[pct-l] Carrying extra water, which container(s) do you use?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Use 1 or 2.5 liter platypus and also take at least one rigid bottle.  
I usually reuse bottles from other things like gatorade or whatever.  
Platypus can be hard to fill so you can use the rigid bottle for  
filling and also for mixing lemonades. If you want all rigid bottles  
and no collapsibles, don't ever buy them. Buy drinks and just reuse  
the bottles. So much lighter.

Better to have lots of small containers than one big one. If you  
break the one big one, you have nothing.

Since you are sort of a newbie it might be a good idea to practice  
hiking without lots of water and get used to not having to drink so  
much. 2 gallons is really quite excessive. It's rare for anyone to  
need to carry that much. I can get by with 3 or 4 liters at the most.  
I'm adapted to Southern California, though. Which is why I say to  
practice because I'm not special, just adapted.


On Jun 29, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> Hello everybody
> ?
> I am planning to hike PCT in 2013. I am therefore in the process of  
> collecting information about gear. I found numerous gear lists and  
> I picked out some items?already.
> ?
> There is one thing though I didnt find much information about. It  
> is about carrying a large amount of water, while hiking in SoCal  
> and in case the water springs are dry.
> ?
> I imagine carrying 1 gal of water is fine, in a platypus for  
> instance. But how do you carry 2 gallons or maybe 2.5?
> Can you have several platypus in your backpack without it to be  
> 'slushing around'?
> Do you carry extra water in other types of containers? Which ones?
> ?
> I would be happy to hear about your experiences, good or bad!
> ?
> Thanks a lot in advance :-)
> Cheers
> Anne