When it comes to backpacking, many people like to dry camp at a considerable distance from a water source to enjoy a view, camp at a distance from other people, or because there’s less animal activity farther away from water. Dry camping often requires carrying extra water for camping, so you have enough for cooking and drinking at night, and to see you to the next water source the following day.
In order to dry camp, you need to know three things:
- How much water do you need for the rest of the day, overnight, and the following morning?
- Where is the next reliable water source and how much water do you need to get to it?
- How much storage capacity do you need to carry extra water?
There’s no right or wrong answer to any of these questions. (Well, there are sometimes wrong answers…which is the point of this article.) But your dry camping water needs are worth considering when planning a trip and when packing, particularly if you like to backpack in places that other people don’t frequent and there’s still some uncertainty in what you might find.
How much water do you need for a dry camp?
When I dry camp in New England, where water sources are fairly plentiful, I like to have 4 or 5 liters for dry camping. This gives me enough to make dinner (1.5L), drink water at night (1L), and eat breakfast/have tea the next morning (1.5L). That’s just my preference based on a lot of experience.
How much water do you need to get to your next water source?
After a dry camp, I like to leave camp with 1L to get to the next water source. I’m usually pretty well hydrated after my morning oatmeal and a big pot of tea and that 1L is often enough to see me through the morning. But how much you need will really depend on climate and what your maps tell you about the next place with water.
How much storage capacity do you have to carry extra water?
If you want to dry camp, you need to carry extra water capacity to haul the water you need. For example, I usually backpack with the ability to carry 5L of water and find that soft bottles, like a 2L Platypus Plus Bottle (which really holds 70 oz) or a HydraPak 3L Seeker Soft Bottle (which is available with a filter) work well as adjuncts to the normal 1-2L that I carry during the day in more rigid bottles. Soft bottles collapse flat when not in use, so they take up virtually no room in my pack.
How often do you dry camp and how much extra water do you like to carry?
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