>>1053650it is not a problem anon, I actually accumulated these resources in under a week when I randomly decided to tell my partner "hey we are going to the desert this weekend!".
We are actually amateur astronomers and were looking for a place closer to home with dark skies (at least closer than the mojave). So I had reviewed the dark sky map and saw that the desert there was acceptable for viewing.
As for the gun thing, yes and no. It is illegal to carry it around open carry style (I think) but there is no one that deep into the desert so you would likely be fine.
If you do not wish to push your luck and leave it in the trunk than that would be fine if you stay with your car.
If you intend on leaving your vehicle somewhere and hike a good distance from it, I would probably not take the gun (at least that is why we decided not to take ours).
Also, desert people are pretty god damn strange. But you probably should not be afraid of them. They are just a bit odd but generally they are good people. Just watch out for tweakers...but they tend to stay closer to the Salton Sea.
Use your discretion (we did not see another person the entire time in the backcountry, only along the highway).
