Locating water

[msmudduck]

Wanting to hunt a new unit in Colorado this year. I will have no time to scout this year. Other than studying aerial maps what methods do ya ll use to locate water before arriving in the backcountry?


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[Umpqua Hunter]

Google Earth, USGS and BLM maps and look for springs, call BLM or National Forest.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Yep I agree with UH

 

[msmudduck]

So ya ll are mainly looking for springs, I m assuming that's because it's the cleanest source. Do ya ll ever use creeks/streams. Just a little apprehensive that I ll show up to find dry sources.


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[Musket Man]

Are you talking about water for you to drink or water sources animals would be using?

 

[msmudduck]

Searching for drinking water, will have to run it through the filter obviously, just want to have several points already in GPS to check before I arrive.


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[Joseph]

For potable water I always carry a water filtration system for my backpack hunts. Most in my area swear the water is safe to drink from the creeks and springs in southern British Columbia but I'm not interested in testing this for myself. As to actually finding the source, google is good, first hand knowledge is better. So far I've limited my backpack hunts to basins/bowls where I could actually see a small lake or river via google or topo map. I would definitely recommend filtering the water from any source(except maybe rain water) unless you're interested in finding out how far you can stretch the one roll of TP you took in with you.

 

[Musket Man]

As long as you filter it any water source you find will be ok but obviously some will be cleaner and better then others. Look at the maps and google earth as UH suggested and identify all possible water sources. Are you going to be backpack hunting? What type of country is it? If the area looks like it has plenty of water I dont worry to much. If not I stock up good on water at the last place I know there will be water on my way in so I know I will have a couple days to figure out where the best place is to get water near where Im camped.

 

[msmudduck]

Yes it's a backpack hunt unit 74 in colorado. I have a sawyer squeeze system as well as tablets so that should handle my filtration needs.


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[squirrelduster]

One time in the 80's a couple friends and I backpacked into the Monitor mountains in Nevada. That was before people really thought much about drinking the water from a stream.
I would SERIOUSLY recommend not drinking directly from any water source. It looked good and tasted great but about 4 days later things started to not go well. The cramps were horrible. Lucky we were on our way at the time.
Not an experience I care to repeat.

 

[Musket Man]

Yes it's a backpack hunt unit 74 in colorado. I have a sawyer squeeze system as well as tablets so that should handle my filtration needs.


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I have never been in that unit but in the places I have hunted I have never had much trouble finding water in high country. Its amazing how much water there is in that kind of country. Where are you from msmudduck?

 

[CoHiCntry]

You need to make sure the source you found on a map is still flowing at the time you'll be there. If not, you might be in trouble if the next available water source is miles away and you have to hike there to get water every couple day's. A lot of the newer maps will list whether the source is intermittant or not. The west in many places is a lot drier than it used to be. Make sure you know for sure before going in deep and not being able to find water!

 

[msmudduck]

I am from north Mississippi and travel west as much as possible usually once a year. The info on the maps showing if streams would be flowing was more along the lines of what I was curious about. Which maps usually show this type of information?


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[CoHiCntry]

I am from north Mississippi and travel west as much as possible usually once a year. The info on the maps showing if streams would be flowing was more along the lines of what I was curious about. Which maps usually show this type of information? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm not sure which paper maps do and do not have it? If your using a state map chip in your gps, I know they have that information.

 

[Musket Man]

I was thinking the map chip would have it too. I dont see anything on my FS or BLM maps about any water being intermittent or year round but they do show the water sources pretty well. Alot can change from year to year too. Generally the bigger the water source is the more likely it is to have water year round.

 

[trkytrack2]

Obviously boots on the ground is the best source of information but as in your case, that's pretty much out of the equation. Google Maps is usually pretty good but again, the west has been going through the worst droughts in many a year, so as for me, I really wouldn't trust too much of anything that can't be verified. Calls to the USFS, Game and Fish Departments, BLM land managers, etc. might be something to look into. Until I located a good water source in the area I was hunting, I would also carry enough water with me to last a couple of days while hunting, just in case.

 

[msmudduck]

Lots of good info guys, thanks for the replies. I haven't received my chip yet as I just ordered it but I ll be sure to look there. Many more rookie questions to follow as I plan this hunt.. Haha


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[Musket Man]

The chip is very useful even if the unit is mostly public land or you are hunting private land! Last year was my first year using it and after using it Im not hunting anywhere without the chip for the state!