If you are
planning a late season hike, we wanted to share our experiences with water, so
that it can give you a reference, since most everyone starts earlier.
These notes are
simply what we found when we hiked through and obviously will vary from year to
year and should NOT be counted on. We were also told by hikers behind us that a couple of springs had
nearly dried up only a week later. The year 2000 was a year of
somewhat lower than average rainfall and snowfall in Southern California and
the Southern Sierras. As you can see, we didn't bother to format this page so a lot of the
line spacing is screwed up.
Water
source Date Encountered Comments
Hauser Creek May 21 Dry
(what a surprise)
Lake Morena
Campground May 21 Water in Campground
Boulder Oaks
Campground May 22 Water
in Campground.
Bolder Oaks
Notes: The ranger at Lake Morena told
us that the water was shut off. The
trail updates had said the water was on, but he kept insisting that the water
was shut off. Since we knew that the
campground wasn’t in operation and the store was closed this was quite worrying
and the weather was so hot that we were afraid something might have changed. We
carried a lot of extra water and then found that the water was indeed turned
on. Double check on this water situation before leaving because it’s impossible
to double check what someone says once you are out on the trail.
Fred Canyon Creek,
Trail Xing May 22 Dry
Long Canyon Creek May 22 Running
Campgrounds in Mt.
Laguna May 23 Water
Pioneer Mail
Trailhead May 23 Water.
Pioneer Trail
Notes: If you aren’t carrying a pot of
some sort, and want to filter water from this source, you will have a difficult
time doing so. The water runs out of a
pipe into a horse trough. You will
either have to filter from the horse trough or collect water in a container and
filter.
Water source up
hill May 24 Did
not investigate
Springs at Chariot
Canyon May 24 Did
not investigate
Springs at
Rodrigues T.T. May 24 Running
Scissors Crossing May 25 Water
in creek.
Notes: Trail
angels had left water here also. Check
ahead of time with them if you plan to hike late in the season to see if there
will be water.
Third Gate, San
Felipe Hills May 26 Trail
angels left water also. Also check with
the trail angels re: this source.
Barrel Springs May 26 Water
was running. If you plan to filter, the
same situation is true as with Pioneer Mail
Trailhead.
Creek bet. Barrel
& Warner Sp. May 26 Don’t
remember. Probably running, but Warner
Springs is just around the corner.
Warner Springs May 27 Water
at Gas Station.
Water
source Date Encountered Comments
Agua Caliente Creek May
27 Running but somewhat sluggish
with stagnant pools in places.
Lost Valley Spring May 27 Running
Chihuahua Valley
T.T. tank May 28 Had
Water
Tule Spring Creek May 28 Dry
Tule Spring Water
at Valve May 28 Running
Notes: From here, there was no on trail natural
water source until a creek running just before saddle junction, about 42 miles
away. Other sources…
Dirt road to Anza May
29 Paul leaves water at
this junction. Check with him first.
Stayed in Anza
until May 31
Highway 74
Pines to Palms May 31 Paul
leaves water at this junction-also check first.
Notes: Once you climb into the Desert Divide, you
will be walking pretty much along a knife edge ridge. All the springs are located downhill to the west or east off the
trail. It’s no fun getting water from
any of these sources as they require a loss and regain of elevation.
Tunnel Spring - May 31 Did not go
Live Oaks Trails
Cedar Spring Trail June 1 Water
Fobes Ranch Trail June 1 Did
not go
Apache Spring June
1 Water, steep brushy
trail. Burned out camp when you get
there.
Stream just before
saddle jct. June 2 Water
Strawberry Cienega June 2 Water
North Fork San
Jacinto River June 2 Water
Water Fountain at
Snow Canyon June 3 Water
No on trail water
until Whitewater River. (except supposedly at Mesa windfarm) Trail angels and
water at the Pink Motel, just across Highway 10. We did not stop there, but hear
they are very nice.
Stayed in Banning
until June 5
Water
source Date Encountered Comments
Mesa Windfarm June 5 Didn’t
stop. Don’t know if there is actually water
here.
Whitewater River June 5 Water. This was only a small babbling brook. Heard it was running fairly hard 3 weeks earlier.
Mission Creek all
crossings June 5/6 Water
Forks Spring June
6 Water near trail here.
Cienega Seca Creek June 7 Dry
Arrastre Trail
Camp June 7 Water
was on
Doble Trail Camp June 7 Water
was on
Caribou Creek June 8 Some
water
Little Bear
Springs Camp June 9 Water
was on
Creek at trail
crossing June 9 Running
Deep Creek Bridge June 9 Running
Deep Creek second
bridge June 10 Running
Deep Creek at base
of June 10 Running
Mohave Dam
Grass Valley Creek June 10 Water
running over trail-very shallow
Summit Valley
Store June 11 Right off trail, water, snacks. Opens early in morning
Cleghorn Picnic
Area June 11 Water was on
Unnamed stream
(3830) June 11 Dry
Stream just before
Cajon Pass June 12 Trickle
Water
source Date Encountered Comments
Bike Springs June 13 Dry
Guffy Campground June 13 Running
Notes: It was reported
to us that some people were having trouble finding this spring. Just before you get to Guffy Campground, off
to the right (north) there is a faint trail heading downhill. Follow the trail to the spring. There’s a little springhouse at the spring
source. This spring is really important if you did not detour to Wrightwood,
because you will have come 23 miles and will be thirsty.
