(A repaired guzzler minus the Merlex)Halloran Springs, CA -- The Halloran Springs area 12 miles northeast of Baker, CA provided camping facilities for an important work group during the weekend of September 25-27. Cliff McDonald of Needles, California, and 20 of his volunteers staged their operations at Halloran Springs while they made day trips to repair five wildlife water guzzlers in the area.
What is a wildlife water guzzler, you ask? Guzzlers come in many shapes and sizes and are made of different materials depending on the wildlife population they are intended to serve. The ones in this area consist of a concrete slab that collects rainwater and funnels it into an underground tank. The tank is covered and has a sloped opening that allows animals and other creatures to walk in and out to reach the water. Guzzlers are vital to desert wildlife like deer, bobcat, coyote, cougar, quail, bighorn sheep, and desert tortoise. Most of the local guzzlers were built decades ago and over time they develop cracks and collect debris, which makes them less effective.
Cliff’s volunteers come prepared with trucks full of equipment to make the appropriate repairs. The work first involves prepping the pad. Chippers are used to clean off the old sealant and then QUIKRETE concrete bonding adhesive is applied to the cracks. Two coats of Merlex are then applied over 24 hours to seal the pad so the water runs down into the underground water tank. The tank is also cleaned out and tortoise nets are installed so the tortoises can get out of the tank.
The group assembled at Halloran Springs consisted of volunteers from the High Desert Chapter #759 of Quail Unlimited, the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep and just plain old hunters and volunteers. Some drove as many as 800 miles to be there. Coming from Victorville I only had to drive 240 miles round trip. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday we divided into work groups and headed out to the guzzlers. We even had along a cooking crew who whipped up such delicacies as eggs and elk sausage, peach and cherry cobblers, a Louisiana shrimp and sausage feed, and my own Witches Brew (kind of a cross between chili and Stroganoff). Those of us fortunate enough to be at Halloran Springs during that time enjoyed exchanging sleepy pre-dawn greetings and friendly waves as our caravans rolled back into camp at the end of the day.
I slept on the pinnacle of a hill two hundred yards above the camp on a cot. The half moon and stars were so bright it made it hard to sleep. So did Buddy (Gary Thomas' 8-month old pointer) when he came to visit me in the middle of the night. Thought he was a coyote! I ended up scaring him more than he did me and he sat there and went woof! woof! woof! who are you? You could see the Milky Way, passing satelites, Orion's Belt, and on and on. It was 105 degrees F in the day and 60 degrees F by 3 a.m. Made for good sleeping weather! The only thing bad about the trip was the old early morning dash to find a rock that wouldn't take the hide off your backside!
