hollyl45•13d agoProlific Poster

That guy on the PCT forum was dead wrong about water caching

Last year I was planning a solo section hike on the Pacific Crest Trail through the Sierra and this one user named desert_hiker42 kept posting that caching water at road crossings was a waste of time because there's always snow melt. I believed him and skipped setting up a single cache before my May trip. Big mistake. The snowpack that year was way lower than usual and I spent 3 days rationing water between Kennedy Meadows and Sonora Pass, barely making it to a creek that was running. Half liter per hour in 90 degree heat is no joke. Ended up having to hike extra miles off trail just to find a reliable source. Now I always stash at least 2 gallons at every road crossing I can reach, even if the forecast looks wet. Has anyone else gotten bad beta from forum regulars that almost messed up their trip?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oscar13d ago

Spent 3 hours driving to a trailhead once because some forum guy swore there was a spring running. Got there and it was a dry hole with a dead squirrel in it. Now I treat forum advice like a weather forecast from a guy who lives in a basement.

scott.jana13d ago

Buddy of mine drove 45 minutes to a supposedly hidden waterfall someone described as "gorgeous and flowing." Got there and it was a sad little trickle coming out of a rusted pipe with some old beer cans around it. He still brings that up anytime anyone posts a spot that sounds too good to be true.