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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 15, 2007 - 03:18pm PT
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Just a note to save you money and the environment too.
The tap water in Yosemite is as delicious as any bottled water. It's free and comes from a deep aquifer.
And heck, a lot of bottled water is just filtered tap water.
If you really want Spring water, that's free too from Fern Springs on the right soon after you enter one-way Southside drive. I haven't tested it but Werner, Ron Kauk, and I have been drinking it for many years and our friends too. Best water in the world (disclaimer: you could die)
Josh has good water too. If I were you, I'd get some big bottles and take water FROM Yosemite and not TO Yosemite.
It's a double failure if you have to buy water IN Yosemite. Avoid this like retrobolting classics.
Let's hear it, where else has good water that doesn't need buying. We should also start a separate thread about water issues. We're being domesticated to accept buying privatized water and having bad tap water. The world might run out of Gas someday and have to deal but I've heard it said that the REAL issue will always be water and come down to water.
Peace
Karl
Fern Springs (there's a pool behind the falls)
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James
climber
A tent in the redwoods
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May 15, 2007 - 03:21pm PT
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Ron washes his feet in Fern Spring. Watch out.
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John Moosie
climber
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May 15, 2007 - 03:24pm PT
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Who would have thought 30 years ago that water would cost more at the 7/11 then gasoline.
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Tahoe climber
Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
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May 15, 2007 - 03:28pm PT
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Lake Tahoe has better tap water than any I've ever tasted.
San Diego has some of the worst tap water I've ever tasted.
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climbrunride
Trad climber
Durango, CO
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May 15, 2007 - 03:29pm PT
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I've taken water in bottles home FROM Yosemite for years. It's way better than that Toxic Springs Mineral Water that came out of my tap when I lived in Santa Cruz.
For everyone going to Moab: There is a great spring with free water on River Road, about 1/4 mile from 191, on the right. Look for water flowing out of a pipe.
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ThomasKeefer
Trad climber
Between Tuscano and Liguria, Italia
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May 15, 2007 - 03:32pm PT
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The spring at the top of Royal Arches always seems pretty refreshing....
In fact it is the reason that I have never learned the NDG descent after Arches or CJ.
I have actually been doing an ad hoc study since 1997. Outside of one trip in the Tetons when my wife was 7 months pregnant during which we pumped, I have not stopped filtering water in the backcountry all together. I now live in Italy and it seems that everyone here simply drinks water from springs and streams. They actually can be seen regularly lining up empty bottles on a side of the road spring to be filled up and used throughout the week.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
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May 15, 2007 - 03:37pm PT
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I know for a fact that there has been at least one dead cat and a loaded diaper found in fern springs... YMMV. Drink up AC.
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euro-brief-guy
climber
mountain view, ca
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May 15, 2007 - 03:38pm PT
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Heard a story about Kauk going on tilt after finding a loaded diaper in Fern springs.
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TradIsGood
Happy and Healthy climber
the Gunks end of the country
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May 15, 2007 - 03:38pm PT
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Whoa, that water is cloudy! ;-)
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Gene
climber
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May 15, 2007 - 03:39pm PT
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With all due respect to Karl, please use the taps in Yosemite and leave Fern Spring pristine. The last thing needed is more traffic to an untrammeled area of the Valley.
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kev
climber
CA
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May 15, 2007 - 03:44pm PT
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You can purchase 7 gallon containers from REI. And if you want to spend 25 instead of 15 you can get a container with a filter so you can take water from a random stream/creek. Not only will this save you $, and less the impact on the enviornment you wont have to keep filling your gallon jugs...The containers pay for themselves with a single one week trip for 3 or 4 people!
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Topic Author's Reply - May 15, 2007 - 03:58pm PT
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"With all due respect to Karl, please use the taps in Yosemite and leave Fern Spring pristine. The last thing needed is more traffic to an untrammeled area of the Valley."
I don't think that's an issue with regard to telling climbers about it. Fern Springs is 10 feet from the road, there's a big pullout, the tour busses stop and point it out, and a restoration project has fenced off the area to the right and left.
Peace
karl
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SammyLee
Trad climber
Memphis
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May 15, 2007 - 04:14pm PT
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One of the damn few things Memphis has going for it is good water. Super large, deep aquafier. Fine fresh clear water straight from the tap.
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mso4 Man
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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May 15, 2007 - 04:19pm PT
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I am in Bend and the HOH here is as good as I have had. Tastes even better than the filtered sheeit that I was used to on the east coast.
peace
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Bart Fay
Social climber
Redlands, CA
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May 15, 2007 - 04:24pm PT
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Mmmmmm yum, Free Joshua Tree Water. Ghaaak !
