PCT Rescue of hiker who ran out of water

[Wyoming]

I kind of wonder with the bad drought and no snow pack if there is going to be a lot of water supply issues over the next two months. Hardly any of the hikers have reached the area in Northern CA that this happened in. There is just no snow pack at all.

http://www.news10.net/story/news/loc...ideo/26923621/

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/cri...e20263533.html

http://www.mercurynews.com/californi...iker-out-water

[Walkintom]

“To my surprise, this trail was very rugged and difficult.”

Says it all.

[Wyoming]

Yeah the articles pretty much indicate he was not ready to be doing something like the PCT. Sounded like he was talked into it, had no real hiking experience, bailed in the desert due to water issues and then had himself dropped off in the next area that tends to have water issues.

That being said I have been reading lots of PCT journals as I am thinking of the PCT next year and there have been lots of mentions of water issues. But all in the south in the desert section (first 700 miles). But northern CA is also a place where water can be a problem and there is basically zero snowpack in CA already. So by the time folks hit north of I80 it might get pretty ugly later in the summer. I am going to follow this a lot just to see if there is anything to learn from it.

Check this snowpack report for CA out. Scary. If that ain't ugly there is no such thing.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/COURSES

[canoe]

Ran out of water??? There is snow all around him

[Wyoming]

Ran out of water??? There is snow all around him

Umm, no that is not snow you see in the pics. It is the typical Sierra bare granite. Check my snow pack link. There is almost no snow anywhere in the entire Sierras right now. Just on a few of the high passes and tops of peaks.

People in the south on the PCT in the journals are talking about skipping parts of the desert section as if water caches are empty (which I have read in one journal happened to someone) there is the possibility of 40+ mile distances between water in a couple of places north of Mojave.

[WingedMonkey]

From News 10;

The man did not have a GPS with him so he used his personal satellite locator device to summon help.

From The Sacramento Bee;

Driscoll used a hand-held GPS device to call for rescue and was found about nine hours later, 30 miles from the town of Markleeville.

[MuddyWaters]

Only 12 hrs from trailhead apparently....with 8oz water left.

[SCRUB HIKER]

Over on the discussion of this incident at the PCT subreddit, someone posted the following from Ned Tibbits, who was out on a trip in the northern end of the Sierras very recently. Not sure on the specific details (specifically where and when, or where Ned even posted this), but the water situation sounds pretty thin in that part of the trail, which is not known for being dry.

"Creeks that would normally be flowing with good volume in this section are dry. Those that have a little water in them are not flowing and the water is pooling in stinky, stagnant puddles. Where they are flowing right now, I do not expect them to last that way for long since there is no snow to melt at their sources and few springs to feed them.
Springs are the way to go! I’ve never in my 50 years of tramping the high country had to seek out springs for my water, but on this trip I did! Use your topo map or GPS to find and locate them, but all you may discover are wonderful little 2-foot puddles at the source with a pretty meager supply that runs out “downstream” onto short marshes that soak into the ground within 20 feet. But the water is fantastic!"

[MuddyWaters]

No short term lack of water now. Tuolumne has 20" accumulation with more expected, mammoth has a foot. More at higher elevations. Gotta love may.

[frisbeefreek]

Never thought I'd hear of a hiker flipping north to get water. Sounds like he was using his cell phone app to locate water --> What he needed was a topo map to show him where to look.

[10-K]

I hiked for a few miles last year in the area around Trout Lake with a hiker who had to be rescued before Hauser Creek.

He got rescued, taken in and given IV fluids - then he got back on the trail north of the Sierra, skipping the arid section and the Sierra.

[Tipi Walter]

Carry 5 gallons of water and don't worry about it. A 40 lb water load, along with everything else, will put you right about the pack weight I carry on every trip. No problem.

[MuddyWaters]

Carry 5 gallons of water and don't worry about it. A 40 lb water load, along with everything else, will put you right about the pack weight I carry on every trip. No problem.

But theyd never get past that kennedy Meadows in a single season doing only 5 mile per day.