紐約時報:「魔鬼之路」——索諾拉沙漠公路旅行記

A drive with the devil

紐約時報：「魔鬼之路」——索諾拉沙漠公路旅行記

原文BY MICHAEL BENANAV, INYT, May. 16th, 2019

翻譯：鳳梨是只胖柯基

校閱：Yates

圖源：網絡，版權歸原作者所有

索諾拉沙漠（The Sonoran Desert），又譯索諾蘭沙漠，是北美洲的一個大沙漠，位於美國和墨西哥交界，包括美國亞利桑那州和加利福尼亞州及墨西哥索諾拉州的大片地區。該沙漠因吉拉河又稱作吉拉沙漠（Gila Desert）；由於緯度比莫哈韋沙漠低，也稱為「低沙漠」（Low Desert）。它是北美地區最大和最熱的沙漠之一，總面積達311,000平方公裡。許多獨特的植物和動物在索諾拉沙漠生活，如北美洲巨人柱仙人掌等。2001年1月17日，為了更好保護資源，索諾拉沙漠中2,008 平方公裡的區域被設立為索諾拉沙漠國家歷史遺蹟。

Road in Sonoran Desert has hypnotic scenery and a forbidding reputation

索諾拉沙漠的公路有著迷人的風景和令人生畏的名聲

While filling out a permit application to drive El Camino del Diablo — a dirt road that cuts through 130 miles of saguaro-studded desert between Yuma and Ajo, Ariz. — I marveled at the hazards it warned I might encounter along the way, including 「permanent, painful, disabling, and disfiguring injury or death due to high explosive detonations from falling objects such as aircraft, aerial targets, live ammunition, missiles, bombs, and other similar dangerous situations. I might also stumble across warheads embedded in the ground, not to mention rattlesnakes.

在填寫駛入「魔鬼之路」（El Camino Del Diablo Road - The Devil's Highway，又稱「魔鬼之路」）的許可申請時——這條土路穿越了亞利桑那州尤馬和阿約之間布滿巨人柱仙人掌的130英裡（約209KM）的沙漠。我驚嘆於申請表上警告我在途中可能遇到的危險，包括「飛機、空中目標、實彈、飛彈、炸彈等高空墜落物體的高爆炸爆炸造成的永久性、痛苦、致殘和毀容性傷害或死亡，以及其他類似的危險情況。」我可能還會在旅途中無意發現埋在地面上的彈頭，更別提響尾蛇了。

Still, I knew from a previous trip that while the Camino del Diablo may feel like a death-defying excursion into forbidding territory, it’s actually quite safe. The road — which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and passes through the vast Sonoran expanses of the Barry M. Goldwater bombing range, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument — is surprisingly well maintained, and no special skills are needed to navigate it. The scenery is vast and mesmerizing. Ocotillos sprout from arid basins, their spiky tendrils and bright red blossoms swaying in the breeze like some kind of weird desert anemone. There are sand dunes and lava flows and knife-edged mountains slicing skyward from the desert floor. Owls roost in saguaro cactuses, endangered antelopes browse sparse grasses, and bighorn sheep leap among rugged crags.

儘管如此，我從之前的旅行中知道，儘管「魔鬼之路」可能聽上去像是在進入一個充滿危險的領域，挑戰死亡，但它實際上是相當安全的。這條道路——位於國家歷史遺蹟內,橫穿巨大的索諾蘭沙漠巴裡·M·戈德華特轟炸區、卡貝薩·普裡埃塔國家野生動物保護區和管風琴仙人掌國家保護區——這條路的路況保持得非常好,都不需要導航。路邊的景色廣闊而又迷人。乾旱的盆地中長出了小仙人掌芽，鮮豔的紅色花朵在微風中搖曳，就像某種奇怪的沙漠海葵。這裡有沙丘和熔巖流，還有從沙漠底部直插雲霄的刀鋒山。貓頭鷹棲息在巨人柱仙人掌上，瀕危的羚羊吃稀疏的草，大角羊在崎嶇的峭壁間跳躍。

I went in late March, hoping to see desert wildflowers in bloom. Though it’s possible to make the drive in one ridiculously long day, it’s better to go slowly, so I took three days, camping along the way.

我在三月末去的，希望看到沙漠野花盛開。雖然漫長的一天時間開車就能穿越沙漠，但為了美景最好開慢點，所以我花了三天時間在路上露營。

A NOTORIOUS REPUTATION

索諾拉沙漠臭名昭著的名聲

The original Camino was an important trail between Yuma and Sonoyta, Mexico, and for centuries has been notorious as a route along which people die. Conquistadors, missionaries, prospectors, traders and others traversed it, beginning in 1540, usually heading to or from California. So many perished along the way, in this place that can feel as hot as hell, that it became known as the Devil’s Highway. Historians believe there may have been more than 2,000 fatalities in the last half of the 19th century alone.

