Hit the PCT section near Crater Lake and finally saw what everyone talks about

Did a 3 day stretch on the PCT west of Crater Lake last month. What got me was how clean the water sources are, no silt or algae at all. Has anyone else noticed how different the water quality is on that section versus the Oregon coast trails?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade_kelly7716d ago

Oh man, I feel you on that water clarity thing. When I did Mazama to the rim last September I kept having to double check my bottles because the water looked like it came out of a tap, not a stream. That's wild david_reed22 mentioned the pumice filtering because I noticed the same thing, the mossy creek near the rim had this insane blue tint to it that I never see on the coastal trails. But I gotta admit, I still filter everything even if it looks perfect, because I once got giardia from a crystal clear alpine lake in the Sierras and that was a nightmare. The cold temp is what really got me though, even in August that water was so cold it hurt my teeth.

david_reed2216d ago

Did you check the volcanic soil filtering through the pumice and basalt? That's exactly why the water stays so clear there, it's like a natural Brita filter all the way from the springs. I've done that same stretch and the difference from the coastal trails is night and day, those coast creeks are always brown from tannins and heavy silt. If you're used to treating water on the coast, you might actually skip filtering up there and be fine, but I still run mine through a sawyer just to be safe because the clarity can fool you into thinking it's sterile. That whole section between Mazama Village and the rim is basically a giant sponge of ancient volcanic rock, so the water trickles through clean and cold. Just watch out for the marmots chewing on your filter hose though, they love the salt from your breath on the mouthpiece.

jana76916d ago

And yeah, that cold water thing is no joke, I remember dipping my hand in one of those feeder creeks near the rim and it literally numbed my fingers in like 10 seconds. The pumice sponge effect david_reed22 mentioned is legit because the water comes out at almost a constant temperature year round from deep underground, way colder than surface runoff. It's honestly worth the extra weight to carry a filter just for peace of mind though, because even if the water looks perfect, you never know what critters are living upstream from a dead animal or something.