Zero contact
by Mark Guider
In some ways I’ve been preparing for this pandemic for 10 years. When I bought my van in 2010 my plan was to have the ultimate road trip vehicle, a vehicle that would provide me with total independence from civilization. My goal was not to isolate myself from society, but to give me the ability to go anywhere I wanted and to spend some amount of time in that location while having all of my needs met. These trips were likely to be made primarily in pursuit of the things that I am most passionate about, exploring the wilderness, rock climbing, and photography.
Until recently the greatest limitation that was placed on my ability to stay “off the grid” was my lack of a refrigerator. My dependence on ice, or cooler packs meant that I had to seek civilization every four or five days in order to keep food cold. I adapted to this limitation by consuming mostly non-perishables. Late in 2019 I finally purchased a 12volt refrigerator and quickly realized that my single deep cycle auxiliary battery was not sufficient to meet the demands of the new fridge. In January I purchased two solar panels, and two new deep cycle batteries. This would allow me to not only have more energy storage, I would not have to rely on my engine running to charge the batteries as I had in the past.
Cue the pandemic. As the news of the growing threat of the CoronaVirus became more dire, and the date of my long anticipated Spring Break loomed closer, I was faced with an ethical question. Could I responsibly travel without posing a threat to others or myself? The answer lie in the yet to be installed solar panels and batteries. Eliminating the need to visit grocery stores during my travels was the key. This, combined with the careful selection of destinations and pay at the pump gas-ups could (I believed), eliminate all human contact during the trip.
I set to work on the improvements to the van. I worked for roughly five days, cutting, drilling, soldering, and fabricating. Nothing about this installation was “plug and play”. I was finished two days before my planned departure. No time for a test run, it would be baptism by fire. Street Photography was out. This would have to be a solo trip of exploration, and a bit of landscape photography.
By the time I was on the road people in the US were finally starting to take the pandemic seriously, and almost all campgrounds in the country were closed. This led to several surprise access issues, and finding solitary and legal places to camp was more challenging than normal. I was alone everywhere I went. The new solar power system worked perfectly, and I ended up with enough supplies to stay out for a week longer than I did. I had to cut the trip short due to closures by the Navajo Nation, but I must respect their wishes. I had no human interaction or contact during the trip. The closest I got to another human was at a gas station, approximately twenty feet away. I look forward to the day we can all travel freely again. Stay well.
Locations; Arizona , Nevada , California.
