Realistic Water Needs - Backpacking Chisos

[Scott C.]

So the mantra seems to be 1 gallons per person per day.

I'm an admitted novice backpacker, and will be trekking with another dad, my 2 sons and his 3, so we'll have a total of 2 adults + 5 boys (ages 9-13).

We plan on setting out from the Chisos Basin Campground next Wednesday AM, hiking up the Pinnacles to TM or EP, or maybe even BC and setting up camp for Night 1.  The next day we'll head over to the SW rim, and set up camp for Night 2 either in SW or LM.  Then we'll head back to the lodge/camground area.

So we'll be on the trail for the better part of 3 days and 2 nights.  By no means am I looking to "cut it close", and I'd certainly prefer to have more water than we need as opposed to not enough.  But if we went a full 3 gallons per day per person, that's over 150 lb. of water!!!!!   

Of course, this load will be lightened as we proceed, but if someone could please chime in with some first-hand experience so that I can have a realistic expectation of what to pack, I'd be greatful.

[tjavery]

In my experience:

1 gal. per day will keep you alive, but miserably thirsty

1.5 gal. per day is just about right (no reserve)

2 gal. per day is a good amount with a little to spare

If you're trying to maximize your water, then take meals that don't require water to make (i.e. no freeze dried meals). Don't make coffee or tea either. I love the electrolyte powders (e.g. Replensh, Gatorade) - they seem to make a difference and offer a sweet drink that tastes really good when you're thirsty.

Check on the status of Boot Springs. If it's flowing decently, you'll have access to very fresh and clean water.

[jeffblaylock]

Also keep in mind that you can drink as much water as you want before you hit the trail, and then there's plenty of water, gatorade, and other liquid replacements at the Basin Store when you get off the trail.

I try to drink half a gallon of water before I start. I try to leave myself about a quart and a half for the return hike. I tend to consume more water on uphill stretches than downhill, so I carry an extra quart for the hike up.

So, for me for a two-night trip, it breaks down:

DAY 1: 1/2 gallon before hiking; 3/4-1 gallon consumed on trail and in camp

DAY 2: 1 gallon consumed on trail and in camp

DAY 3: 1 to 1 1/2 quarts consumed on trail; then slam a gatorade from the Basin Store upon returning to the trailhead followed by a bottled water

So, that's about 2 gallons and a quart per adult person. As TJ points out, that barely gets by. However, by carrying this much with me, I only take "comfort water" from Boot Spring -- 1/2 gallon tops -- and leave the rest for the wildlife. Doing this adds 1 quart to Day 1 and Day 2.

Also to repeat TJ, keep in mind that freeze-dried meals take a fair amount of water to prepare. You still end up consuming the water, but it's in your salty food, as opposed to washing it down.

If you get an early start and take Pinnacles Trail, your hike up to Pinnacle Pass will be mostly in the shade, and that helps, too.

[Hayduke]

Scott,

I think the guidelines offered by tj & jeff are pretty good starting points but my experience (from leading groups over many years) is that water consumption needs can vary greatly from person to person. My wife and I have very different rates of consumption.

So I would try to adjust to those guidelines based on your experiences with the same people on other trips. (Presumably this isn't the first backpack for this crew, right?)

I would also err on the generous side. In my early backpacking days I occasionally cut the water supply too close. I found that wishing I had more water was a lot more distracting from the experience than carrying extra weight.

HD

[RichardM]

Check on the status of Boot Springs. If it's flowing decently, you'll have access to very fresh and clean water.

Just because the water's coming out of a pipe doesn't mean it has been treated.  Best to filter or treat with iodine/chlorine/etc.

There is water coming out of the overflow pipe at Boot Springs so you don't even need to filter it - it's ready to drink.

If you ever look INSIDE the spring box, you'd filter or treat it. The water is essentially surface water and is subject to the same bacterial loading as the water in the creek bed, just in lower concentrations. If your system has been digesting it consistently for a period of time, your intestinal flora will probably be able to handle the bacteria. Haven't found giardia there yet but there is coliform.

Additionally, after  backpacking and drinking local water here for the past 24 years, I still filter it..

Yes, on occasion, I have used water straight from a spring outflow without treatment/filtering. And after doing so, occasionally have felt the unpleasant after effects - cramps, rumbling intestines, diarrhea, etc.

A good way to ruin an otherwise pleasant hike.

Just a suggestion -

[tjavery]

Just because the water's coming out of a pipe doesn't mean it has been treated.  Best to filter or treat with iodine/chlorine/etc.

