Knobstone Trail

[sloetoe]

Water? Really? I have hiked all except the southern most 5 miles of the KT and I have never seen a drop of water on the trail anywhere. Of course I did not hike it during the spring either.

Interesting. That means that you walked past, through, or over, 21 of 22 water sources on the KT. That's a power, man -- not sure what *sort* of power -- but you got it going on in spades.

(Now I'm wondering what to call the opposite of a water deviner? "Water decliner"? Hmmm.)

[fredmugs]

Everything was dry. I could tell where water could have gone through and I saw one, count em, one mud puddle. Based on my experience the only water source I'm familiar with is that lake around MM 31.

I would love to start at the southern end, go north and do the 9 mile loop, and head back. I get every other Friday off work and I think I could do that 90 or so miles over a weekend if I could start at 6 PM on a Thursday. Can't do that without water.

Maybe I just hiked it in a drought phase.

[ChinMusic]

There should be enough road crossings to cache your water. That is what we do at the Knobstone.

[Tilly]

Everything was dry. I could tell where water could have gone through and I saw one, count em, one mud puddle. Based on my experience the only water source I'm familiar with is that lake around MM 31.

I'd believe it. The KT has only ephemeral water sources. I was lucky that I hiked after a few major storms had recently hit the area. The valleys b/t the knobs all had little trickes of water that I could filter from. But even the bigger streams were very shallow, and I could easily see them drying up after a few weeks of dry weather.

[on_the_GOEZ]

We had plenty of water for our thru hike of the KT last week. It had rained quite a bit the week before and the much of the first two days we were out there.

There were some fairly difficult trail reroutes (they were marked unclearly) which confused us at the beginning but all in all, a great trip! Started Monday and finished Wednesday evening to make it into Salem for some cold beers and greasy food!!!

[The Solemates]

hows the water now? would there be any water to find in 2 weeks?

trying to decide where to head for a long weekend....

[Cruiser]

Heading out this weekend for a through hike. First time on the knobstone & getting excited!

[ChinMusic]

Heading out this weekend for a through hike. First time on the knobstone & getting excited!

Let us know what you think. If the weather down there has been anything like here in Central Illinois, I bet it is dry as a bone. Even in normal times you need to cache water.

Oh, and report back on the spiders. They should be getting near peak season..........

[Grunts]

Does anyone have information on established campsites along the way? I'm thinking of doing this in the summer.

[sloetoe]

Does anyone have information on established campsites along the way? I'm thinking of doing this in the summer.

The message on Mileage Data from 2010 still works.

Have fun!

Separate URL:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...ns/messages/21

'toe

[The Solemates]

Since this thread was started (a decade ago...wow!)...I have hiked the knobstone. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t hike this trail in the summer. Of course I’m biased away from the hot and itchy.

[TwoSpirits]

Agreed. It is very very dry during the summer months; you may have to cache water along the way. It can also be very very humid.

[jgillam]

Since someone else revived this old thread....I'll add that it's beautiful in late October / early November.

[Pak-Man]

https://www.facebook.com/Knobstone-H...0675388366136/

There is now a Trail Association, a lot of work has been done in the last year, and will be done in the coming year.. WAY more trail maintenance and such.

[sloetoe]

The KT very much resembles the roller-coaster of the mid-Atlantic AT, so:
1) it will be as dry as the AT when things are dry: no more, no less. Lots of people cache water, but there is no need. Zero.
2) When it's humid on the mid-Atlantic AT, expect humidity on the KT. Yup!
3) Late October is sweet, as is mid-April, when the wildflowers are out in spades, but the leaves have not yet popped from the trees. It a carpet, and the views are marvelous.

There is a URL posted earlier on this thread for Mileage Data, "FMI"...

[Seatbelt]

The KT very much resembles the roller-coaster of the mid-Atlantic AT, so:
1) it will be as dry as the AT when things are dry: no more, no less. Lots of people cache water, but there is no need. Zero.

I have hiked this trail several times in all 4 seasons and I would like to say that unless you are traveling very fast and covering lots of miles per day, you WILL need to cache water in the summer and early fall.

[sloetoe]

I have hiked this trail several times in all 4 seasons and I would like to say that unless you are traveling very fast and covering lots of miles per day, you WILL need to cache water in the summer and early fall.

I've hiked it for 20 years in 4 seasons, and never needed to pack more than 2 liters before coming upon more water, right where it's listed. It's fashionable to describe the KT as "dry" and "caching needed" but it's no different than the AT at similar latitude. "Zero." You walked right by water, numerous times.

[Seatbelt]

I've hiked it for 20 years in 4 seasons, and never needed to pack more than 2 liters before coming upon more water, right where it's listed. It's fashionable to describe the KT as "dry" and "caching needed" but it's no different than the AT at similar latitude. "Zero." You walked right by water, numerous times.

I'm not going to argue with you about this. Some of us drink more water than others. Hot dry humid temps tend to make one go slower and sweat more. To tel someone that they will never need to cache water when it is dry is misleading.
I have seen the KT so dry that there was NO water from mile 0 all the way to Elk Lake (30 miles). Much farther than I can hike without extra water. Hats off to you, you are much faster, better shape than I am.

[sloetoe]

I'm not going to argue with you about this. Some of us drink more water than others. Hot dry humid temps tend to make one go slower and sweat more. To tel someone that they will never need to cache water when it is dry is misleading.
I have seen the KT so dry that there was NO water from mile 0 all the way to Elk Lake (30 miles). Much farther than I can hike without extra water. Hats off to you, you are much faster, better shape than I am.

Well, you are arguing.

It's not my fault, nor is it the KT's, that you walked by water. Check the URL.

It leaves me curious as to what do you do on the AT when you come to a water source that is dry? Do you give up? Do you wave a wand and divine water caches in front of you? Do you *know* what to do? If you give up, you ain't goin' North, that's for sure. But I bet you don't recommend caching water.

[MacBrave]

Well, you are arguing.
It leaves me curious as to what do you do on the AT when you come to a water source that is dry? Do you give up? Do you wave a wand and divine water caches in front of you? Do you *know* what to do?

For us noobs who aspire to thru-hike the KT some day can you please tell us the secret of what you do when you come to a water source on the KT that is dry?