Needles District Water?

[dhertbag]

I'm heading down to the Needles district next weekend (3/27) and am tying to figure out how much water to pack for 3 nights, 4 days. I've read that there's a fairly reliable pool at EC3, where we'll be spending night 1, but it has been an unusually dry and hot year down there so I'm not sure that I can count on that having water. I'm planning on hitting Druid Arch the next day then heading over to Chesler Park for night 2. From there the plan is to head over to Devils Pocket, via the Joint Trail, for night 3. The next morning it will be back to Elephant Hill TH to complete the loop.

The forecast is showing somewhat cooler temps next week but, it's still looking like it's going to be warmer than I'd prefer, and I won't hesitate to cut the trip short if needed and head back to the vehicle where cold(ish) drinks will be waiting. The loop is less than 20 miles in total so I'm not concerned about the milage but, this will be my first time in the area so I don't want to underestimate the difficulty of those miles. I know it's ultimately up to me to figure this out but how much water would you pack?

 

[bvandomelen]

Hey there! I'm tagging on to this post as I have a very similar question. I just got off the phone with the ranger station at in the Needles and they told me that they are "fairly confident" that there should be water toward Druid Arch, but that they are unsure if the pool below EC3 will be dry by the middle of next week. They did not have any recent reports to share, but this was their advice going off of the historically dry year given the heat this week and next.

I'll be monitoring this thread to see if anyone has any more recent trip reports to share!

 

[bvandomelen]

Just realized that I didn't answer your core question. Water use is somewhat personal, but I think the minimum you should be packing would be 4L per person per day. I use closer to 5-6 L a day, but that entirely depends on temperatures and level of exertion. I would pack at least enough water to get to EC3 + Druid Arch and back to the trailhead. If you don't find water at EC3 or along the way to Druid Arch then you can either cut the trip short or you can hike back to the TH to resupply for your night at Chesler Park/Devil's pocket.

 

[Jorey]

Never seen the pool near EC3 not have water, been there many times, many years. Would be curious to hear what you find.