sproul state forest

[Swattie87]

If properly hydrated from the days leading up to an outing, how much water would you suggest is needed for a full day fish/hike in the woods? Say 10 miles round trip, in 80 degree weather with moderate humidity...your typical average Summer day fishing in the PA mountains. I’d love to try this, and not have to carry water or a filter!

I’m 34, 6’0 / 180 lbs and in what I’d call “good” overall shape for my age bracket for reference. If I carry a filter, like on a multi-day overnight trip, I drink far more than the 2 qts I typically carry for a day trip in Summer. So, yeah, I think 2 qts is the bare minimum to carry in that scenario without a way of purifying stream water. I have at times carried a third quart, but by then it’s just more efficient to carry a filter, even if just a day trip. What would a well hydrated poopdeck carry on such an outing?

 

[Prospector]

That last paragraph is priceless!! Made my day.

bradtheflyfisherman wrote:
I carry a a full Nalgene which will last me a half day (I'm young and rarely get thirsty as I just drink a lot of water in general) but I carry a life straw in the bottom of my pack just in case...thankfully haven't had to use it yet.

I prefer having to take those complicated pisses where half of it splashes in my waders, and the other half ends up in the woods versus getting any cramps from dehydration though...

 

[poopdeck]

Swattie87 wrote:
If properly hydrated from the days leading up to an outing, how much water would you suggest is needed for a full day fish/hike in the woods? Say 10 miles round trip, in 80 degree weather with moderate humidity...your typical average Summer day fishing in the PA mountains. I’d love to try this, and not have to carry water or a filter!

I’m 34, 6’0 / 180 lbs and in what I’d call “good” overall shape for my age bracket for reference. If I carry a filter, like on a multi-day overnight trip, I drink far more than the 2 qts I typically carry for a day trip in Summer. So, yeah, I think 2 qts is the bare minimum to carry in that scenario without a way of purifying stream water. I have at times carried a third quart, but by then it’s just more efficient to carry a filter, even if just a day trip. What would a well hydrated poopdeck carry on such an outing?

My standard is two 16 bottles in my waist pack because it has pockets for two. If it's really hot I carry another and just put it in my pocket but generally I don't go out all day on the really hot days. I have carried 4 and don't find it at difficult or cumbersome since my gear is very minimal.

 

[Swattie87]

poopdeck wrote:
My standard is two 16 bottles in my waist pack because it has pockets for two. If it's really hot I carry another and just put it in my pocket but generally I don't go out all day on the really hot days. I have carried 4 and don't find it at difficult or cumbersome since my gear is very minimal.

Seems like the water we carry is probably pretty close then, for an outing of a given duration/exertion/temperature. You're not really carrying any less than I would. The difference may be pre-hydration as you note. I've been trying to do better with it, but I'll make it a point before my next all day outing to see.

My pack has two external water bottle pockets that will each hold a one quart vessel. Any more than that and it has to go in the interior of my pack.

If you figure that even if I carry a filter, I'd probably have 32 oz of water filtered and on me at any given point. My pump filter weighs probably about the same as another 16 oz of water. So the break even point in terms of weight efficiency to carry the filter is actually 1.5 qts. Since I can comfortably carry 2 qts on the outside of my pack (LL Bean Kennebec, which has a full on waist belt), I'll do that before I carry the filter, but if more than 2 qts is needed for any reason, the filter becomes the better choice. I try to avoid using it unless I need to as mine requires running a bleach solution through it to sanitize when you get home before you store it...PITA to have to do after every outing.

 

[poopdeck]

I wouldn't drink creek water because of all the stories about flesh eating bacteria. I've never seen a filter say it filters flesh eating bacteria so I won't drink creek water unless I'm about to die.

Although I stopped wading in the dog days of summer years ago, I have an original camelback that has to be 20 years old. I think it may hold 2 quarts. I would fill it with ice cubes and then top it off with water. It's kind of a hillbilly AC unit and can keep me cool at the cost of a wet back.

Next time you head out drink a lot of water the evening before. It will also help you get up early for fear of wetting the bed. It takes far less water to maintain then it does when your not hydrated in the first place and you try to hydrate on the water.

 

[mattwolf]

Thousands of springs in Sproul. Find a spring that feeds one of the creeks. I have a camp in Sproul that sits on a small brook trout stream. We use the water from the creek to wash dishes and hand and we also have a natural spring about 100 yards from the camp that we get our drinking water from. Been drinking it for 39 years. Just had it tested last year and all is good. It is actually better than the bottled water.