Head to Goodsprings Source, and towards the water trough, and the Courier will see Barton Thorn wandering around aimlessly. Talk to him, and he'll plead for the player's help to save his girlfriend trapped by geckos. He'll give the Courier clear directions on where to go: head towards the broken radio tower, then turn right. There the player should be going up an incline.
As the Courier goes further up, they should see a path forking off towards the right. There is a refrigerator, bed, and some loot (the optional cache). Be careful, however, of the three bear traps. This area is also a Wild Wasteland trigger area.
Barton Thorn will be wearing randomized low-level clothing.
Barton only appears after the Courier completes or ends the tutorial.
The prospector's camp can be reached without exiting the invisible boundary that finalizes character's attributes and skills by maneuvering southward along the clifftops from Victor's shack. This route is useful in reaching the camp while avoiding the geckos guarding the ridge as well.
Sometimes Barton Thorn will not come up the slope behind you, but after waiting or sleeping he completes the quest.
Barton's corpse respawns regularly. Loot is randomized with each such occurrence.
Because of the geckos spawning in the area, he can sometimes be found already dead before the player can meet him.