Inspired by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Aldo Leopold's land ethic, and Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang, a group of activists pledged "No Compromise in Defense of Mother Earth!" Environmental activist Dave Foreman, ex-Yippie (Youth International Party) Mike Roselle, Wyoming Wilderness Society representatives Bart Koehler and Howie Wolke and former Park Ranger Ron Kezar were traveling in Foreman's VW bus from the Pincate Desert in northern Mexico to Albuquerque, New Mexico.