Where to begin ?

[HOOSIERau]

I need to make a confession ...........

I'm beginning to spend an inordinate amount of time on this treasure forum. Too much of anything is not good, but I just cant help it ! I will venture out in the spring and do research in Indiana. I will take my kids, because I know they are interested as well. The treasure is in the fun of the hunt, and the search for history.

I, however, would love to get the chance to look for S/S out West as many of you do. As a newbie (and I am sure there are plenty of them on here) I have been lucky to hear the words of many a wise person here .... Old Dog, desertmoons, rangler, shortstack and more. The first step should be research. One should not just go out and start wandering off in the desert. I would guess that's why some don't come back !

My question: If you were a newbie and wanted to get a bit more serious. (and certainly not divulging any locational info)

1) Where would you begin your search for treasure signs (state, range) ?
2) How many people would you go with ?
3) How would you go out ? (horseback, ATV, RV, commute ?)
4) What is the best time of year to do so ? (I have heard about the unbearable heat at certain times, some times as "snake seasons", and only certain times for the right shadows)
5) How do you prepare for the dangers ? (snakes, critters, traps, prying eyes)
6) Is this something you can do for a week or 2 a year on vacation or is it more prudent to wait for retirement

I know many of you are seasoned and these things are just "understood", but I would love to know the differences in how all of you vets do what you do.

 

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[Shortstack]

Hoosier:
The answers to you questions have literally filled VOLUMES of books. But, I will try to get you started. I'll explain a few things as if you are a totally inexperienced city slicker, so if you are an experienced camper, please excuse some of these comments.

Never, never, never forget the 5 most important items for survival in a life and death situation are these:
1--water
2--water
3--water
4--shelter
5--food

The first 3 items MUST be safe to drink and are listed first and foremost because a person can live for several DAYS, maybe a week or 2, without food, but only a couple of days without water before your body starts to shutdown. When dehydration sets in, your brain starts misfiring and when your kidneys shutdown you're dead in a few hours.................if your feverish brain hasn't led you off of a cliff first.

Now, that pretty well covers the basic BAD things. You need to concentrate on learning how NOT to let them happen and experience is usually the best "trainer". I went through aircrew survival school at Fairchild AFB, WA in the month of December...........about 25 years ago and I'll tell you; what I learned could not have been gotten from reading a book.......or a DOZEN books. Being in the Boy Scouts as a kid, I had read "the book" anyway. LOL That old Boy Scout Manual is one of the best survival guides there are. At least the ones printed BEFORE about 1963. Those later ones are pretty pictures and that's about all. Get yourself a good survival guide and study it good. Then practice. Have you ever camped out in the woods? If not, start in your own back yard. Either literally in your backyard or in a local state park. You could practice building a small campfire in your yard and even cook a meal on it then practice how to PUT IT OUT COMPLETELY. Forest fires are started every year by stupid "campers". Learn how to build that campfire and get it going to produce a bed of HOT coals for cooking. Don't depend on using just matches. Get a metal match and learn the safe way to use them, too. Pay attention on how NOT to use matches.......including that metal match. The metal matches are made with a concoction that includes phosphorus and that stuff can BITE you if you don't respect it.
Maybe, I should have started off with this next tip, but.....................if you or your children have any allergies or chronic illnesses such as diabetes that require specialised medicines and care; you will HAVE to plan around that. Figure day trips, ONLY, into the countryside. Finding all of the "signs" in the world won't mean a thing if you are in the middle of a diabetic seizure. Or worse yet, one of your kids. You can still enjoy a heck of a lot of country exploration even with possibly debilitating health problems, but get your doctor's guidance and allow extra time and "workarounds" when you do.
Practice your hiking skills in the state parks close to where you live. You can build up your stamina by walking around the block a few times each day. If your job is mostly inside work, you must build up that stamina before going into the bush. Your kids, too. Too many couch potatoes in the country today.
Take a family vacation in the state that interests you and plan to explore THEIR state and federal parks using the established trails and practice using your compass on THOSE trails that are marked. DO NOT leave those marked trails. Learn from the Rangers in those parks. They are highly schooled and skilled in the local wildlife and fauna. Ask them how you should act if you come onto a bear or big cat somewhere along the trail. They may chuckle a bit, but when they see you are serious and not trying out a comedy routine, they'll get down to explaining just what to do. Pay attention to the rest stations and emergency stations that may be along your hiking trails. If the trail is not classified as a "wilderness" trail, there should be basic rest stops somewhere along it.
Again, NEVER go out cross country unless it is with someone you KNOW is experienced at such exploration. As a tenderfoot explorer, you could EASILY get lost. Even experienced backcountry folks get "turned around" sometimes, but THEY know how to find their way OUT of that. (moss grows on all sides of a tree, not just the north.)
Get a good topographic map of the state park area you'll be learning in your state and a good compass. Learn to read that map and use that compass in that park area. Every mark on that map MEANS something and can be very useful in different places. Learn how to look at a topo map and visualize how that terrain looks in "real life"; based on the gradient marks on the map. Learn the difference between the markings of a hilltop and the bottom of a pit. Learn how a fast rising hill (or bank) looks on that map as compared to the easy climbing slope.
I'm going to stop here. As you can tell, there is a lot to learn, but it is easy enough to do. Just study as much as you can do in the comfort of your home or local library. Practice some of the basic skills in your own backyard. Then take day trips hiking in a state park near you. Build up your knowledge base as well as your "wind" BEFORE going out west. Find out when the best time for exploring the area you want to visit may be. Some areas are best in the summer others in the fall or spring. You do not want to go to the southern half or Arizona in the summer. Nor the Colorado Rockies in the fall..............................or Los Angeles at ANYTIME. couldn't resist that.

