[pct-l] water in section G

[pcnst@oakapple.net (David hiking PCNST in bits)]

If you are in contact with persons starting section G:

Although it's mentioned in the guidebook, some hikers are unaware that much of
the water north of Walker Pass until the Kern River is "unsafe" because it
contains natural uranium, which is unremoveable by any normal hiker means.    
If you
consumed it for a lifetime, you might get lead poisoning, but three days
worth is much less dangerous than dehydration.    One guy I met had a very
hard time because he was discouraged by the warning signs at the trail
junction, and skipped Joshua Tree Spring on a very hot day and pushed
on to Spanish Needle canyon.

As previously reported here, the water at Joshua Tree Spring, the middle two
Spanish Needle creek sources, Chimney Creek Campground, and Rockhouse Basin
Creek 688.5 are all running well.     But don't camp at Joshua Tree unless
you are prepared to meet the resident bad bear.     There is a nice saddle
campsite 1.1 mile further north.

North of Kennedy Meadows to Trail Pass, there is good on-trail water at
the LAST Cow Creek crossing 715.3 (on a steep sage slope, after leaving 
the woods) and at 722.6 and Death Canyon 725.0.    Due to careless hasty
map reading, I found the good off-trail water at 730.2 which really is more
like 0.5m than 0.3m, instead of the 0.2m off-trail at 731.8 that I was
planning on.

There were about three dozen trees across the trail between Trail Pass
and Walker Pass, mostly 20-30" size, all easily walked around.