Desert Water Carry (Extra Bottles or Bladders?)

[House On My Back]

I'm definitely planning on integrating night-hiking and Siesta-hiking regularly to reduce my water requirements. I'll also have a typical sun umbrella and basic sun-resistant clothing. I'll be coming from Australia with 6 weeks "training" but much of that hike on the Bibbulmun is coastal and forest canopy, not desert.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

I'm definitely planning on integrating night-hiking and Siesta-hiking regularly to reduce my water requirements. I'll also have a typical sun umbrella and basic sun-resistant clothing. I'll be coming from Australia with 6 weeks "training" but much of that hike on the Bibbulmun is coastal and forest canopy, not desert.

I didn't have much trouble in the southern parts of the desert, but as the season wears on and it gets hotter those kinds of adjustments become necessary. 25-30 degrees with a dry breeze is fine, it's when it gets over 40 you've got to take counter measures. Last year an epic heatwave came through with temps well over 40 and people fried.

[Miner]

I carried a mix of 2L Platypus soft bottles and 1Qt size Gatoraid/Poweraid bottles for SoCal. I had 6L capacity when I started and needed it that first hot day where I got a 2pm start. But mostly only had to carry 4.5L at the most for the rest of the trip to Kennedy Meadows. That was in an average rain year where we had some nice cloud cover off and on til we reached Hiker Town which helped keep the temperatures down. The 2 times I've hiked the crossing of the I-10 in the later half of May, both times rank as the 2 hottest days I ever hiked on the PCT with temperatures at least 105F.

Don't think you are done with big carries after you leave SoCal. I still needed 4L capacity for the Hat Creek Rim in NorCal and again in southern Oregon.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

I carried a mix of 2L Platypus soft bottles and 1Qt size Gatoraid/Poweraid bottles for SoCal. I had 6L capacity when I started and needed it that first hot day where I got a 2pm start. But mostly only had to carry 4.5L at the most for the rest of the trip to Kennedy Meadows. That was in an average rain year where we had some nice cloud cover off and on til we reached Hiker Town which helped keep the temperatures down. The 2 times I've hiked the crossing of the I-10 in the later half of May, both times rank as the 2 hottest days I ever hiked on the PCT with temperatures at least 105F.
Don't think you are done with big carries after you leave SoCal. I still needed 4L capacity for the Hat Creek Rim in NorCal and again in southern Oregon.

That I-10 frying pan was the sickest I've been due to heat. Brutal. A 3 hour nap under the bridge to recover.

[jefals]

lots of good advice, but I'll add mine...
3l bladder. two 1.5l bottles in each pocket gives you 9l capacity. Amazon sells tubes with caps that fit the grocery store bottles.
So, I have 2 tubes. I start out drinking from a bottle with the tube, and if it runs empty, switch to the tube from the bladder. So, no need to drop your pack and switch tubes while you're hiking.
Well -- so far, I think this is just me! I don't know anybody else that does this.
~~~~
Here's something else I bet nobody else did:
In Campo, I bought water at the store. And - not paying attention - turns out I had bought 7 liters of seltzer water!
I had been drinking from one of the bottles. When I got to my campsite and emptied my pack, the bladder was so full from the carbonation, it looked like it was about to explode! This was an Osprey, 2.5l bladder, and, I've since wondered, if it had been the Platypus, with the lighter weight material, if that one might actually have exploded!