Re: [pct-l] Water storage

[ROYROBIN@aol.com]

Re your question about how much water to carry, and where.  The following
excerpt from our trail log probably gives a better feeling for the situation
(at least in '97, a fairly normal rainfall year) than a more direct answer to
your question.  If you're interested, our complete trail logs and much more
info are on our web page, at: 

     http:www.accesscom.com/~kkbunya/pct/index.html  

The story picks up at Scissors Crossing, on our sixth day out of Campo:

<<
The next day (Friday 5/9), we hiked the last 3 miles to the San Felipe Creek.
It was running well, but we were worried about cattle contamination here, so
we side-hiked up the road to a marsh called Sentenae Cienaga(?) that was
supposed to be better. It wasn't. Let flow, still signs of cattle. So we came
back to San Felipe with empty bottles. Cattle or not we filtered 6 liters each
of this water, plus what we used there. Ahead of us was our toughest test yet.

Our plan had been to get going early while it was still cool, but the water
fiasco cost us much time. We began the uphill, 23.5 mile dry hike to Barrel
Spring at about 11:30 AM. The first couple miles climb were switchbacks up a
south facing slope. By 1 PM, the heat, sun, uphill climb, and 12 pounds of
water in our packs were making us quite uncomfortable. It became clear that to
continue under these conditions would require more water than we had. We were
risking heat exhaustion and dehydration. But there was no shade in sight. The
sun which was baking the slope left no shadows anywhere. There were no trees
of any kind. Lost of cactus and some brush. We found a mostly shady spot under
some brush and rested. A short nap, an early dinner and soon it was 3:30 PM
and much cooler, probably down in the high 80's or so, but there was a breeze
and an afternoon thunder cloud was giving us some shade. We were quite
thirsty, but had already used 1/3 of our water in the first 3 miles (of 23.5).
We were getting worried. Fortunately, the storm shaded us until about 5 PM,
even dropping a few big drops of rain! The higher altitude meant cooler
conditions too. We hiked as fast as we could without overdoing it until passed
sunsets, drinking 1 pint of water per hour while covering 2.5 miles per hour.
By nightfall, we were exhausted, thirsty and dirty, but we had covered 10
miles since dinner and still had 2 liters water per person. 

The next day (Saturday 5/10), we were awake at first light and on the trail by
5:45 AM. We intended to get to Barrel Spring before it got too hot. We arrived
at 10:30 AM, with only a psychologically significant 1 cup of water each left.
We were dehydrated, but not severely. A little luck, some good decisions on
when to hike (and not), and a good rationing plan combined to get us through
in good shape. At Barrel Spring, we each drank down a full liter of the best
tasting water I've seen in a while! Another liter soon followed before we felt
hydrated again. We should have carried 8 liters rather than 6. 
>>
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