Springs in Cleveland National Forest?

Haven't heard of any other springs on that route other than HJ. Easy enough to leave water near the 91, well, not easy but possible. And a quick drive up Maple Springs Road lets you stash water at the halfway point. Refill at Blue Jay Campground and you're set.

 

Just carry some of these:
http://www.globalhydration.com/aquatabs-water-purification-tablets.htm

you can buy them here;
http://www.travelsmartsproducts.ca/store/Aquatabs-Water-Purification-Tablets.html
They really work well and are lighter and more efficient at disinfecting water than filters.

 

Yes, it's easy to drop something off near the Green River golf course to pick up coming out of CHSP before starting up Coal. Not sure the drive up Maple Springs can ever be called quick though, and then you have to come back down. I thought I'd heard there was a spring or something near Bedford Peak, or maybe where Bedford Road hits the Main Divide? That would be good as a second stop. I've made it from Blackstar to 4C unsupported several times, but the extra hour over the peak might be stretching it a bit. Anybody else out there know of water North of 4C?

 

There might be some springs, but they'd probably be mostly below Main Divide. I cannot speak to any flow in most of them. Also, there are some guzzlers up there for wildlife as well as tanks for firefighting.
A quick look at a topo shows Ladd Canyon Spring not too far below the Divide,
a water tank at Main Divide and Bedford,
Maple Spring a couple of switchbacks below 4Corners down Maple Springs road,
Grotto Spring down Harding ride a bit,
I know of a guzzler at Modjeska on the point westward where the tower is - probably very difficult to get water out of,
Jamison Spring down Joplin aways,
Bear Spring right on the Divide at the top of Lower Holy Jim,
Los Pinos Spring - though it's easier to get to Falcon or Blue Jay CG's.

That's what a quick look at the topo shows me following Main Divide from 91 to 74.

 

I talked to my brother this morning.. He's in Colorado now, but used to live here and was part of the Sierra Club Trailbuilding crew that built and maintained a lot of the trails in the Cleveland National Forest, @ 30 years ago. I asked him about Bear Springs (top of Lower Holy Jim), and he says he used to drink out of it all the time. Never a problem. He used to drink water from all over the Cleveland, unfiltered and pure.

Now, with mortgages and all that good stuff, neither of us can afford the downtime of dealing with Giardia. And it's probably not even there. But after the huge public information barrage, all naturally occurring water went from being the best stuff on earth, to microbe-infested poison. What a shame.

I'm surprised a trail runner or hiker hasn't posted that they drink the water on a regular basis. Maybe they're saving it all for themselves.. Failing that, any lab results yet?

 

All right, that does it. I'm gonna drink there. I'll let you know if I die

 

I used to drink out of the gutter when I was a kid and I'm perfectly fine now, why waste time going in the house for a drink when you had running water right there. Good Luck.

 

Just treat it with a pocket UV. I actually carry one of these in the summer!

 

That's very cool. I've used iodine crystals, tablets, and pumps while backpacking, but that looks a lot faster. If I read their web site correctly, it's about a minute per half liter. I might have to get one of those. Still, the real problem is finding some water to treat while up on the Main Divide.

 

The spring I photoed is actually about a mile below Main Divide on Holy Jim. I can even point it out on Google Earth if someone wants to know exactly where it is. You can't miss it if you are on Holy Jim - it literally pools in the trail even during the driest days of the summer and the hole it comes out of is right next to the trail.

The spring at the TOP of Holy Jim - the one right there on Main Divide and the bottom of Upper HJ - I don't even know if it's flowing anymore. There is a huge cistern there and a bunch of old pipes, but no sign of water. I did not feel like climbing to the top of the cistern and looking inside, though it appears the access hatch is open. It gets a 10 out of 10 score for "scary place to be messing around in if you are on Main Divide by yourself".

 

UV works well but not if you are forced to drink muddy or murky water, plus they rely batteries to work. I prefer simple and trusty water filter.

Dean

 

And if you drop down Maple Springs, or Harding, or wherever-- you've got to climb back up-- which is self-defeating.

Another plan, go on a cool winter or spring day, start at Coal Canyon/Black Star/Skyline with a full camelbak plus a large water bottle, ride to Bear Springs, re-fill with enough to get to Blue Jay, fill-up again, and head down San Juan.*

*I'd recommend checking with Bonsainut to make sure he survives his personal 'water purity' field testing of Bear Spring's water

 

I know some runners who drank out of the spring at Laurel Springs (about half way down Harding). They never had any problems from that..

 

i'm no geohydrologist or anything, but just because it comes from the ground does not mean it is safe to drink.

 

Yep, some springs in the Clevelands have Selenium in them and are not safe to drink. These are on the Aqua Tibia side
of the Santa Annas above the Vail lake area. I have a friend who is a Wildlife Biologist for the forestry service up there on the Orange county side of our mountains.
I will see if he knows or has heard anything. By the way you can shove a sloping stick into the hillside if the
spring is just a trickle and the water will drip off the end into your filter,bottle, Camel pac etc.

 

Just carry one of these "straws", simple and light. Mostly used for survival in an emergency. Otherwise if your intent is to make it your regular water source the Steri Pen shown by FearlessFly is great. Since it is coming directly out of the rocks, nature's water filter may be just fine. Wouldn't drink out of a pool of water without a filter.

Plenty of vendors, just google it. (Did not see at REI)

http://www.aquasafestraw.com/products/comparison/bcb