最初的「魔鬼之路（El Camino del Diablo簡稱」Camino」） 」是尤馬和墨西哥索諾伊塔之間的一條重要路線，幾個世紀以來，「魔鬼之路」一直是一條臭名昭著的死亡之路。從1540年開始，徵服者、傳教士、勘探者、商人和其他一些人都經過這裡，通常往返於加利福尼亞。很多人在途中死亡，在這個地方，感覺像地獄一樣熱，因此它被稱為「魔鬼之路」。歷史學家認為，僅在19世紀後半葉，就有超過2000人在這條路上死亡。

The mythos of death surrounding the route conveys the impression that it’s a risky thing to attempt. Temperatures can surpass 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Water is scarce and hidden in tinajas (natural cisterns), tucked out of sight in rocky clefts; the evaporation rate is 40 times the average annual rainfall.

圍繞著這條路線的死亡神話給人的印象是，這是一件冒險的嘗試。沙漠裡的溫度可以輕輕鬆鬆超過115華氏度（46℃）。水是稀缺的，藏在tinajas(天然蓄水池)裡，亦或者藏在巖石裂縫裡看不見;這裡的蒸發量是年平均降雨量的40倍。

The graves of previous travelers, including those of entire families, can still be seen near the road. And then there’s the tragic story of the so-called Yuma 14, documented in 「The Devil’s Highway,」 by Luis Alberto Urrea, which recounts the doomed journey of 26 Mexicans lost in this desert in 2001, over half of whom died of dehydration and exposure.

過往遊客的墳墓，包括他們全家的墳墓，仍然可以在路邊看到。路易斯·阿爾貝託·烏裡亞(Luis Alberto Urrea)在《魔鬼的公路》(the Devil’s Highway)中記錄了所謂的尤馬14號公路的悲慘故事，它講述了2001年26名墨西哥人在這片沙漠中迷失的註定的旅程，其中半數以上的人死於脫水和烈日暴曬。

In truth, falling aircraft aside, the worst of the trail’s dangers can be mitigated by bringing jugs of water and exercising common sense. While high clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles are required, you don’t need a monster truck — I went in my 9-year-old pickup with a decent set of all-terrain tires.

事實上，撇開墜落的飛機不談，只要帶上幾壺水，並運用常識，就能減輕這條路線最糟糕的危險。雖然高軸承、四輪驅動的越野車輛是必需的，但你並不需要一個巨輪卡車-我是駕駛我那開了9年的皮卡配備一套好的全地形輪胎穿越這個沙漠的。

Still, it’s not a trip to be undertaken carelessly. You don’t want to get stuck in the middle of the desert, and if you are, you want to be prepared. Well aware that I was flouting accepted wisdom by traveling alone, I carried plenty of food and water, two spare tires and extra gas. I took comfort in knowing that if my truck did break down, I would most likely be discovered by Border Patrol agents within a matter of hours, as a substantial length of the road runs within a mile or two of the Mexican border. Here, one has to work hard not to be found.

不過，這並不是一次漫不經心的旅行。你不想被困在沙漠中，如果你被困在沙漠中，你要做好準備。我深知獨自旅行是對公認的智慧的蔑視，所以我帶了充足的食物和水，兩個備用輪胎和額外的汽油。我很欣慰地知道，如果我的卡車真的拋錨了，我很可能會在幾小時內被邊境巡邏人員發現，因為這條路的相當長一段距離裡，距離墨西哥邊境只有一兩英裡。在這裡，一個人必須很注意才不會（被邊防巡邏人員）發現。

There were several variations on the route. The shortest course offered the least water, which could have dire consequences for travelers of years past. Thirst was less of a problem on longer trails, but those risked Apache attack. Faced with this choice, some believed the safest strategy was to go the long way in the hottest days of summer, when the Apaches tended to retreat to the mountains.

這條路線有好幾處變道。最短的路線提供的水最少，這可能對過去幾年的旅行者造成可怕的後果。在較長的路線上，口渴不是一個大問題，但是有可能被印第安土著阿帕切族（Apache）攻擊的風險。面對這樣的選擇，一些人認為最安全的策略是在夏天最熱的日子走很遠的路，那時阿帕切族人傾向於撤退到山區裡去。

Traffic along the Camino peaked in the mid-19th century, as prospectors were lured across it to the Gold Rush in California. In the early 1850s, over 10,000 people, many from Latin America, made the difficult trek each year — it was during this time that the trail claimed the most lives and earned its diabolical name.

「魔鬼之路」的交通在19世紀中葉達到高峰，當時勘探者被吸引穿越「魔鬼之路」到加利福尼亞去淘金。在19世紀50年代早期，每年有超過10000人，其中很多來自拉丁美洲，進行艱難的徒步旅行——正是在這段時間裡，這條路線奪去了最多的生命，並贏得了它惡魔般的名字。

No one keeps track of exactly how many travelers the Camino sees today. The manager of the Cabeza Prieta refuge, Sid Slone, guesses that up to 1,000 people may drive its length each year. And Mr. Slone has never heard of any of them dying in the desert.

沒有人知道每年有多少遊客來到「魔鬼之路」。卡貝薩·普裡埃塔保護區避難所的經理希德·斯隆（Sid Slone）猜測，每年可能會有多達1000人開車經過這裡。斯隆先生從來沒有聽說過他們中的任何一個人死在這片沙漠裡。

允許轉載，轉載可聯繫後臺，需標明出處及作者、翻譯、校閱。

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