how much water do most people carry on through hike
wandering how much water someone typicality carryies on a through hike trying to figure out what size bladder to get and how much water else wise.
For section hikes (same thing as a thru), I typically carry one 32-oz Gatorade bottle and a 3 or 4L collapsible container. I rarely need more than the 32-oz bottle while moving as there are so many sources of water. For cases where I know water may be an issue the collapsible container would come into play to supplement. Once at camp (or just before a dry camp) I will fill the collapsible container for the evening. That is usu plenty to get me going in the morning.
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.
I always carry a full 2 liter bladder for the daytime, and a 4 liter "fetch bag" that I fill when I stop for the night. The 4 liter bag gets me thru dinner, hot tea, breakfast and coffee, and refills the 2 liter bladder for the next day. I drink every ounce of that 2 liters on any hike between 7 - 12 miles.
2 liters.
On a rare occasion I'll buy an extra qt of gatorade in town and keep the bottle for a 3rd liter.. I didn't have to do this on my thru; this is something that you'll figure out easily enough.
I started my thur with 1 liter and added the 2nd liter in Damascus. It was clear that 1 liter was not enough.
I carry a gatoraid bottle, a nalgene and a 2 liter collapsable bottle. The gatoraid is my "flavor" bottle, which I use for lemonade and other mixes, and the 2 liter gets filled in the evening as mentioned above.
For Eastern hiking, I'll carry two gatorade bottles to get me through the day and a 4 liter water bag to collect enough to get me through the night without having to go back and forth to the water source.
On my thru hike, I carried a 2 liter Camelback bladder, a 2 liter Platypus and a 1 liter Powerade bottle.
The Camelback was for hydration during the day while walking. The Platypus was for water at camp for dinner, breakfast, etc. The Powerade bottle was for mixing and drinking my breakfast shake and for spot use along the trail to down a liter at a water source on a long day or hot day when the 2 liters in the Camelback would not be enough. I never carried more than two liters of water in my pack.
One great way to reduce weight on thru hike is minimize carrying water. Unless its drought conditions, using any one of the AT guides will show you where the next reliable water is. Rather than carrying extra, plna on refilling along the way. It takes awhile to get used to as most folks want to tank up in the AM. But the odds are that in most spots on the AT, there is water every few miles. I wouldnt recomend winging it, but it doesnt take long to scan the guide in the AM and determine where the next water is. I carry a 2 liter MSR bladder and a couple of gatoraide bottles that are usually empty.
Gatoraide or some type of lightweight disposable bottles while hiking. Usually no more than 1.5 liters worth. Some sort of collapsable platy bag (either 2l or 4l) for fetching water for camp.
I carry two 64 ounce juice bottles and try to keep them full. This past summer, from Fontana to NOC, the water was low. The "reliable" sources were small and silty and some of the "unofficial" sources weren't there at all. We could actually hear the water running (not dripping!) under a rock garden, but nothing on the surface.
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AT Hike 2012 - 497 Miles of 2184
AT Thru Hiker - 29 FEB - 03 OCT 2016 2189.1 miles
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I remember my first hiking partner, he'd never been backpacking before, and he thought we'd need to carry all our water for the whole trip in our packs. Needless to say, that might get kinda heavy for a thru-hike.
I carry a pair of 2-liter soda bottles, usually with one full and one half-full, along with a 4-liter bag for collecting and treating water at night. I'll drink a liter before I start hiking for the day, then the 1.5 liters will last until lunch, where I'll tank up again and hike until dinner.
I got used to arid conditions on some long hikes in the West before I hiked the AT. So on the AT I often hiked with no water at all in my pack, and would often drink and dump what I had before a stiff climb. But I hiked early in a wet year and it was hard to keep one's feet dry, there was so much spring water on the trail. I carried one 1-liter soda bottle for hiking, and one 2-liter bladder for dry camps. There were a few dry stretches of trail where I had to walk with more than one liter at a time, but only a few and they were well-documented in the guidebook I had.
By the way, it's easy to increase your carrying capacity at nearly any roadway crossing. Extra water bottles are usually strewn all over the ground.
This is a good question. I agree with Peakbagger that managing the water carried in your pack is an important part of controlling the weight you carry, and therefore how much you enjoy your hike. But you won't enjoy your hike if you get thirsty, either.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
On my Springer to Hot Springs section this spring, the most I carried was two 20 oz gatorade bottles. I stopped at water sources to "camel-up" more or less frequently depending on conditions. Used two 2-liter platypuses for dinner/night/breakfast/heading out in AM.
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I heard a lot of talk about sources being dry on my section this summer.
Every single time a person told me that a source in my guidebook was dry I found water without a problem.
usually carry 0 or 1 liters
3L of maximum capacity is fine
I usually carry 1.5 or 2 liters when I take off in the morning. Some days that is enough, other days, I fill up again at lunch. I like to drink plenty, so I don't skimp too much. It all also depends on the weather and how dependable your sources are throughout the day. There have been times I've carried four or five liters if it was going to be a dry camp. Not pleasant to carry that much, but can be done fairly easily.
Some have mentioned not carrying much and drinking from every source they pass. I've done that, but you increase your risk of a contaminated drink with every different source you use. Just something to consider.
You will soon learn to judge how much you will need. Just make sure to always know where your next dependable source is. This varies depending on the year, month, weather.
Last edited by Lyle; 08-21-2011 at 22:38.
thank you all for your input at first was thinking of bringing 3 liter camel back and 2 Gatorade bottles. now i think i will just get a 2 liter hydration pack and then something for camp and stuff thanks again to all the input.
My husband bought a 3liter bladder because he hikes with scouts and wanted to be sure to have plenty of water in case someone needed it. He found that the 3 liter is a pain to get into the bladder pocket of his pack, and it presents a challenge to getting his pack weight balanced.Originally Posted by nelson7fl
It's hard to be a Scout leader and an ultralight hiker :-) Most of us pack for our fears, but being a scout leader, you pack for fears for your Scouts.
For backpacking with the Scouts, we tell the boys that the minimum they should carry is 2-L. On our last trip, we had one or two boys that only carried a liter. They got thirsty and cranky when we hiked through a 3+ mile dry area on the trail (Sipsey Wilderness).
Time is but the stream I go afishin' in.
Thoreau
Our scout master had us carry his gear. Wonder why so much it got lost on the trail?
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