[pct-l] Water Capacity for Cali?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Right. I planned to drink all my water before the next non-cache  
source. I used the water report to know which sources were already  
dry, which were iffy and which still good. I did not always arrive  
empty but the shift in my thinking helped me actually drink the water  
instead of just carry it. I always hiked through the heat of the day,  
too, because I feel hotter just sitting around doing nothing, plus  
anxious about not making progress toward the next water. At least if  
I was moving there was a breeze. Turns out water sources being 15-20  
miles apart is not an issue, and once you get up there to that first  
one that's 35 miles, that's not a problem, either.

On Mar 7, 2012, at 6:30 AM, Gary Wright wrote:

>
> On Mar 6, 2012, at 9:08 PM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes wrote:
>>
>> In 2009 my strategy was to drink all my water, arrive at water
>> sources empty, and drink a full liter at a water source before moving
>> on.
>
> I'd recommend a bit of caution regarding *planning* to arrive at water
> sources empty.
>
> 1) If that 'source' is a cache, it may be empty.  Diane said that she
>    did not plan to use caches and I think that is a great idea and
>    something I tried (with general success) in 2007 between Agua Dulce
>    and Yosemite.  It requires more planning and carrying water for
>    longer distances but you don't have to worry about the caches
>    being full or not.
>
> 2) If you are delayed (injury, took a wrong turn) then you may end up
>    short well before the water source
>
> One other *huge* factor regarding your water use is the time of day  
> you
> choose to hike.  If you insist on hiking through the heat of the day,
> you'll need to plan to carry more water than if you hike early and  
> late
> with a long siesta in the afternoon.
>
> For what it is worth, I had an eight liter capacity:  two 1 liter  
> water
> bottles and 2 96oz Nalgenes (love these:
> <http://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Wide-Mouth-Cantene-96/dp/B000BS0AR4/ 
> ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331130538&sr=8-1>)
>
> Radar