Ask a Thru-Hiker: How Do I Get Water in the Desert?

“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>

Do you dream about hitting the trail for a long—really long—hike? In Ask a Thru-Hiker, record-setting long-distance hiker Liz “Snorkel” Thomas answers your burning questions about how to do it.

Dear Snorkel,

Desert routes such as the Arizona Trail (AZT) and parts of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and Continental Divide Trail (CDT) often have long stretches between natural water sources, which make it impractical to carry enough to drink or cook. I know that many hikers use water caches. What do I need to know about caching water, and can I just leave my empty bottles? 

Water-Wise

Dear Water-Wise,

Our goal as long-distance hikers is to keep the front and backcountry as free from cache-related litter as possible. We want to keep wildlife from gnawing plastic, and we want to keep the views from trails and roads from looking like a cluttered recycling center. 

As with most things, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to water cache etiquette. Different trails and land managers have different standards. But here are a few rules of thumb that apply almost anywhere you go.

Never bet your life on a water cache being there. Whether you cached the bottles yourself or are relying on volunteers storing public water for all thru-hikers to use, caches are never guaranteed. Plan your water accordingly and be prepared to carry extra from reliable sources to tide you over in case of emergency.

Check to ensure caching is legal. Some land managers prohibit storing anything (including water) for more than 24 hours. Learn the rules before you cache.

Cache in a secure area. Some trails, like the AZT and CDT have designated water cache boxes at trailheads and notable road crossings. These are bear boxes that are critter-proof with shelves built to store water jugs. Do not store anything except water here. No food. No trash. No unwanted gear.

If you’re on a route without water cache boxes, use string to secure jugs to something solid like a tree trunk. This prevents them from being moved by wind or animals. You may even want to protect the jugs from being gnawed on by storing them all inside a hard-sided container. Also, cache out of sight from roads or trails in an inconspicuous area, like behind a bush. When I cache, my goal is to ensure hikers or drivers don’t see the bottles–both because I don’t want to encourage or contribute to litter, and because I don’t want others to mess with my caches.

Label your water. For private caching, I find that a 1-gallon jug with a handle is the best caching tool. It’s easy to transport and more puncture-resistant than boxed water. Use a Sharpie to write your name, phone number, and ETA on each jug. This prevents others from thinking your water is available for the public (i.e. any hiker who comes upon it). 

Track your caches. When you cache somewhere, use a GPS to record where it is. If you hid your water behind a bush, for example, those coordinates come in handy at night when you’re trying to figure out exactly which bush has your bottles. In the event you don’t make it to all of your caches, knowing your coordinates allows you to drive back and clean up your bottles or to share the coordinates with hikers coming after who might want your water. 

Pack out your empty bottles. Leave No Trace applies to plastic water containers as much as it does to candy bar wrappers—pack it out. Even if you drove your water bottles to where the trail crosses a road, you still need to carry your trash with you. Don’t expect someone else will do it for you.

For packing out, I’ve found it works best to crush bottles and secure them to the outside of your pack with rope or a carabiner. You may even be able to store crushed bottles at the bottom of your pack. Carry it all until you reach a trash or recycle bin.

Can I leave my remaining water for other hikers? Don’t need every gallon you left for yourself? Some trails–the ones with water supply boxes–-have a culture of leaving remaining water for others to use.  If that’s the case, write “public after this date” on your bottle to indicate to others you are willing to share your water if you a) quit the trail before you get to your cache b) weren’t as thirsty as you expected when you got to the cache. 

If you’re on a route or a trail without water boxes, dump unused water and pack out your empties. The goal here is to avoid plastic bottles from blowing away and becoming litter in the wilderness.

Can I cache food and gear with my water? Please don’t. It attracts wildlife. It increases the amount of things that can be blown by the wind and become backcountry trash. In many places, it’s also illegal. 

Do I need to cache water on a desert trail?. Many of the more established trails have a network of volunteers who cache water for hikers. You’ll find this on the AZT, the southernmost miles of New Mexico on the CDT, and the first 800 miles of the PCT. 

All that comes with some caveats. Public water isn’t guaranteed. Hikers before you may consume it all. Navigation apps that allow comments, like Far Out guides, may have up-to-date info on how many gallons of public water exist at a cache. But again: never trust your life to a cache.

If you are hiking during the off-season when volunteers are not caching or if you are hiking a less popular trail or route, you may want to cache. If you are hiking fewer miles per day than other hikers, you may want to consider having more frequent or guaranteed private water. 

Caching water can be fun because it gives a preview of the trail ahead. But driving around to remote trailheads takes a lot of extra time. And trust me–getting a flat tire while caching is no fun either. 

As more hikers venture onto desert trails and extreme heat and drought make water sources less reliable, we’re going to see more discussions around water caching. As a thru-hiker community, setting expectations and a responsible culture is essential to keeping trail and land managers OK with caching.