Ok yall, this might be a long one, so hold on tight.
Our original plan was to hit two trails, ending at a place called Taylor Cabin. Distance there and back would have been about 20 miles. At the last minute we decided to do a loop route called Taylor Cabin Loop or Casner Mountain Loop. That loop would also be about 20 miles but the hike out goes through much tougher terrain. We had planned on taking our time and spending two nights on the trail.
We had called the ranger station to see about weather and water out there and were told to expect lows below freezing and no water. I gambled on being able to find or make water, taking only 6 liters for myself and 2 liters in Dexter's bags. One of the guys packed 11 liters because he had the water bladders and water bottles to do so. The third guy packed in 8 liters of water because that was all the water-bearing gear he had.
I have always used no more than 3 liters of water a day (including cooking) even in the summer, so 6 liters would be enough for two days, right? Not this time, not by a long shot.
The hike in was nice with relatively easy terrain. Spirits were high and we chatted as we trekked along. I am in the white hat.
We started the trail at 9am. There was one spot where my friends store bought trail map was a bit unclear so we wasted about 30 minutes trying to decide which direction of a split in the trail to take. I had a really good topo map I had printed, but sections of the trail were ot on my map, and this happened to be one of the sections.
We hit Taylor Cabin at 5pm.
The cabin is well-supplied, but all of the cached water had been used by a family that had arrived just before we did.
By this time (5pm) I had killed my entire first 3 liter water bladder, and Dexter had killed his first liter. The family reported that there was no water to be found in the riverbed. By 7pm I had sucked down another liter and a half. I think it was being sick for a week before the hike, and STILL being sick while on the hike that made me need so much water.
Our original plan was to hit two trails, ending at a place called Taylor Cabin. Distance there and back would have been about 20 miles. At the last minute we decided to do a loop route called Taylor Cabin Loop or Casner Mountain Loop. That loop would also be about 20 miles but the hike out goes through much tougher terrain. We had planned on taking our time and spending two nights on the trail.
We had called the ranger station to see about weather and water out there and were told to expect lows below freezing and no water. I gambled on being able to find or make water, taking only 6 liters for myself and 2 liters in Dexter's bags. One of the guys packed 11 liters because he had the water bladders and water bottles to do so. The third guy packed in 8 liters of water because that was all the water-bearing gear he had.
I have always used no more than 3 liters of water a day (including cooking) even in the summer, so 6 liters would be enough for two days, right? Not this time, not by a long shot.
The hike in was nice with relatively easy terrain. Spirits were high and we chatted as we trekked along. I am in the white hat.
We started the trail at 9am. There was one spot where my friends store bought trail map was a bit unclear so we wasted about 30 minutes trying to decide which direction of a split in the trail to take. I had a really good topo map I had printed, but sections of the trail were ot on my map, and this happened to be one of the sections.
We hit Taylor Cabin at 5pm.
The cabin is well-supplied, but all of the cached water had been used by a family that had arrived just before we did.
By this time (5pm) I had killed my entire first 3 liter water bladder, and Dexter had killed his first liter. The family reported that there was no water to be found in the riverbed. By 7pm I had sucked down another liter and a half. I think it was being sick for a week before the hike, and STILL being sick while on the hike that made me need so much water.
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