I recently went on a trail hike to see if I could do a 30 mile thru hike with the pack. My pack weight was around 13-15 lbs, not counting food and water. (Not a gram checker, but definitely doing the ounces turn to pounds and pounds to pain method) I carried my water in the 1.5 liter smart water bottles, (2) and (2) 1 liter water bottles. I also had a sawyer mini squeeze filter system, that I have used before. So, starting out it was about a gallon and a half, or one day's worth?
My maps showed some streams that I hoped to get water from, but no success. On my second day about lunch time I realized that if I didn't get more water along the trail, it was going to be dry that night for supper. I was out of water by noon, and I ended up bugging out to the highway, and walking back to the car at the trail start. So I did only 1/3 of the trail, or half counting the walk back without the pack to get the car. (Hitchhiking is not a great method to "return to start")
So, hindsight works like 20/20 vision for me, and reflection says I should have cached water along the trail, and/or got more detailed information from the ranger on water availability. I also should have carried the maximum amount I could, as I had a flat gallon bag for collection and filtering. It seems that the sacrifice of water availability to having a lighter pack weight is a skill I have yet to master

FYI, this trail I attempted is the Sacramento Rim Trail, 30 miles that roughly parallels the Sunspot Observatory Highway, south of Cloudcroft, NM. I purposefully planned to have the option to get off the trail at most points that crossed roads, which was a good plan. I may go back another time, and will cache water at access points on the trail to be safe.
This trail is actually a two day fast hike, but I was enjoying the backpack/hammocking slower walking adventure of it all. I had planned 3 nights and 4 days for it. I also could have just soldiered on, but not having water restocking options for the future really freaked me out.
Thoughts?
Take it easy,
GMCPCS