[cdt-l] Mount Taylor Appeal Denied

[Andrew Rivers]

    50 mile waterless stretch? Don't know how I missed it.
 But I do beleive it is the way of the trail. I think my longest
waterless stretch was about 34 miles, from the piped spring along a
road in NM to Jones Run Spring? There was a windmill that had been
dismantled, and we forgot about the email we recieved. So I ended up
with 1 liter to get me 16 miles, and all the other hikers that I
talked to this year, experienced the same thing.
   On the PCT in 06' I went through that section around Tehachipe. I
carried a full  8 liters to get me through the 32 mile section to
Yellow Jacket Spring. I made it just fine. I did however meet a few
fellow hikers who ended up relying on the cache, and then not having
any water at the cache.
    Thats why I think caches are a bad, bad, very bad idea. No one
should EVER rely on a water cache to supply them with water. At best,
a water cache should be there to give you something to laugh about. If
its dry, laugh to yourself that you still have water. If its wet,
laugh to yourself that you carried water all this way. Either way,
laugh in a good way, because you have water.
   I heard some people talking at the PCT KOP this year, someone said
it would be impossible to hike the PCT without the caches this year.
That is not the case. Its doable. And yes, maybe not every hiker can
do 30 mile waterless stretches. But yes, maybe not every hiker can do
the PCT, or the CDT for that matter.
    Don't get me wrong though, I don't think adding a water source is
a bad idea. But if one is added, it must be a reliable one. Not a
water cache, which requires a human body to deliver water for the
hikers. Possibly a spring? Or a tank. Even those, will innevitably dry
up at some point. Which is what makes backpacking long trails get
interesting at some points!
    --Shaggy 07',