ok - i know i must have read this a million times, heard it a few hundred but for some reason it hasn’t stuck in my mind - i am now trying to buy my water sacks on line and i can’t remember what a good rule of thumb is to start out with. Can anyone help?
thanks,
debi
d vinson
Go to the grocery store and pick up a bunch of bottles of pepsi/aqafina/gatorade/mtn dew. They’re cheap, they don’t get holes, and they come with a bonus liter of soda pop.
I’d start out with at least a 4-liter capacity. Depending on when you start your hike (end of april to mid-may), you’ll need more.
yogi
yogi
We often carried 1.5 gallons of water in the desert stretches. On your first day, if that was what you are actually asking, there is a stream about 5 miles in, then a possible water source at Hauser Creek at 15 miles (I don’t advise camping there as it is a busy migrant route) and the next water is at 20 miles. When we were at Hauser, it was a week or so before the kickoff, and there was a small stream of water, two weeks later, nothing. So you might need to carry water for 20 miles on the first day.
Ginny
I find, for me, 1 liter of water per miles works well for me on the PCT. Again, this is a a rule of thumb. Such factors as your hiking pace, weight carried, elev gain and temps may affect your water consumption. But, that is what worked for me (even in the desert environment).
I went with two Gatorade bottles and 1-Nalgene 3 ltr. canteene if I dry camped/needed to carry more water.
Mags
I hear you guy’s and thanks. I was just wondering - why you’d opt to take water bottles o v e r BLADDERS… bladders seem like they’d fit/mold more eaisly into the pack… obviously im going to take a couple of water bottles - but i was also thinking about a bladder and wanted to judge how big of one i should get. Yogi, you didn’t carry a water bladder?
thanks for everyone’s inupt - you guy’s/gals are the best!
debi
D VINSON
I’m not a fan of bladders. I had a soft foldy 3-liter Nalgene bladder get a hole on the second day of my first PCT hike. That was the last time I used one. I’ve seen other hikers with other brands of bladders get holes. The desert plants are very hostile. They will attack bladders and inflatable sleeping pads.
Soda bottles are very versitle. You can add/deduct from your water capacity from every town stop. Just look at the data book for the longest waterless stretch between the town you’re in and the next town. Then carry enough bottle capacity for that longest waterless stretch. If you have too many bottles, throw them away before leaving town. If you need more, chances are you’re going to buy some Gatorade or Pepsi when you’re in town anyway, just save the bottle.
Keep in mind that this is just MY opinion. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong, but we’re all very opinionated about our gear choices. I personally wouldn’t consider carrying a bladder — the soft ones get holes, the heavier ones (like MSR dromlite) make water taste like a tire. However, many people like those types of water containers.
One last thing — be SURE to arrive at Campo fully hydrated. And I mean FULLY hydrated. It takes several days to fully hydrate your body. Don’t just drink a gallon of water the day you leave home. You should have spent many days hydrating prior to beginning your hike. Then once you’re on the trail, do everything possible to STAY hydrated. It could mean the difference between finishing the trail or getting off due to injury.
yogi
yogi
I would never use a bladder as my main water holder - if you rely on it all the time - all the folding and opening will put stress on it. As the canteene was NOT my main water holder, it lasted the whole hike (and then some). Eventually it broke down and I had to replace it well after my hike.
I use Gatorade bottle as my main water source because they are light, cheap and durable. Never had a Gatorade (or soda bottle, for that matter) fail on me.
I do NOT like camel back or similar type items for drinking. Find that I do not know how much water I have left. Easier to jsut chug out of water bottle conveniently located in a hostler on my hip belt.
Mags
I use a MSR 4 liter dromedary bag. I also use a liter soda bottle. I used one on the AT for 3700 miles without any problems. The dromedary bags seem better, or I should say, I had better luck with dromedary bags as opposed to other bladders from other companies. They seem fairly resilent to damage.
Aswah
p.s when you get up to Sisters stop by Angeline’s Bakery and say HI…
aswah
Our platypus water bags lasted from Campo past the Sierras, with one or two holes that were sealed up with little patche stickers.
http://www.platypushydration.com/product_detail.aspx?ProdID=3
Pros: It was convenient to have the hands free hose cliped to our shirts and not have to handle a bottle to drink. I found I drank almost constantly so I couldn’t imagine having to keep going for a bottle. They fit perfectly in the side pockets of our packs.
Cons: They warm up fast in the sun and water quickly takes on a plastic taste. Blaahg. They get stained and ugly and it’s hard to keep the hose and mouthpiece clean. They do get holes, but they are easily patched.
You bottle-pro folks don’t mind having to keep going back for your bottle when you’re hiking?
Toes
Toes
Just my own experience. YMMV.
Jeff and I carried the same 100 oz. Camelbaks on the AT and the PCT with no problems. They’re flexible, don’t seem to wear out on the seams, and are still in great shape.
On the PCT we also carried Platypus bladders for additional capacity. No leaks. They pack down to almost nothing when empty and squished flat.
We also carried Thermarest Prolites. Again, no problems. We did drop a knife or something on the prolite and found a 1/4 inch slice on the back/ shiny black surface. It had nothing to do with the desert environment, though. Duct tape held it perfectly for about two weeks until we got abitious enough to patch it instead. We carried a small patch kit, but the duct tape worked so well that we weren’t very motivated to use it!
Just don’t fold your platypus and it will last a long time. You can carry Platy Patches. We did, but never needed to use them.
Chipper
I used a bladder. I placed in the top of my pack. The drinking tube is much better than reaching for bottles in my opinion. At nite, you can hang it up and that work well too. The only problem is if your mouthpiece starts to leak. Pack an extra.
Virginian
d vinson- I purchased two Platypus 1 liter water bladders recently. I filled them up with water - once, but decided I liked the Aquafina, Pepsi bottles better. If you want them… or if anyone else wants them you can have them free… just pay me for shipping. These things are superlight and I would definately use them as a backup source if I were to hike something like the PCT.
guru