78 year old geology professor who is trying to find and map the trails used by migrants. We walked from morning until late afternoon in dry, spiny, high-elevation desert, trying to determine what was a human trail and what was an animal trail. We found discarded clothing and hygiene articles. We found lots of tuna cans and various hydration products. We looked for, and checked places where humane organizations had left dated gallon jugs of water. We wanted to know if the water stores were used up, needed replenishing, or had been slashed or shot and destroyed. The desert has 7% humidity. A lot of water is needed to keep a human hydrated and alive here. When we found slashed water jugs (that people had carefully placed at strategic points throughout the desert), the sweet, old geologist sighed and said, "Some people are just mean". At the end of the day, I was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. And for me it was just one day.
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