[pct-l] Carrying Bulk Water

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Jun 9, 2010, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> This is a good discussion.  My only caution is to not carry light  
> and filled water containers inside your pack, or at least pack them  
> assuming they will spring a leak.
>    I once had a gallon plastic milk bottle filled with water in my  
> pack.  Due to the movement of the pack as I was hiking, it wore a  
> small leak.  It soaked my sleeping bag!  That's one reason I'm  
> willing to eat the few ounces of a more solid water container.

I kept my sleeping bag inside a pocket shower (a dry sack with a  
shower nozzle at one end) or inside a trash compactor bag. I kept the  
rest of my gear in other trash compactor bags. Simply twisted at the  
top and even with a few punctures, I swam across a couple of Sierra  
streams (yes, literally swam with my pack under water -- bear cans  
work well as flotation devices) and none of the contents of my pack  
got wet at all.

So knowing that my stuff will stay dry, I happily pack full water  
containers inside my pack. It hurts less than when they pull me  
backwards when packed in an outer pocket.

Diane


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