 

[Old Dog]

first off let me update your map here.
Another trail that should be on there and probably will never be accepted is marked in red.
My partner and I spent almost 30 years figuring this one out.

 

[Old Dog]

Hoosier,
SS has given some good advice, but there is another thing I would ask...
In your heart of hearts if you have decided to take this hobby up,

Please be sure to advise someone where you will be for the time you are hunting.
Don't deviate from the schedule and be back when you say you will.
I know this sounds tough, but it is a die hard rule when you are just beginning.
This country is very hard for the ones who choose to live here and do this for real.
It can be twice as hard on those who visit and try it without a guide.

Give me a call and we can work out a way for you to see some of it as safely as possible.
Please. Especially where the kids are concerned.

 

[Springfield]

first off let me update your map here.
Another trail that should be on there and probably will never be accepted is marked in red.
My partner and I spent almost 30 years figuring this one out.

Looks a lot like one of the fur trappers' routes ca 1820-1840.

 

[Old Dog]

It is monumented from both ends and all the way though the mountains.
the rout is partially followed by Highway 141 from Whitewater Co South,
the route changes direction and cuts just above Monticello Utah before it turns south and goes just above Flagstaff.
When it all is covered it pretty much is a classic Kenworthy type trail.
It follows all the rules as they are outlined in his books (for the most part)

 

[Springfield]

It is monumented from both ends and all the way though the mountains.
the rout is partially followed by Highway 141 from Whitewater Co South,
the route changes direction and cuts just above Monticello Utah before it turns south and goes just above Flagstaff.
When it all is covered it pretty much is a classic Kenworthy type trail.
It follows all the rules as they are outlined in his books (for the most part)

Well, most trails are (or were originally) monumented, no matter who used them. This is certainly true for the fur traders - I would say a large number of old monuments (cairns, carvings, dolmans, etc.), if not most, attributed to the 'Spanish' are in reality trappers' markers for trails and their numerous fur and equipment caches. These guys were literally everywhere in the southwest and rocky mountains for decades or generations before white settlement occurred. This stuff was well documented.

Kenworthy wrote a number of intriguing books embraced by many, yes. I don't consider Kenworthy an infallible source of information. For me, the discussion does not end with the mention of his name.

 

[HOOSIERau]

Great info guys !!! Keep it comin'
The nearest desert to me is the dessert on the table and the nearest snakes are trying to date my daughter !!
If out there OD, I would not miss the chance to have you show me a few things. I have a friend in Ogden, UT that might want to go check some things out with me.

I saw a "Lost Dutchman" YouTube clip the other day and a guide had a big stick with bells on it. I am assuming that this was to alert the snakes to you by sound so you can hear them rattle

Hoosier (city slicker)