[pct-l] Water Capacity in Desert

[Steel-Eye]

Good morning, Deluxe,

The "how much water" question does not have to be answered at this time.
Have patience.  By now you are probably aware of AsABat's water report at
http://www.4jeffrey.net/pctwater.  In my opinion that document is the single
most valuable and useful reference a PCT hiker can have in So. California.
You will probably be somewhat conservative in the early miles, and that's OK
because the water sources in that area are pretty well documented which buys
you some time to gain experience.  I found that water concerns cause me much
more anxiety at home than when I'm actually on the trail making decisions.
Some additional thoughts on water are at:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=173861

Only you can determine the extent to which you will trade effort for water
security.  Before you face significant stretches of questionable water
availability you will have sufficient miles under your sneakers to guide
your judgment.  The questions at the time will relate to your individual
physiological need for water, the probable reliability of the wild-water
sources, the extent to which you are willing to use caches, the
environmental conditions likely during your transit, the miles you intend to
cover during the period in question, and your personal appetite for risk.

For carrying water a hiker has some good alternatives.  I often say hikers
have three gear imperatives: It should be good, it should be lite, and it
should be inexpensive. With rare exceptions, we can only have two of those
at any one time. Unfortunately for the bank account, serious hikers' gear is
usually good and lite, but expensive.  Water containers can be a notable
exception.  Plastic bottles in the 1-liter, 2-liter, or 1-gallon sizes, are
good, lite and cheap.  While I often use a 1-liter bottle for immediate use,
I carry 2.4-liter Platypus sacks for bulk storage.  I like the fact that
they diminish in size as water is consumed, and I like their flexibility and
loose compliance as they are packed.  The more rigid plastic bottles are
less adaptable in those regards, but several times I carried bulk water in a
1-gallon plastic jug, and it worked fine.  Strangely, one 1-gallon jug packs
better for me than four separate 1-liter bottles, or even two 2-liter
bottles.

There will likely be times when water must be extracted from small trickles
or seeps, and for this a plastic bottle is of little use.  As you mention,
some kind of a cup or dipper is better.  A Sierra Cup would work, but my
standard Sierra Cup weighs 2.60 ozs. and since it would be in contact with
untreated water I wouldn't drink directly from it.  Instead I use a small
half-cup plastic dipper that previously had seen duty as a Jell-O Pudding
Cup.  It weighs about 0.13 oz. and always seems to pop back into shape -
more or less -- after having been smashed flat in my pack.  One can be seen
at: http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=288497

Enjoy your planning,

Steel-Eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=4645


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Blake Robinson" <robinson.blake at gmail.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 1:10 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Water Capacity in Desert


> Hello,
> I'm looking forward to my thru hike in April 2009 and had a question :
> how
> much water do I need to carry?  I'll be honest, I'm somewhat paranoid
> about
> having enough water, so I'd want to have extra and definitely would not be
> relying on any caches.  I was thinking along the lines of 8 liters, what
> kind of capacity do others carry?  Also, I was thinking about only
> bringing
> 1 liter soda bottle because they're cheap, replaceable, and
> indestructible,
> and maybe a sierra cup to use as a dipper for shallow springs/sources.
>  Anyone have any suggestions as far as other containers or suggestions for
> capacity?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Blake aka Deluxe
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