Changing Geography

This past weekend I planned a trip (which is the norm, I don't like to stray from water sources) along a river based on current maps and knowledge from about 4 years ago. To my surpise, the whole river (waterfalls, ravines) was turned to swamp and small patches of barely flowing stagnant, skeeter infested "patches" of river. The cause was natures littl engineers (aka beavers). After a few hours I decided to call the trip, as I'm insistant on planning the hike and hiking the plan. Opened my eyes to the fact that I need to come up with a contingency plan as far as water supply goes in case I find myself in an area with water that I don't feel comfortable trusting my katadyn hiker pro to filter. Staging is not an option on most of my trips unfortunately, as I almost always hike rough trailless backcountry. Live and learn though! A good example to any new backpacker reading this to always have a plan B or know when to call a trip when there is unfortunatly no other option.

It's a good rule of thumb not to go so far from the last water source so that it's impossible to get back from the previous one unless you are certain the water is there. In flying, this is called "Bingo fuel." A pilot must always have an alternate plan under certain weather conditions if the airport is closed.

In 2011, my son and I were hiking segment 2 of the Colorado Trail. It's 10.25 miles through a burn zone and there is no water or shade. Usually, it's hot, but we were fortunate to get a cloudy day. After the first two miles and a long climb, we decided we didn't have enough water to make it. My son gets migraines without water, so we needed more than others. It had rained the night before, so I said that if we didn't find water in a rock hollow in 15 minutes, we'd head back. Fortunately we did. This 15 minutes is called "Joker fuel" in flying.

Water can appear suddenly, too. Imagine if that beaver dam breaks in 50 years. The whole pond would come rushing down that long dry stream bed. Ice dams often form and when they release, they can turn an almost dry stream into a deadly torrent.

I live near a creek, and it can turn from a relative trickle 10 or 20 feet wide to deep rapids a couple hundred feet wide overnight without rain. The source is on Pike's Peak and if there is a rain storm there the water takes about a day to come down.

A boy scout camp near here has been evacuated twice this year due to rising water. Last year it was a forest fire.

Many times I find wilderness camps with a rock fire ring where the flattest place is at the bottom of a small drainage. Most of the time, they probably would only be inconvenient, but I did find one camp at the bottom of a long drainage where there was brush several feet up from recent flooding.

The real heros are those who avoid situations that can turn bad, not the ones who survive them. Good decision to turn back.