[pct-l] Re: aqua mira

[kborski at yahoo.com (Karen Borski)]

David, 

I would definately recommend a filter for (parts of)
SoCal.  I have hiked it once and will be out there
again next year.  I'm planning to carry my filter up
to Kennedy Meadows.  After that, I will carry Aqua
Mira the rest of the way.  (I wonder if Central/N. Cal
has spots like these.....)

Without pulling out all my detailed notes, I can tell
you that a filter was all but necessary at:  
- Hauser Creek (trickle that could only be suctioned
from the ground)
- Pioneer Mail Trailhead (infamous "horse trough" with
millions of mosquito larvae and green algae within)
- Scissors Crossing (although I will hitch into
Julian)
- Kelso Valley Rd and spring after it (can't remember
its name but heard it was a cow-infested mud pit, too)

I think that all the other water sources between these
 are caches, spigots or flowing creeks.  So -
theoretically - you could carry a filter for the first
few legs and then pick it back up Tehachapi to Onyx
through to Kennedy Meadows.

Hmmmm.  Got me thinking!

By the way, I strongly recommend that you do not count
on water caches.  At ADZ or by hiker gossip, you will
hear of a list of spots along the PCT where water is
cached by trail angels.  A couple of times when I was
out there, I found the caches were empty.  I was glad
that I always carried extra water just in case the
cache was empty, and I never had to take much from the
cache either.  My rule of thumb was to take only what
I could drink from the cache; in that way, I didn't
rely on them.  

It really is dangerous to be caught out there without
water.

Nocona

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