I figured that in the age of modern civilization, having to filter water out of some strange pipe was implied 

[elhombre]

Welcome to hiking in the BB.  My wife and I take a little under 3 gallons each for the same trip.  We eat freeze-dried for dinner and eat oatmeal for breakfast.  Thats 2 cups for dinner and 1 cup for oatmeal.  You consume the water in your meal so that water "counts" as drinking water.  There is a dam about 1.5 hours down the creek bed from LM #3 that will have water, if you really want/need to refill. 

I have hiked a 3 day/2 night hike 4 times up there now and I used all of the water every time except when it was pretty cold.  If you have two cars, you may concider doing the outer mountain loop with Fresno creek as your water supply.  I have never heard of it being dry.  Either way,  I'm sure your kids will have the time of their life.

[mule ears]

All good suggestions above.  After years of leading trips and keeping an close eye on water use over 24 hour periods I now use a simple formula of a qt. for breakfast, one for the morning, one for lunch, one for the afternoon and one for dinner, 5 qts. a day minimum (more if it is available from springs, etc.).  So if we eat breakfast at the lodge and then dinner when we get back it would be 4, plus 5, plus 4 for a total of 13 qts. for your trip if there is no water in Boot Canyon.

Have fun.

[deadlizard]

Jeff gave great advice on hydrating prior to the hike.  Sometimes so hydrated that I'm sloshing inside when entering the trailhead.

But if reasonably active and reasonably warm weather, historically I have a tough time getting by on one gallon per day.

[dkerr24]

Some very wise suggestions offered in this thread.  That is the one concern I found with backpacking in BIBE vs other desert parks - no dependable natural sources of water. 

Other places I've backpacked like the Grand Canyon - offers plenty of fresh water sources in several creeks that flow down from the rims, even during the worst drought conditions.  I never have had to hike more than 1 day between water sources while there.  And if really desperate, I could always filter Colorado River water.

BIBE is a different story.  For extended backpacking trips (more than 2-3 days) you almost have to cache water somewhere along your route, or plan on hiking back to the basin to resupply.

In hindsight, this is what makes BIBE unique... if the NPS were to pipe water up to the South Rim, it would drastically increase visitation which would ruin the experience of the solitude of hiking in that area.

[Scott C.]

Outstanding suggestions, and thanks.  Personally, I am a marathon runner, and my body is used to consuming large quantity of fluids per day, so in a way, I'm my own worst enemy in that regard.

But I've got a slew of electrolyte supplements, drink mixes, etc., that I can take with me.

The thought of water in Boot Spring hasn't even crossed my mind, which I guess is a good thing, since it has caused me to pay closer attention to water portage.

Looks like the boys will have to "carry their weight" in more ways than one!

Thanks again.

I plan on filing a detailed trip report sometime after our return.

[ReDiscovering]

yeah I did the South Rim in 4 days in the winter.   I "just" got by on 1gal / day.   I wasnt in need but I sure was watching it carefully!  Over-estimate and remember that each day will get significanly lighter. 

[JimNewOrleans]

Check on the status of Boot Springs. If it's flowing decently, you'll have access to very fresh and clean water.

Just because the water's coming out of a pipe doesn't mean it has been treated.  Best to filter or treat with iodine/chlorine/etc.

yes totally agree - one time I filtered the entire trip OML and was fine - on last day, my friend gave me an apple he had been hoarding and we each scarfed one down - tasted like heaven.  About 3 days later, back at work, wearing suit and tie again and pisssed I wasn't still at BB, it hit - hard - and lasted 2 full days.  Terrible - Friend had it too, so when we de-briefed, he remembered he had washed the apples off in the pipe running water.   So, I am convinced there were enough nasty little  microbes on the skin of the apple from the washing to multiply in my gut over three days then *wham*.  Learned my lesson big time!   

[Burn Ban]

Check on the status of Boot Springs. If it's flowing decently, you'll have access to very fresh and clean water.

Just because the water's coming out of a pipe doesn't mean it has been treated.  Best to filter or treat with iodine/chlorine/etc.

 so when we de-briefed   

my new favorite euphemism for diarrhea.

[eddie]

I don't want to get you in trouble, but my wife and I have taken many backpacking trips in the Chisos and desert, normally 2 days and 3 nights and our normal water consumption in the winter and spring is 7 quarts total each for that whole time period.  I weigh 180 lbs and she weighs 130 lbs.  We drink something before we leave on the 1st day, and drink something on the 3rd day when we get back.  On the trail, we have tea in the morning, Mountain house freeze dried food and tea in the evenings, and usually drink a lot of water during the days.  That's just us.