WTI

I've been away from town for a while. I'm currently participating in a military exercise called WTI (Weapons and Tactics Instructor) You can read what it is from an old 2002 article. I'm out in the middle of the Arizona Desert. Probably the closest town would be wellton, At night it looks like it is about 3 miles out. Unfortunately things appear much closer in the desert when in reality I'm 15-20 miles away.

Speaking of unfortunate. I came across an arizona shrub, while laying fiber optic cable. Now for any of you who have ever worn sturdy pants and boots. For the most part your safe when it comes to spines, thorns and needles, but not when it comes to the Koeberlinia spinosa. This shrub is one mean sonofabitch. This plant takes no prisoners...

I was awalking down the street singing dowadiddy diddy dum diddy do.
More like in the dirt and sand...
When suddenly I feel this stab in my pants, I of course stop and look down and see this plant poking through my desert camouflaged trousers. I gently tuck at it only to feel it also is jammed deep into my leg. Now I dunno about you, but this motherfucker hurt. Now my sergeant was waiting for me to to keep going and he gave me 2 choices, either he pulls it out or me. It didn't take me more than a moment to realize "Oh, hell no!" he would all but enjoy pulling it out. Screw that. I slowly pull it out, amazed and how much of spines have gotten into my leg. Tossing it aside only to step a few feet further and get stabbed through the boot. D'oh!

Description from Link:
Armed To the hilt. These are among the sharpest of all Sonoran Desert spines!

Wish I would've known that sooner.

I should be coming back to civilization by the end of April.