3,779 desert water reports say “dry.”
56,265 public reports from 313 water sources between Campo and Kennedy Meadows, 2013 to 2026, read one by one. This is the long view of each source, not today’s conditions.
Share of water reports saying “dry,” by season
2018 had the highest dry share. 2021, his year, was second. 2023, the big snow year, had the lowest.
SEASONS 2013 TO 2016 HAD UNDER 1,000 REPORTS EACH AND ARE LEFT OFF THE CHART
2022 had the most dry reports, 661. It also had the most hikers writing.
Counted as a share, 2022 lands fourth. Thirty-seven of the trail’s forty most-reported waypoints are water sources, and the desert holds the top six.
A report counts as dry when it says “dry” about the water. Dry camping, dry bags and dry socks don’t count. How this was counted.
The desert’s most-watched water
all-time report counts, the top of the whole 2,650-mile table. The most-watched water almost never fails.
The water that fails
the sources hikers find dry most often, all time and in his year. At mile 57.6 in 2021, fifteen of sixteen reports said dry.
How this was counted
Every public hiker comment posted at a water source between mile 0 and mile 702.2, from the first in 2013 to September 30, 2026. A source counts as water when the trail app marks it as water or the comment is filed as a water report. 56,265 reports came from 313 sources.
A report counts as dry when it uses the word “dry” about the water. Phrases like dry camp, dry bag, dry socks or dry air are removed first.
Seasons are calendar years. A season with more hikers writing has more dry reports even when the water was fine, so the chart shows the share, not the count. This is history. For this week’s water, check the current reports in your trail app and the Pacific Crest Trail Association before you carry.
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