Topic: Why You Should Always Carry Tools . . .

[FrankB]

. . . In this case a large multi-tool with needle-nose pliers.



Once we got the bigger-than-a-golf-ball sized cholla ball off her leg (using 2 pieces of wood so as not to crush it and make things worse with little spines going everywhere), I had to pull about 8-10 of barded spines out one by one with the pliers.  They get stuck in there pretty well, enough to rip the skin on the way out, so those little tweezers that come in a first-aid kit sure wouldn't grip well enough.

Otherwise, it was a pretty nice day out at the Cactus Garden off Old Kane Springs Road in Anza Borrego on Saturday.  The wildflowers are pretty sparse at this point, but the cactus flowers are starting to come in nicely.







The ocotillo are blooming nicely in many spots too.



It did get a bit warm, though.



[Of course it wasn't really 125F out there - I think Nissan really screwed up the placement of the temperature sensor on the Xterra.  I think it's somewhere near the front grill.]

A few more pictures in http://frankbaiamonte.smugmug.com/So-Cal-Explorations-Day/Anza-Borrego-Cactus-Garden-Mar/.
   
   

[JFanaselle]

Ouch, doesn't look pleasant! It does look like a fun trip, sans the cactus attack.

Reminds me of the recent Bradshaw run, when Brian (sorry, don't know his screen name) came back from a short bathroom hike in the AM and asked if I could help him out while handing me a pair of needle nose pliers:

Why You Should Always Carry Tools . . .

Same deal, those suckers were DEEP in his skin. Require a ton of force to pull them out. Pretty sure his came from one of these:

Why You Should Always Carry Tools . . .

[Toro]

I had to take some of those out of my shoe and thought how painful it would be to pull them out of your skin.

[Ghost65]

Nice pictures Frank and Joe!

If you look closer in Joe's photo, you can see the little "golf ball" sized death stars littering the ground around some of the cacti.  That is reason numero uno not to wear flip flops on a run in the desert. 

The photographed culprits are actually referred to as "Teddy Bear Cholla" as a result of their furry, but un-huggable appearance.  The spines are covered in a barbed, paperlike sheath that makes removing the spines so tedious.

[addseo1119]

I think so.