[pct-l] Fw: water carrying capacity / frameless backpacks

[Steel-Eye]

Good morning, Lenny,
 

The amount of water to carry is not a decision you need to make now.  Early in your trip there are mostly-reliable, well-documented water sources giving you time to determine what your individual needs may be relative to the effort, the weather, and your appetite for risk.  I started with two 2.4-liter sacks and a one-liter bottle.  That remained mostly OK for the trip, but '07 was not a brutally hot year.  After SoCal there are only a few stretches in N. Cal. and S. Oregon where I found that much of capacity was advisable.

 

Your water capacity will also be guided by your philosophy about using water caches.  I use them -- but some don't.  I'm a bit of a pragmatist and do not see any sense in walking by useable water just to prove a point.  If water caches are somehow "unnatural", then by extension, all non-wild sources should also be eschewed, including stock and fire tanks, campground faucets, town water, etc.  That seems pretty silly to me, but you get to decide for yourself.

 

30 lbs. in a Breeze is not my favorite arrangement but it is the worst the first day, and much depends upon how much water must be carried away from a resupply town.  I probably had the most weight out of Mojave, but I switched from the Breeze to a GVP-4 at that point.  Unfortunately, the GVP-4 isn't much more sophisticated, but it does have more capacity.  The weight situation only improved because I burned off food at a rate of 2 lbs. per day, and water weight varied.

 

I adapt well to a simple sack-type pack.  My sleeping pad folds to an exact size appropriate to slip into the pack against my back, and I don't carry any heavy, hard chunks that may poke me.  http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=222935&back=1 Also, I don't use a hip belt so a more rigid structure isn't necessary to transfer weight to the belt.

 

I will send you a gear list separately.  I don't mind sharing it but in PCT-L correspondence, and in my TrailJournal, I avoid making specific gear recommendations.  We all learn - or should learn - that decisions have consequences, and I can't determine what others need any more than they can decide what I need.  When I am faced with a decision I want a discussion of reasons for need, applicability, pros/cons, etc.  It doesn't help me when someone says, "Dude, get a - whatever -- because that's what I used."     

 

Enjoy your planning, and merry Christmas.

 

Steel-Eye 

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lenny Leum" <littleleum at yahoo.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 6:52 PM
Subject: [pct-l] water carrying capacity / frameless backpacks


Hello,
I was wondering about water in Southern California, and specifically how 
much carrying capacity is recommended. 6 liters? 8 liters? I know water is 
very plentiful in the Sierras, but what about for the rest of the trip... 
how much water would you recommend I be prepared to carry for the remainder 
of the trip after leaving So Cal?

Secondly, I just read Steel-eye's entire journal, and found it very 
informative, highly recommended, thank you! If you are reading this 
Steel-eye, do you have a gear list for that specific trip? From the clues 
gathered reading, it sounds like I am going to be using similar equipment.

How did it feel after a resupply, carrying close to 30 lbs with the little 
Golite Breeze? I'm contemplating a similar rucksack type backpack, but don't 
have experience with one and was thinking it might be worth carrying another 
pound or so for a more solid backpack. Any comments on this are welcome.
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