[pct-l] Water & Trail Report Big Bear Area

[Jo Pegrum Hazelett]

Bill and Jeff--

I'm not big on water caches either, but the description you gave is pretty
much what happened to my husband and I when we walked this stretch in July
2005-- only worse. Perhaps the solution is to update the guide and data
books. Since this happened 2 years ago, I take it the situation has not
improved.

We started at highway 18 one evening (we're from Northern Cal) thinking to
camp at Doble Camp-- we pulled in and no water. Ok, we think, we'll just dry
camp and head out to the next water source in the morning. The problem was
that we were not carrying a whole bunch of water from the trailhead because
we thought we could fill up there. In fact we had to spend a night and walk
another 17 plus miles to the next decent water source at Holcomb Creek! It
was not fun.

So-- perhaps a warning to others is appropriate.

Jo



Message: 7
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:21:58 -0700
From: "Bill Batchelor" <billbatch at cox.net>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] ** Water & Trail  Report Big Bear Area
To: <jeff.singewald at comcast.net>,	"'PCT'" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID: <003e01c8a32c$90f06020$0301a8c0 at OFFICE>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

A fair question Jeff.  And I know you are anti-caches, or at least a cache
minimalist.  So, let me clarify and reclassify my thought.
 
Let me rephrase to say it would be a nice trail angle move right now as the
pipe is dry.  I do not mean a cache as in some permanent fixture.  
 
My thought was because this location is listed in many PCT sources as a
"reliable" water source, when right now it is not - it is a drag to find it
dry.   I think many hikers may expect water to be there.  Life threatening?
No.  Hiking out, hitch hiking are all options.  So consider it more in the
"trail magic" category than in the cache category.   For those that had
plans that included this "reliable" source, it may be a drag to find it dry.
So I think a small temporary cache could bring some trail joy.  I like joy.
I like joy a lot!   For example, I could see a hiker reentering the trail at
highway 18 after a day off in BBear - all pumped up from their rest day and
ready to head on.  They are carrying enough water to get them to this spot
and plan on loading up there.  Then finding it dry.  Now, after a few miles
on the trail the hiker needs to go back into town, reload, kill half a day,
and rethink the next leg.  It would be a buzz kill for sure - or - anti-joy.
I was not envisioning some 600 gallon cache, but if someone had set a few
2.5 gallon containers on the picnic tables there - I would have thought -
cool.    I also do not consider those types of trail angel moves as clutter
when done right.  Just my opinion.  In this case, Doble is an established
camp area with a solar toilet, picnic table, horse corral, etc.  It is not
as if someone would be hanging water bottles from the trees in the middle of
the wilderness.  A couple 2.5 gallons tied to the table is hardly more of
blight than the permanent fire ring, toilet building, or bull-dozed clearing
that is already there.
 
As for the next water spot about 6 miles later - there is the dilemma the
hiker finds.   So, they have enough water left without Doble to make a
couple more miles and then would need to go four miles further dry -
uncomfortable but not so bad.  Now though you have seriously eaten into your
buffer.  IF that next stream is dry, the hiker has a poorly planned exit
strategy.  The hiker used their buffer on the way to that creek.  At least
for myself, having another unknown water source further into the trail and
further away from a fall-back position would not make me comfortable
skipping Doble.  If I had planned on Doble and my water was now low, I would
not personally press on hoping the creek was different.  Actually, quite the
opposite.  If the Doble "reliable" spring was dry, I would consider the next
source equally suspect being part of the same eco-system.  (unless I had
checked the Jeffery report the day before and found a very recent report
-too many variables to cover them all).
 
Alas, the water cache left here and filled periodically when the spring was
not "springing" would just be another trail angle nicety that may alleviate
a hassle and make a hiker grateful for the anonymous nod.  Much like finding
a car parked at a road crossing handing out Gatoraid.    Was the Gatoraid
"required", nah - but a real joy to find.  I like joy.  Did I mention I like
joy?
 
PG

  _____  

From: jeff.singewald at comcast.net [mailto:jeff.singewald at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 12:50 PM
To: Bill Batchelor; 'PCT'
Subject: Re: [pct-l] ** Water & Trail Report Big Bear Area


Bill,
 
Thanks for the report.  I am curious re: your comment that Doble Trail Camp
would be a good place for a water cache.  Why?  You have mentioned two spots
(before and after this location) within 18 miles that both have water.
Additionally, Highway 18 and the hitch to Big Bear is in this stretch.  Why
does the trail need yet another water cache in which to clutter the trail?
Isn't there enough already?
 
Jeff