Just found out the PCT has a 500 mile stretch with no reliable water sources

I was looking through the PCT water report last night and stumbled on this stat that threw me off. From the desert section near the San Felipe Hills all the way past the Aqueduct, it's like a 100 mile gap where caches are totally unreliable. I always thought you just hit creeks every 10 miles or so, but nope. Guess I'll be planning a lot more desert drops if I ever try that stretch. Has anyone here actually done that section in a dry year and found a secret water source?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan.cameron4d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on this one. Honestly I think that 500 mile stat is kind of overblown. People love to scare new hikers with stuff like this but the reality is you can plan around it if you're not totally clueless. The desert section has natural seeps and springs that aren't on the main water report if you do some research. Plus cache reliance is a crutch - real thru-hikers know how to stretch their water carry and find cattle troughs or seasonal runoff. I'd argue the drama around this makes it sound way worse than it actually is, especially in a normal year.

phoenixp304d agoMost Upvoted

The first time I heard that 500 mile figure I totally bought into the fear factor, but reading your breakdown @morgan.cameron actually shifted my whole view on it. I mean, I'd heard about cattle troughs and seasonal runoff before but never really knew how reliable they could be in a normal year. Your point about the off-main-report seeps and springs is a good one too - makes me think the real issue is more about people not doing their homework than some impossible stretch of trail. I used to lump that stat in with all the other gear fear stuff, but now I'm seeing it as more of a challenge you can totally plan for if you're not just relying on the big water caches everyone talks about.