Going in from the South is longer. My son and Grizz and a couple more did it going to the HH one time. Also the parking is not as good in terms of visibility. I am a little hesitant to leave my car there as opposed to the North Nebo Ridge bike parking area, but no one has reported any trouble either way.
I like your plans to go tomorrow and Monday. Much better weather! I honestly don't think you will find good water down there anywhere this time of year unless it's raining cats and dogs. The resovour itself is dirty, slight oil slick all over it and full of mosquito larvae, but I have drank from it a few times. The creeks are dry except for an occasional pool of water an inch deep or less and the only one i found down there was teeming with life, but I didn't have a container to boil it in and I wouldn't try filtering the water in a pool or a pond. Last time I tried filtering in one of the many ponds down there, I ruined my filter cartridge. Just wouldn't work any more, and I had the pre filter and everything. I even tried filtering through a nylon stocking, but the darn water would't even go through the stocking, no kidding.....! The best way to drink from a pond it to try to filter through a loose knit piece of fabric, then treat with Aqua Fina. That takes some of the bad taste out of the water and actually lightens up the grey color a bit too. This is not a comedian trying to tell a joke here, it's that bad in the summer. In the winter it's not a problem.
Here's what I do. I eat a big meal before going in, and carry a couple gallons of water in my car. I hydrate really well before leaving the car, and I take about three or four liters of water for an overnight trip. (IF you read about my last trip where I got sort of lost coming out of Brown Hollow two weeks ago, you would have seen where water was my biggest worry since I may have had a long walk to find the road. I took 3 liters with me, drank two and a half before leaving to go back to the car the next day, and did barely have enough by the time i found a trail I recognized.)
So if you take a gallon of water or a little more, you should have plenty to drink for an overnight trip. If I plan on coming out int he morning I can get by with two liters. I don't take any food that needs water added either. I don't even have coffee if it's this warm, just drink water. If you plan to be out there all day on the second day another couple liters would be a good idea.
If we go tomorrow I will likely throw in a couple GatorAids and take two liters of water in my camelback pack insert. I would prefer to come out about mid afternoon. What are your thoughts on this?
To complicate the story, there is an artesian well in the bottom of Miller hollow, a place hard to find from the tower on tower road. Then there is Terrell Pond. Terrell Pond water is better than those small ponds for drinking water, but we will likely have to hang away from the pond. It may be crowded a bit this weekend.
As you see, I am open to about anything. I wish we had water in those hollows like we do all winter and spring.
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