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My husband and I left water right where the trail crosses Grants Wash, Friday April 27 around 6:30 p.m. There was an empty water jug tied to a tree right at the trail, we filled it about half full with the water we had with us. After we did that, I was wondering if it was a good idea. The jug was clearly left there by a trail walker, we just thought we were doing a good deed.

Any comments by anyone as to whether we should do this or not?

If you really want to be helpful, contact the Arizona Trail Assn. for ideas on ways you can be "trail angels." I would say that leaving water out there is not a bad idea at all, but perhaps there is a way to do it to let hikers know this is general water meant for them, and doesn't belong to a specific hiker. I'm sure that some of the AZT Assn. members will post on here pretty quick and give you some ideas.

How trail angels help others, and in doing so, enrich their own lives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVi6Ce0vvZM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHLk0blvgGI
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index. ... trail.html

There are only a few "official" water cache's on the AZT, more are planned but you don't just go plop down a metal box on public land. But there are as many unofficial ones as there are bottles of water left alongside the trail. What you found was likely the empty, someone left it there, then filled up when they came thru and left the jug there. Hikers are encouraged to take their empty containers with them, but many do not, or come back after they finish and pick them up. This is a pretty dry year and there are a concern-worthy number of hikers starting late-owing likely to the publicity the trail received because it is complete (but never done).

So your choice was to leave it there, take it with you, or as you did, replenish. I bet some thirsty late comer will be grateful of the choice you made. But much later in the year I would vote for taking it with you. When is it a cache and when is it trash? I don't have a pat answer.

Thanks for your input guys.

The bottle was actually tied in a tree, so my assumption was it would have been eventually replenished or maybe retrieved by someone at a later date. Normally I would have taken it with me, but didn't considering the way I found it. My hubby and I actually had a lengthy discussion about what to do with it. We always pick up trash we find on our outings anyway.

Kathy

Hope you enjoyed the videos! I especially liked the PCT one. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. ;)

Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch them. Youtube is blocked at work, and I'm getting error messages on my home computer. My home system is over 12 years old, so probably a memory issue. If I get a chance I'll view them on someone else's computer.

But don't leave any cache out too long or this will happen in the desert heat and sun: http://youtu.be/eEf48ymDFi0

Loved the Trail Angel videos! I love helping out AZT hikers, but unfortunately haven't run into any this year.

'course Skurka, having passed reliable Putnam Spring only a few hours prior, really had no excuse to show up at that cache with only a liter of water.

(FWIW, Putnam Spring is on the GET, 3 miles or so east of its junction with the AZT. The AZT crosses Putnam Wash a couple of miles north of where it crosses Camp Grant Wash. At the Putnam Wash crossing is Beehive Well, a corral with a tank and trough that usually has some stagnant, insect-laden water that AZT'ers generally aren't too proud to pass up. The water cache shown in Skurka's video is a few hours' hike north of Beehive Well at Freeman Road and is a good place to focus trail angeling efforts, since it's an "official" cache location stocked by the trail community and contained in a nice shady box.)

I cached a gallon jug just north of Cedar Ranch trailhead. I noticed many people left their empty jugs, but I carried mine out with me. As it turns out, it didn't weight much and it came in very useful at Russell Tank to scoop water and then I tossed it in the garbage cans at the trailhead there. Also, the toilets at Russell can make for a great shelter if there's bad weather, like lightning, when you get there. ;)