[pct-l] Water in Sections A & B

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Sep 11, 2009, at 11:58 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Water in Sections A & B
>
> Tom wrote:
>>
> Of course, tolerance to dehydration shows very wide individual  
> variations
> and can be developed (i.e., trained).  You should be very confident  
> that you
> know your tolerance as you calculate your water needs.
>>
>
> Conditioning counts for a lot.  My section hike this year from  
> Ashland to
> Highway 138 north of Crater Lake was fairly dry and I noticed that  
> I used
> probably twice the amount of water that the thru-hikers I met used,  
> despite
> being in good physical shape and carrying a lighter pack than many  
> thrus.  I
> attribute that to a) me being a long-time Seattleite (my usual  
> problem is an
> over-abundance of water, not a scarcity), and b) not having four  
> months of
> trail conditioning.
>
> Eric

I had more trouble with water in Oregon than in SoCal for some  
reason. In fact, I think I ran out of water more often in Washington  
than in SoCal. I guess I was expecting it in SoCal.

In Section A, if you go further than the tank at Rodriguez Spur all  
the way to the actual water source which is a nice spring, you can  
get some really good water and even pour some on your head and wet  
down your clothes if you're that hot. I filled up there and still had  
a few liters when I arrived at Barrel Spring the next day. It had  
been relatively cool and even rained at night for me in the San  
Felipe Hills. It won't necessarily be hotter 'n heck out there.

For managing hot weather, it really helps if you can pour water on  
yourself. Get your head and hat wet. Wear a wet bandana. Dunk your  
shirt in water. If there's a stream, lay in it and get all your  
clothes soaking wet. It really works and is how I manage in temps  
over 100 degrees. Cameling up is key to not carrying too much. Bring  
some drink mixes to make it easier to drink a whole liter in one  
sitting. And make sure you have salty foods because a lot of people  
have trouble drinking too much water and eating only sweet things  
like energy bars and gatorade. You'll lose a lot of salt and need to  
replenish. You can tell when you need salt if you're drinking a lot  
but not feeling quenched and starting to feel awful, weak, queasy and  
even headachey. Salt stains on your shirt, too.

Diane