Water update?

[packerbacker]

Heading up next week for three days. Day 1 Tram -> Little Round Valley. Day 2 -> Little Round Valley, bag the peak, then to Strawberry Junction. Day 3 Strawberry Junction back to the tram. Anybody been through any of these areas recently and have a water report at all? Trying to figure out how much we need to plan on packing in. Thanks!

[Florian]

I'll let others reply re water but you probably meant Round Valley for the first night, not Little Round Valley. RV is two miles from the tram while LRV is on the west side of San Jacinto summit. There is no water at Round Valley but there are some sources fairly near Little Round Valley.

-Florian

[bsmith_the_2nd]

on thursday july 7, 2016 there was a two-hand pool / bowl of water on the PCT at strawberry cienega. i did not touch it so cannot say how long it would take to replenish the pool.

on friday july 8, 2016 there were two, two-hand + one, one-hand pools / bowls of water at wellman's cienega. again, did not appear to be flowing but more of a seep. certainly not like in years past.

carry what you need along these routes.

[rtfdmnf]

Was just up there July 9-10 and it was bone dry in Round Valley. Barely moistening the ground at the Wellman Cienega and Strawberry Cienega, not enough moisture to gain any hydration. Rangers told us the whole area went dry about 2 weeks earlier. Please be careful when planning for your overnight stay in summer; you'll have to pack a lot of your own water.

[Sean]

Does this mean there is no water between Mtn Station and Tahquitz Peak? Is Willow Creek dry? Tahquitz Valley?

[Florian]

Hi Sean. There might be a bit of water at Wellman's Cienega. Willow Creek trail is closed. No water at Round Valley.

-Florian

[GoPlayer]

Rather than starting a new thread:

Water flow at Upper Bed Springs Crossing on Deer Springs trail is still good as of 08/07/16

[jfr]

Water flow at Upper Bed Springs Crossing on Deer Springs trail is still good as of 08/07/16

I'm hoping to spend a night at Little Round Valley in a few weeks. Has anyone been up the Deer Springs Trail lately? Was there still water at Bed Springs?

[DChezNut]

I was up on the mountain Thur 9/15 thru Sat 9/17 this past week. The only water I found was at Bed Springs tricking across the trail, and I was able to (patiently) collect a few liters to filter. It looks like the trickle should be ok for a little while, but you should pack what you need and then use this as a bonus. The extra water was a luxury for me.

[jfr]

I guess that I'd better answer my own question! I was there on September 17.

Yes, there was plenty of water at Bed Springs Crossing on the Deer Springs Trail. The nearby Lily Spring and Rock Spring were flowing across the trail, as well.

There was also water on the Fuller Ridge Trail (PCT) down below at Lower Bed Springs Crossing.


I spent two nights at Little Round Valley, and on my "rest" day I did the 12 mile loop around the mountain, so I have other water news:

I discovered that Deer Springs was dry where it crossed the PCT, but the CCC camp was trail-building full blast and they have a hose running from a small artificial pond up higher in the watercourse to get their water.

Joyce Spring was trickling across the trail just north of Strawberry Junction.

Strawberry Cienega was dry.

Wellmans Cienega was dry at the usual location but there were pools of water at a grassy, marshy area a bit further south.


Don't forget to check out Hikin' Jim's interactive Map of the San Jacinto Mountains as I used his terminology here. His rating for water sources goes from I (least reliable) to V (perennial).


An aside to Jim: Looks like Joyce Spring should be rated a "III" rather than a "II" - at least this year. The "other" Wellmans Cienega that had water was on what one might call the "South Fork" of Willow Creek, on the map's marshy section directly south of the "C" in Cienega, at about elevation 9180 or so.


And here's a shout out to fellow board member Fred, who I met on the trail not far from Wellmans. Nice meeting you! I'll get a trip report posted in a few weeks or so...