Grassy Hollow
Family Campground June 14 Didn’t get water
Lamel Spring June 14 Running (great water)
Lily Spring June 14 Didn’t go there
Little Jimmy Trail
Camp June 15 Running
(good water)
Little Rock Creek
Springs June 15 Water
in Creek at crossings-didn’t see water in springs.
Cooper Canyon
Trail June 15 Don’t recall if there was water
Campground
Camp Glenwood June
15 Water at spigot by
Cabin—seems like it didn’t taste good
Three Points – June
16 No water-maybe if you
walk down road to bldgs.
Highway 2
Sulphur Springs
Campground June 16 Water off at campground
spigots.
Notes: Before you get to the Campground, there will
be a split in the trail that shows the horsecamp one way and the hiker camp the
other way. To get water, follow signs to the horse camp. If spigot is off,
proceed to dirt road and turn right and follow the road to where it makes a
hairpin bend at the canyon wall. A
horse trough will be here with water running into it. This was the only place we found water.
Pacifico Mt.
Spring June 16 Running.
Delicious.
Pacifico Mt.
Rd/Mill Cr. June 16 Water on
Ranger Station
Big Buck Trail
Camp June 17 Didn’t go
Messenger Flats June 17 Water
on
Campground
North Fork Ranger June 17 Water
on
Station
Soledad Canyon Rd. June 18 didn’t
go there
Small Creek just
past June 18 enough to get some water
Soledad Canyon Rd.
Water as you enter
June 18 running
Vasquez Rocks
Stayed in Aqua
Dulce until June 20
Water
source Date Encountered Comments
Bear Spring June 20 Dry
Trail angels left
2 water caches in this area between Aqua Dulce and SF Canyon Rd. Check first.
San Fracisquito
Canyon Rd. Ranger
Station June 20 Water
Left trail and
took detour to Lake Hughes and across Mojave
Detour Water
Aquaduct just past
reservoir June 21 Water
access
Re-join PCT at
Cottonwood Creek
Cottonwood Creek June 22 Water
in trough downhill from cement structure
Tylerhorse Canyon June 22 Water
running in very shallow creek
Oak Creek June 23 Some water here. Trail angel water drop as well.
Stayed in Mojave
until June 25
Golden Oaks Spring June 25 Water
Robin Bird Spring June 26 Very
little water. May have been more up by
the spring source
Seasonal Spring June 26 Dry
Cottonwood Creek June 26 Dry
(may have been one tiny stagnant pool ofwater)
Spring abv. Landers
Cr. June 26 Just
a little stagnant water in cement trough
Landers Creek June 26 Dry
Unpaved – Road
29S05
To primitive
campground June 26 Water
Notes: May be your only good source for miles. You can either stay on the west side of the
dry creekbed and follow the road along the creek bed to the campground, or you
can stay on the trail and soon you will be able to see the trail camp and fire
pits across the creekbed and then just leave the trail and cross over to the
trailcamp. The spring is slightly up
the hill..
Butterbredt Canyon
Rd. June 27 Did
not go to spring.
Notes:Trail angel
left good water stash. Heard spring was
very contaminated by cows.
Road to Willow
Spring June 27 Did not go to spring.
Notes:Trail angel
left a very very good water stash at the road.
Heard the spring was very contaminated by cows.
Road to Yellow
Jacket June 27 Did not go to spring.
Notes: Heard
spring was very contaminated by cows.
Road to McIvers
Spring June 28 Did
not go to spring.
Notes: There was water on the trail at this
junction.
Walker Pass Campground June
28 Water was off here at spigots.
Notes: We didn’t investigate much, someone was
waiting to pick us up. I've heard that you can get water somewhere nearby though.
Water
source Date Encountered Comments
Joshua Tree June 29 Water barely running
Spring
Spanish Needle Creek June
29 Not Running at 1st
crossing but running further up further up.
Creek near trail
register near June 30 running
Chimney Rock Creek
Fox Mill Spring June 30 running
Seasonal creek June 30 dry
Rockhouse Basin
Kern River July 1 running
South Fork Kern
River (bridge) July 1 running
Notes: We did not find any water until the next
bridge over the Kern River in Monanche Meadows. All other seasonal streams were dry. The upper Kern was contaminated by cows standing all around in
the water. (The cows had just been let
up into this area recently.)
Kern River (second
bridge) July 2 water, cattle contamination
Cow Creek July 2 had
water further up the canyon. Also
heavily contaminated by cows.
There was another
spring on the way up to Olancha Peak with better water.
After that there
were some small water sources on the way to Death Canyon where there was water
in the canyon bottom.
From Death Canyon
to the trail to Lone Pine, I don’t remember any on trail water source or creek
crossing, but there are some springs not far off trail that we didn’t check
out. The next on trail water source was
a creek near Chicken Spring Lake or the Lake Itself. After that, water is plentiful for a long time.
Enjoy! You’ll deserve it.