An Often Lethal Land Of Extremes!

[HARDCORE]

Nestled near the far southern end of the legendary Golden State, rests San Diego County. In the eastern reaches of this Border area, lies a range of mountains that encompass much of the Cleveland National Forest and beyond.

Most of this region is not really a forest at all, however - at least not as forests go! It is truly an area of extremes that rises from just below sea level out near El Centro, California (to the east), up to many thousands of feet of ruged mountain range, before it again dips westward toward the outskirts of the City of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean!

The desolate region that lies between these two point, however (100 miles of scenic nothingness), is home to some of the most dangerous wildlife, quickly changing weather conditions, unfriendly terrain, and far-flung amenities, to be had anywhere in the Southwest! As a matter of fact, I doubt if this area has really changes all that much in the last 250 years since the Conquistadors first braved these barren wastes!

Temperatures in these mountains can range from ?Blood Boiling to Bone Chilling? in a heartbeat (depending upon the season)?, and this, when coupled with the Santa Ana Winds that can often reach speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour at times, has sometimes made life here a real adventure at best! So if the mountain lions and rattlesnakes don?t get you, then the heat, thirst and dehydration of the summer, or the extremely frigid temperature in the winter months just might!

And let us never forget the Hypothermia which is often a real killer up here in the backcountry, especially among the illegal aliens who trek the high country on their way to (what they perceive to be) a better life! These poor unfortunates brave the wilderness at all times of the year, and in often extreme conditions, in order to escape poverty and political persecution.

The only view, however, that most U.S. travelers into this region get is through the window of their air-conditioned or well-heated vehicles! This includes the army of vacationers and affluent travelers, not to mention the multitude of truckers who haul huge volumes of goods across country.

The reality of this area, however is quite a different matter, as those of you who have experienced any problems here have painfully learned? This includes the nearly barren mountains, the costly repairs and services, and of course, the ever hostile and weatherworn countryside. And this is a view that many a stranded traveler has compared to something straight out of Dante's Inferno!

Most people, however, when traveling over this region by air, or driving in the comfort and relative security of their vehicle down Interstate 8, see nothing over the top of their cold beverage cans or hot coffee cups, save for the outstanding beauty of nature?s domain! On foot, however, especially to the unwitting and ill prepared, every inch of this wilderness is fraught with danger and maybe even a slow, lingering death! In fact, many an illegal border crosser has learned this fatal lesson the hard way!

Frozen bodies, dehydrated corpses, and even the innocent victims of border bandits, can occasionally still be found littering the secluded smuggler?s trails, as well as the floor of an unforgiving desert. Trails of often false hope that lead from the "Poverty-Striken International Border", to the fertile farm lands of the Imperial and San Joaquin Valleys, as well as their cheap-labor hungry farms and ranches!

For what amounts to but a fistful of coins a week, as well as the promise of better times and a somewhat easier life to come, many attempt to trek the often un-trekable, be it for the promise of a poor paying farm or mill job, for illegal profit, or even out of personal folly. And many of those who dare to challenge these mountains that have stood as sentinels against the encroachment of humanity for countless millennia, quickly learn that these behemoths of stone and gravel are no more friendly today than they were a thousand years ago!

Lastly, woe be to he who takes these mountains and this region lightly, for he too may end up intombed beneath the shifting sands, or worse yet, as nothing more than a faint smile upon the jowls of a passing pack of coyotes.

And remember this, were it not for local United States law enforcement, and in particular - our gallant Border Patrol, the numbers of fatalities within these ?Mountains of Potential Death At Every Turn?, would be far greater that it is now! But then, with the exception of those hearty souls who reside hereabouts, or are intricately familiar with the area, not many who are far removed from God?s Country, or the Devil?s Den if you prefer, have any real insight into life (or death) amidst the ?Border Badlands that lay astride the International Border with Mexico!?

All that far too many of you know about this area, or that vast wilderness that rests on either side of that thin ribbon of concrete that you effortlessly drive upon, is what you read about in the newspapers or travel folders. And for the record, one could write volumes about the lack of truth or outright fantasy that is to be found within the whitewashed pages of a few of this nation?s major rags! Often, only the homogenized, pasteurized and semi-factual aspects of real life ever make it into print or beyond the cutting-room floor of many of the politically correct media establishments!

?Funny pages anyone??

VERITAS

[reconeil]

Doesn't paint a pretty picture, Buddy.

Neil

P.S. Rick,
Hope you're not planning on applying for a
a job as The Head of Tourism in your area,...
ANYTIME SOON?

[HARDCORE]

Hell Neil, tourism is often built upon a sea of lies, but truth, no matter how painful, is still truth!!

VERITAS