[quote=NightHiker it's probably too much to hope that most of them will be able to extrapolate anything more from it than "oh wow, they call it Death Valley for a reason" [/quote]

I assume that was a dig at me... but mainly I was trying to avoid attacking every decision she made. I mean, she lost her kid. watched him die in front of her, over 4 days. i think that's a pretty good lesson there. she doesn't need me to critique her from my couch.

Anyway, to answer some of the questions... I grew up in SoCal, about 4 hour drive to Vegas. We (my family and I, then myself with friends) made that trip dozens of times. Always along the interstate. Even then, we usually carried 2 quarts of water, and some sodas, in case we broke down along the highway. I-15 is pretty well traveled, so I was never worried about being too far from someone. Plus, Baker and Barstow are pretty much equidistant between Vegas and the greater-LA metro area.

I've also camped in Joshua Tree and Anzo-Borrego. Rule of thumb was one 2.5gallon water bottle (from the supermarket) per person, usually for 2-3 day average trip. Obviously multiple bottles if longer than 3 days. These camping trips were all car-camping, so weight wasn't so much an issue. I doubt I'd ever want to hike there (though I hear part of the Pacific Crest Trail runs through desert) and carry my own water.