Always tell a family member where you are going. What time to expect you back. Take a good prospecting friend along in case one of you get in trouble. Always take a cell phone along. Plan ahead get to where you want to prospect at sunrise and leave when the temp reaches 100 degrees. Take plenty of water, a hydro pack, a good wide brimed vented hat. take your time and don't over do it. Always check under trees and bushes for snakes, they will be looking for shade to cool off just like you will be doing. Carry a bucket with you to bring back samples to work at home, this way you can tell if you need to come back to the same area. NEVER OVER DO IT !!!!!!!. YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK !!!!!! HEAT STROKE WILL KILL !!!!!!!
I can see your both desert prospectors. My partner and I made the mistake of going in at the wrong time of the season. We experienced desert lighting as well as extreme temps. We ended up setting up a tarp then digging a hole so we could put our legs in were the ground stayed cool. It was so hot that you could not and did not want a cold beer just water! We did come back with some horny toads for the kids and a new respect for the desert.
If you can be on location as the sun rises, you can get maybe 2 hours in before you need to be back in your truck. A good summer plan is fill a bucket or 2 of prime material to take home for processing. Sometimes real early in the morning after a good rain it is cool enough. Oli and I have a spot at a much cooler higher elevation, but with gas prices it is costly to get there. Especially with Oli's big diesel rig. Every time I see that truck it looks bigger.
