[pct-l] Water caches

[Tortoise]

When JoAnn and I did the Hat Creek Rim some years back, we set up our own 
water caches of gallon store bought drinking water. After we had emptied 
the bottles, we crushed them and carried them along with us.  LNT! We met a 
father with his sons near the old lookout and they agreed to carry out and 
recycle two of our empties. The empty jugs weigh very little. However it is 
a lot easier to set up a couple of caches for a short hike than for a 
significant stretch of the PCT.

We also came across the Road 22 cache then maintained by Amigo (as I 
recall) and it was too early for the herd to be coming thru there and the 
water was probably left over from last season. We just let that cache alone.

I haven't decided my position on the big water caches yet. However as has 
been previously said, what happens if a hiker come thru depending on the 
cache and finding it empty? Especially if the next water is still miles 
away? We also had the email last fall about the hiker who was expecting the 
caches to be restocked when he/she came thru.

And remember, we are (supposedly) all friends here, so lets talk like 
friends. Outspokenness is fine. attacking others is NOT friendly.

And now it's time for me to sign off for this year and go sip some 
champaign and listen to the concert on PBS.


Tortoise

<> He who finishes last, wins! <>


jeff.singewald at comcast.net wrote:
> You found a cache that you had left from the previous year?  Wow, that doesn't appear to fit with the leave no trace guidelines.  My assumption was that hikers that placed hidden water caches for themselves would be responsible enough to pick them up after they had passed through.
> 
> -------------- Original message -------------- 
> From: Hiker97 <hiker97 at aol.com> 
> 
> Pieces wrote: My personal use of caches has depended strongly on season, weather and the accuracy of my own advance estimates of water needs. Their advertised presence does bring piece-of-mind and has made hiking more pleasant when I have availed myself of their benefits. I try not to use more than necessary. They are a big help to lots of people, particularly those who walk lower mileage days than most of those on this list. In my opinion they are extremely helpful, particularly in some areas. They are desirable but not but not a necessity. Of course, many cross-country hikers would say the same about trails.
> --------------------------------
> RustyKnees replies: I remember Switchback telling me that Pieces and Can'tQuit are deeply in debt to him for a water cache he hid along Section E one year.  All three pulled into a campsite with little water and none close by, since the established cache site was empty.  Switchback quickly located his secret cache from the previous year and everyone had lots of water.
> 
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