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 15, 2007 - 04:33pm PT
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I would like to broaden Karl's appeal, and suggest that people not buy bottled water at all - unless there is some compelling health reason for doing so, or you're in a situation (desert road trip) where you have little choice. It may taste better than water from the tap - but tap water is almost always bacteriologically safer. Have a look at the EPA website.
Bottled water is mostly a wasteful affectation.
In isolated cases, usually in an emergency, tap water may not be available or safe. And we should all have an emergency supply at home. Easy to buy and fill a large sturdy container, and regularly drain, clean, dry and refill it. (Alternatively, add a drop or two of bleach.) But have a filter or purifier, or at least water treatment drops, too.
While you're at it, have a travel mug, and save paper cups. Easy to get in the habit of bringing it home and washing it, then leaving it by the door for pickup on the way out.
In the very unlikely event that your municipal tap water is truly unsafe to drink, you should be raising hell with the government, and the EPA. You pay taxes for safe water.
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Wade Icey
Social climber
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May 15, 2007 - 05:48pm PT
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I drank water from fern spring for a decade (80's) with no ill effects.
last fall I participated in the facelift. first 2 days I walked the glacier point road from GP to 40. hauled out two bags of trash - mostly toilet paper, cig butts and snack food wrappers- thought that was a pretty good haul.
The next day I started at the pohono bridge and spent all day on the section between the bridge and the El Cap turn around. Every turnout was horrendous. within a 100 feet of the road there were TP flowers everywhere. Two full bags of trash in less than three miles. 99% toilet paper. I only vomited twice that day.
At the Fern spring turnout, I was psyched to see a little split rail fence had been built and only negligable amounts of butts and wrappers - I later found out that Ron had been instrumental in protecting and cleaning the spring - Unfortunately, directly uphill from the spring for about the usual hundred feet there were fully loaded diapers, Tp and unburied shitpiles everywhere. I spent a solid hour cleaning the area before moving on to the thousands of cigarette butts, diapers and Tp blobs along the bridalveil lot and straightaway.
My journal from that day reads-
9/28 Pohono Bridge to East Butt of Middle. every inch of road, every turnout, 30 lbs. of toilet paper and cig butts. twice I puked deli coffee on my shoes from the stench of the bag i'm carrying. Thought this would be somehow satisfying, uplifting and a chance to do some good. Instead it is grim, nauseating, shocking and humiliating. Fern Sping covered with diapers and toilet paper. a sacred place defiled. how can we protect this place from ourselves? I'm heartbroken and ashamed to be a member of the human race. We are, as a species, truly the scum of the earth, stupidf*#ks...
Later, i went for a swim in the river, washed off some of the doom and gloom, watched some gold leaves fall and had a couple of beers in el cap meadow then went back to camp, where a friend filled me in on Kauks' work on the spring.
I saw Ron at the Facelift party but couldn't bring myself to mention the spring.
For 25 years Fern was my first stop upon arrival in the valley. Now I get my water from the tap at the gate or the cafe.
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the Fet
Knackered climber
A bivy sack in the secret campground
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May 15, 2007 - 05:55pm PT
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Loaded diapers at the spring, man that's nasty.
I concur with Karl, yosemite water rules. When packing for a visit I almost always get out my water bottles and head over to my sink to fill up, then remember how good the water is in Yosemite and leave them empty. I usually do my first fill up at the North entrance station on 120. The water there is great. Not the same as the valley, I'm sure, but at 6000' feet elevation in the middle of nowhere, I'm sure it's a good source.
At home our water is pretty good. I usually fill up water bottles at the big filter thing they have at the supermarket. Same water but triple filtered so it's even better.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 15, 2007 - 05:55pm PT
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I only had one day at the Facelift, and with a partner worked from the 140/120 junction down to the Arch Rock station. Similar experience, though not quite as gross. Picked up a lot of water bottles, pop cans, beer bottles and cans, etc. Recycled.
I was surprised that there aren't more roadside garbage containers, at least at pull outs. Also, portable toilets in a few key places would help.
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Wild Bill
climber
Ca
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May 15, 2007 - 06:00pm PT
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Thanks for posting Karl.
Let's not forget that San Francisco (and parts of the East Bay) has delicious Hetch Hetchy water. And New York City also has great water from upstate. Problem is it sometimes gets yucky from its travels through the city to the tap, like those rooftop holding tanks!
There was a brilliant thread about the scourge of bottled water a while back, posted by some genius:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=308521&msg=308521#msg308521
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