My cousin swore by the PCT's water report and it saved me from a dry camp near Kennedy Meadows

He told me to check it religiously even when the guidebook said there was water, and sure enough the creek we planned on was completely dried up, has anyone else had a water source vanish on a popular route like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_charlie5d ago

Yeah @mark611 I get the logic but I've actually had the opposite happen where a water report said a source was dry and it turned out to be flowing fine, just tucked behind some rocks. The problem is reports can be wrong too if someone missed the trail spur or the flow changed overnight.

mark6115d ago

Trust those reports over guidebooks every time. A buddy of mine had the same thing happen near Rae Lakes where his map showed a seasonal stream but it was bone dry by late August. The water reports from other hikers are usually only a few days old while guidebooks can be years out of date.