[pct-l] water at Oregon Hwy 140 crossing?

[judson at jeffnet.org (Judson Brown)]

I was there this time last year and the canal was running nicely. After
that, it's 8.1 mi. to the Twin Ponds Trail. Summit Lake is to the left;
Squaw Lake to the right. Both are about 5 min. off trail.

And there is other water well before 25 mi. Most of it is off-trail, but
that's the nature of this section:
Christi's Spring is 12.5 north of Hwy. 140, amid huge fields of
huckleberries. I found it flowing quite well.
At 13.6 mi., you'll meet the Red Lakes Tr. Center Lake is a minute or two to
the right.
At 17.3 mi., you'll come to the Sky Lakes Tr. If you are taking this
alternate, you'll have plenty of water. If not, visit beautiful Deer Lake
for water, only about 5 min. off trail.
At 23.2 mi., be sure to visit the Snow Lakes.
The 1st on-trail water can be found in several creeks just N of Devil's
Peak. Honeymoon Creek was also flowing. I chose these rather than doing the
big side trip to Ranger Spring. Skipped Jack Spring as well because I heard
it was hard to find. After that, I took the alternate to Stuart Falls, where
there was plenty of water. After that, it's dry all the way to Crater Lake
NP.

There are also some significant dry sections north of 138, but nothing that
can't be done it you have a capacity of 5 liters or so.

Hope this helps.

Judson
Ashland

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net]On Behalf Of David
Plotnikoff
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 9:20 PM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] water at Oregon Hwy 140 crossing?


Greetings from a long-time list lurker and section hiker.

I'm home cleaning gear, buying trail food, fuel, etc for another week or so
before getting back on the trail at Ashland. A question for Those Who Know
Firsthand:

Hwy 140 (northbound mile 1775.8) at "junction to large trailhead parking
lot" is listed in the data book with an unambiguous "W".

The guidebook, however, mentions no water here other than the *very*
seasonal Cascade Canal at the actual highway crossing. Which means I'm
looking at 25 miles from there to the next on-trail water, or, a spur
out-and-back to fetch some off-trail.

Unlike a lot of people, I'm not planning a detour to Fish Lake. So this
one's a critical one to me. I may have to plan for laying a small cache
there  ... (I'm sorely tempted to go to Costco and get three cases of cheap
bottled water, leave one there, one at the highway north of Crater Lake's
boundary prior to Mt. Thielsen Wilderness and one at Windigo Pass ... so
the rest of my weenie section hiker buds can drink to their hearts content
without having to hike a mile off the trail to get it ...)

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

DP

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