No harm, no foul. Yep there is a real creature called a pack rat. Not real meaty, and not real tasty, but it beats nothing.
Didn't take your post the wrong way. Also very familiar with some of the places you've been. Desert camping in the winter/late fall is great! Unfortunately, during my military years, we had to train year around, and it wasn't real pleasant most of the time. Just as an aside, there's a great deal of water in Death Valley, if you know how to find it, and where. No need to suck on cactus..LOL...
Yes, you are correct about people dying out there each year. Sad, and usually avoidable.
Enjoy your day, I'm leaving for a trip in the morning. Meant to leave a couple of days ago, but heavy rain/thunderstorm warnings so I decided to delay it a couple of days. This will be a pretty easy trip, but plenty to enjoy. Going into the Daniel Boone National Park for a few.
Also will be testing and evaluating some new gear, so that'll be fun (I hope) Testing at home just can't tell you how it'll be out in the field so I might load some extra "old" gear in the truck, just in case.
Have a good one.

J.