[pct-l] Water Capacity for Cali?

[Edward Anderson]

Just thought I'd mention that, from my observations over the years, I have noticed that not everyone has the same needs for water and electrolites while exercising. If you don't know yours yet, it is certainly wise to err on the side of caution. Some of us simply don't sweat as much as others. I suppose it must depend, in part, on your body build. I'm a fairly skinny guy. I have hiked and backpacked and ran, and played tennis with others who really sweat while I don't. My feet don't sweat either. We are all different. I do hydrate myself when I come to what I consider a safe source of water. During my PCT ride from Mexico to Canada I never treated my water wuth chemicals. I did sometimes filter while passing through S. Calif. But not always. In N. California, Oregon, and Washington I never had to filter. I did have a filter along - it just turned out to be dead weight, along with the Aqua Mura that I never used once. The water sources that i used were
 springs and very small, clear, creeks. I always sought the water source - at the top of a spring area. Always well above a trail crossing. I would always check the topo map to see where the water was coming from. I was very cautious when passing through cattle country. I sometimes got water that had been purified naturally by the ultra-violet component of sunlight - a still, clear, pond or a small lakelet that had been in the full sun for several hours. Occasionally I purified my water inside my clear plastic Gatorade bottles, which I would lay alongside my solar water heater. Water that I wouldn't trust was lake water where hikers might have been swimming, and river and stream water that might have been congtaminated by hikers. I always sought remote-from-the-trail places to camp that would not be contaminated by humans or their dogs (hikers who bring dogs, I'm sure, don't dig cat holes for the dog poop.)  
MendoRider-Hiker
 

________________________________
 From: "gschenk1 at roadrunner.com" <gschenk1 at roadrunner.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 6:50 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Water Capacity for Cali?
  

---- Natalie Franz <eilatan5445 at gmail.com> wrote: 
> Hi everybody! I was just wondering to myself if my water capacity is enough for the desert, ~5.25 L. How many liters do you folks recommend? There's plenty of talk about how many liters per mile or hour, but not much regarding total capacity.

Hi Natalie,

IMHO, you should be prepared to carry two gallons at least. If it is hot in section A, you'll use every bit of that two gallons from Scissors Crossing to Barrel Springs. If it's not hot, that two gallons would last until Warner Springs.

On the other hand, some people do seem to get by with just 4-5 liters carrying capacity.

If you dry camp, it'll be nice to have plenty of water with you. If you camp near a creek or spring, it's nice to have to only make one trip to the water source after setting up camp.

YMMV. HYOH, etc., etc.

Gary
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