[pct-l] Water Caches

[Luis Velasco]

RegardingŠ

>> Perhaps some of these inexperienced hikers should do some more
Planning

Thanks for the feedback from you both.

In addition to planning I love to experiment. So, yesterday I hiked 14
miles and climbed 3,500 and dropped 3,000 ft in 90 degree heat with 4
liters of water.  

The experiment portion was to utilize Camelbak Elixir electrolyte powdered
Hydration tabs in 4 liters‹I usually only use these in a 1 liter container
and keep all other water pure.

Result: I was dehydrated and out of water at the end.

Conclusion: 
  - The treated water tasted sweet, which caused a dry oral stickiness and
caused a desire to (drink more water).
  - The caffeine had a diuretic effect and I (drank more water)
  - The heat caused an excessive salt loss (drank a cup of pickle juice
and lots of water on returning home).
  

Next time: Lighten the pack to bare essentials and added a ³Life Straw²
water purification system.  Also, carry more water, wear hiking shorts,
use my hiker umbrella, and pre-hydrate prior to stepping off.


Share your wisdom with me on this issue.  Thanks in advance

- Luis (San Diego, CA)



On 4/28/14, 7:48 AM, "Gail Van Velzer" <vanvelzer at charter.net> wrote:

>David,
>I'm in total agreement!  Plus, as you drink your water, your pack gets
>lighter!  I have horses and need to plan for them as well...20 gals. a
>day! 
>Perhaps some of these inexperienced hikers should do some more
>planning....especially in regards to water.
>Gail
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "David Money Harris" <David_Harris at hmc.edu>
>To: <velascoluis at cox.net>
>Cc: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
>Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 3:06 AM
>Subject: [pct-l] Water Caches
>
>
>Luis,
>
>I¹ve hiked the CA PCT without using water caches and I drink a lot.  I
>carried 7 quarts from Rodriguez Tank to Barrel Spring and from Subway
>Cave 
>across Hat Creek Rim.  I caught both of these stretches on days that
>weren¹t 
>at peak heat and might have needed more capacity if they were warmer.  I
>also carried 5-6 quarts on the 25-mile waterless stretches and could have
>needed more on hotter days.
>
>I don¹t believe that it¹s prudent to rely on a cache being available, and
>as 
>soon as I take that to heart, it means I have to carry enough to safely
>go 
>from reliable source to reliable source without needing a cache.
>Planning 
>for these sections added to the challenge and appeal of the hike for me.
>
>I think it¹s good to have small caches for emergencies; if I¹d taken an
>injury or had a catastrophic water system failure, I could have been in a
>bad situation without the caches.  But I disagree with the present
>dominant 
>trail philosophy that relies on carrying just enough water to go from
>cache 
>to cache, and especially with the minority that use cached water for
>discretionary purposes such as washing.  While I deeply appreciate the
>temptation to use a cache when I see one, I think the explosion of caches
>along the trail may actually condition us to be less self-reliant and
>thus 
>degrade the PCT experience.
>
>Doing the trail without caches involves being able to walk 20-30 miles
>per 
>day across some of these long stretches.  Folks in the 10-15 mile per day
>pace would have to carry well over 10 quarts, which is possible but
>unpleasant.  But those on such a pace aren¹t through-hiking, and can
>solve 
>their water issues by preplacing personal caches somewhere out of sight.
>
>David
>
>
>Message: 1
>Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 10:54:56 -0700
>From: Luis Velasco <velascoluis at cox.net>
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Water Cache at Scissors Xing
>To: <gary_schenk at verizon.net>, <pct-l at backcountry.net>
>Message-ID: <CF813F51.401F%velascoluis at cox.net>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
>
>That is a Great question.
>
>I?ve been pondering the same issue for years; not for the fact that water
>is scarce between long distances but how to compensate for it.  Where I
>live (San Diego) many of the trails are without easy access water sources,
>without encroaching on private property.
>
>I?m a Water Guzzler, so I simple carry at least 5 liters when I hike.
>
>However, I would really like to do the PCT trail without water caches and
>want to know if any other Water Guzzler (like me) has accomplished this,
>and more importantly, how?
>
>- Luis
>
>On 4/24/14, 8:14 AM, "gary_schenk at verizon.net" <gary_schenk at verizon.net>
>wrote:
>
>> So the question might be, why are water caches so necessary? Is the
>>trail
>> impossible to hike without them?
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