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Hi,

I'm planning on taking some scouts backpacking on the western half of the Cabin Loop from the Barbershop Trailhead on FR139 to to the Pinchot trailhead via Houston Brothers Trail southbound to General Crook Trail to Fred Haught Trail in early September. I'm familiar with the eastern half of the Cabin Loop but it will be the first time any of us have hiked the western half of the loop.

Looking at the water reports here, it looks like General Springs and Fred Haught spring are our main water sources on the western side of the loop. I see a water report from July indicating some water at both locations. Are these perennial springs? Are they reliable? I worry a lot about running out of water with ten scouts. Does anyone have an opinion on the reliability of these two springs? I'm wondering if I should cache water midway on the hike as a backup. Any thoughts?

After recent rains, Houston Draw has a lot of water right now. There is definitely always water at McFarland, Aspen, and Pinchot Springs. On the Fred Haught trail there is always water at General Springs and after recent rains you should have water off and on until you're past Fred Haught Canyon-- then you'll mostly be dry until Pinchot.

FYI... that section of the General Crook doesn't really exist. You'll be walking on FR300 for 4 miles.

Tough_Boots wrote:FYI... that section of the General Crook doesn't really exist. You'll be walking on FR300 for 4 miles.

Well, there's no tread but there are blazes to follow when you can find them along with the old road cut. My daughter and I hiked the loop mid June and were able to keep our walk on FR300 fairly minimal. I think the scouts might have fun looking for the blazes and road. We had a GPS with tracks that also helped with the navigation. My track is at [ gps route ]

I was just out there this past weekend and lots of water sources along the entire way of the western loop. Nothing more than quart per minute flow at all, but very reliable at regular intervals.

And yeah, I struggled with General Crook too. The chevrons disappeared after a while, but did not walk on FR300 due to so much traffic.