When the Water Runs Out: Hiking through Deserts and Drought

March 9, 2019

by Rachel Brown

Water can be one of the biggest challenges of a long-distance hike, especially on the CDT and other trails that traverse desert terrain. CDT travelers should already be familiar with strategies for staying hydrated in the backcountry (but if you need a refresher, check out Cam Honan’s Hiking Hydration Tips). But 2018 is a drought year, and hiking through the desert can sometimes leave even experienced hikers in a bind when normally reliable water sources start to dry up. Read on for some tips and tricks for hiking in a dry year and what to do if you find yourself unexpectedly without water.

Plan ahead and prepare. The first principle of Leave No Trace is essential for all aspects of backcountry travel, and especially important for water. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources out there to help you plan your water strategy on the CDT.

The CDT Water Report lists all of the sources that CDT travelers have access to, including mile point, waypoint, GPS coordinates, and which Ley map the source is found on. The water report reads from south to north, and includes notes, the date the note was sent in, and a rating for all sources of “good,” “poor,” or “dry.” Familiarize yourself with the report before your trip, and make sure that you print out an updated version or cache it on your phone before you head out. It’s best to not rely on “poor” sources as they are often unreliable as the season progresses. Pay attention to the comments! A source described as a “slow trickle,” for example, is probably not going to be reliable.

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Windmills are a welcome sight along the CDT in New Mexico, as they power the livestock wells that hikers rely upon. (Photo by Matt Berger)

The Atlas Guides CDT app is also a great resource for water information. The app keeps historical comments, so you can look back over the past few years and get an idea of whether a source tends to dry up by the end of the spring.

Remember, the water report and the comments on the app are crowd-sourced. There’s always a chance that a source has dried up since the last hiker went by, or that a source is dry and no one has commented on it. It’s best to carry extra water in case a source you were expecting to have water is actually dry.

Don’t panic. If you get to a source that’s unexpectedly dry, don’t panic. Stop, sit down, and make a plan. Hopefully you have some extra water just in case of a situation like this. If you’re lucky, that extra water is enough for you to get to the next reliable source, or to the nearest road where you can hitch to town to refill your bottles. If not…

Look at your maps. The Ley maps have great notes about water, sometimes including water sources that might be far enough off the CDT that you wouldn’t normally hike there. But if you’re in a bind, hiking two miles off the trail to get to a solar well is much better than 10 miles to the next spring! Take a look at the base map as well. Creeks, springs, and some stock tanks are labelled on the base maps. While you shouldn’t assume that any of those labelled sources will have water, identifying those sources is a good place to start looking for off-trail water. Look for other trails and Forest Service roads as well—you might be able to hike to a campground or a road more quickly via those routes than you can on the CDT.

Look for vegetation. Bright green, broad-leaf plants like cottonwoods and aspens grow near water. The bright green leaves stand out significantly compared to darker green evergreens. If there’s no flowing or standing water near the plants, you can often get water by digging a hole near the roots.

Look for cows. Livestock don’t tend to travel very far from water. If you’re around cattle, or you see a lot of fresh cow pies, you should be able to find a water source just by following the cows. (It’s probably going to be a muddy stock tank full of cow poop, but beggars can’t be choosers.) Look for places where the cows have trampled out a path, or where you see large clumps of cows together. If you can only see old dried-up cow pies, the cattle have probably been moved to another location, and it’s less likely that you’ll find water.

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Better than dying of dehydration. (Photo by Steve Snyder)

Look upstream (and down). The creek you were relying on might be dry at the point where the trail crosses it, but that doesn’t mean there’s no water in it at all. Scout upstream to see if there’s water closer to the source. You can also look downstream to see if there are any pools left.

When should you call for help? With adequate preparation and the skills and knowledge to manage your water and find sources off-trail, hopefully you will never have to call for help! But if your water situation is truly an emergency and you need medical help, do not hesitate to call 911 or the local sheriff.

Rachel Brown is CDTC’s Membership Services and Trail Information Manager. She is a long-distance hiker with over 4000 miles of experience and a serious love of dogs. 

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