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Warning: tried the Superior Hiking Trail last October and got wrecked by the lack of water sources

I did a 5 day solo stretch near Lutsen last month and thought I'd be fine filtering from streams. Turns out half the creeks were bone dry and I ended up carrying 6 liters for a 10 mile section. Anyone else run into this on the SHT or just me?

3 comments

3 Comments

loganl2229d ago

Yeah, I'm not sure how many people are actually dealing with dry creeks in October like you're describing. I've done that stretch near Lutsen a few times and never had to pack more than 3 liters. @spencerm46 is right about the gamble, but carrying 6 liters for 10 miles sounds more like a planning issue than a trail problem. Could be you just hit a weird dry spell, but most hikers I know treat the SHT's water sources as reliable with a backup filter.

spencerm4629d ago

Six liters for a ten mile section? That is a serious amount of water to be hauling. I would have been tempted to just turn around and head back to the car after the second dry creek bed. Last October up there is a real gamble with the weather, half the time it's perfect and the other half you're either in a drought or a snowstorm.

piper_reed29d ago

Oh man, six liters is no joke. I remember one time up in the Sierra, I packed what I thought was plenty for a loop hike, but then I stumbled on a patch of manzanita bushes loaded with ripe berries. Spent an hour picking them, mouth stained red, and forgot I still had miles of exposed ridge to cover. By the time I hit the next water source, I was rationing my last drops like it was the apocalypse. Never underestimate the thirst factor of October sun, even up high.