[pct-l] Drinking Water ...

[jason moores]

Outpost,

I know what you mean, I spent 18 years drinkin nothin but beer and bourbon because I couldn't stand the taste of water. Unfortunately it didn't work-out as well for me as I had hoped. That's a story for another list though.

My first time on the trail, in '06, I hopped on at Tehachapi Pass the third week of June. In hindsight this was both a bad place and time to start. My massive pack was loaded down with three gallons of water and perhaps thirty five pounds of food. I had read somewhere that I would burn between 6,000 and 8,000 calories a day on the trail, so I decided to carry 8,000 just to play it safe. My two massive food bags were stuffed with every type of trail food imaginable. Everything except something to improve the taste of my water. I did have some Nido and Nestle's though.

By the end of the first day of hiking I was getting pretty sick of the taste of warm water. The next day wasn't any better. I would spend hours fantasizing about cold beverages of every brand and flavor. Thinking about a rootbeer float was the only thing that pushed me up the long and dry climb to Robin Bird Spring. The miles ticked by and the water sources in the Piute Mountains proved to be cool and refreshing. For a time I enjoyed the taste of water again(though it may have been the pain pills that I was poppin like Pez due to the pain in my feet). That ended when I reached the Kelso Valley. When I arrived at the Kelso Road cache I found about 100 empty gallon jugs tied together. I was able to gather about a liter from the dregs of the jugs, and decided to take a long break in the shade of a Joshua Tree. This teppid water had such a strong taste of plastic that I could barely bare to drink it. Finally I did the only thing that I could think of, I made a big ol' bottle of chocolate milk. It was so damn goooood. 

So along come three "back of the pack" thrus hurrying down the trail to reach the cache. I could hear their cussing when they discovered the cache empty. The next water was many miles further along. Eventually they noticed me sitting alone under my Joshua Tree and came by to say hi. Now let me tell ya, these three fellas were more than a little bit shocked to see me sitting there drinkin my chocolatey milk in the 100+ degree afternoon. They used the term crazy more than a few times and I seem to remember a certain curse word proceeding crazy. I could just imagine their conversation later that day about the jolly fat guy sittin stoned in the desert, so happy to be drinking anything other than water. 

Best damn chocolate milk ever.

Jackass


> Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 19:32:36 -0800
> From: paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] Drinking Water ...
> 
> Who here hates drinking water?
> 
> i've never liked it.  i'll go 3 weeks or more between tastes of water.  i get my 
> liquids from things like orange juice.  
> 
> 
> i see people on the trail who tank up at water sources and they'll drink a liter 
> of water.  i begin to gag after about three swallows of the stuff.
> 
> anyways my new years resolution is to train myself to drink water.  i'm actually 
> making myself drink a bottle of water before i can open a beer after work ; )  
> i'm hoping i can get myself to the point that i can drink insane amounts like 
> the other people i saw out there.
> 
> ... the funny thing is,  on the trail; i guess my body knew i needed it because 
> i didn't have a problem drinking water as long as i did it slowly.
> 
> Does it really save anything to sit and drink 2 liters of water at a water 
> source?  the weight is still in you (your belly etc) ... does your body process 
> it just as efficiently?  do you guys tank up before a long dry stretch?  how 
> much water do you down before you move on?
> 
> thanks for the info,
> ~Paul
> 
> 
> 
>       
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