This is the map of mile 2.6, including where to find the water.
Ruby Creek Cirque. The ponds are just behind the little cluster of trees, towards the lower-right. This looked like it might be an acceptable place to camp, but don't head down there just for water, unless it's been a dry year -- there should be water in ponds nearer the trail, up above.
The red mountain, beautifully visible from mile 6.5... along with Jack, hiking dog.
Around mile 2.6, I met Pat and her husband, and their dog, Jack. That proved to be fortunate indeed, for I might not have found the water here, otherwise -- not with time left to set up camp before the rain, at least! There's map below with the location.
The three of them were downright extraordinary. Pat and her husband were around late retirement age; their dog was a shelter rescue. They'd fitted him with a pack. Jack carried his own food and water, plus a little extra water for them, and seemed pretty happy about the situation -- made me wish for a dog! The three of them were hiking the CT a week or so at a time, one chunk each year. I hope they made it through to Silverton.
I ended up pushing past their stopping point (the beautiful yurt at 8.7) and trying to make it to Carson Saddle. I didn't get there... not that night. The talus climb at 12.0 was so downright awful, slow, and exhausting, I ended up still at 13,000 feet by nightfall, and camped there. By this point, acclimation to high elevations is pretty much complete -- I had no problems, save an occasional shortness of breath. But there was nothing to burn, and even if I'd had a stove, it might not have worked. I crunched down an uncooked block of Ramen. Hope you'll pack better food choices than I.
Watch for misleading cairns. There's no real danger of getting lost, because the CT track is cut and very clear and other trails can't even be seen. But their guiding rockpiles still stand, leading off over the flowered tundra.
The one nice bit about this high alpine walk is that there was plenty of water, contrary to the somewhat hysterical warnings issued by the Guidebook. If you've been having good afternoon showers over the past several days, if you can clearly see dampness in the top layer of soil, you'll find water, too, at approximately miles 13, 14.4, and 16.5. Look off the trail, to your left. There are some large ponds downhill of every saddle, but also several smaller ones nestled closer to the trail. Collecting water from one of them will save you from having to haul four liters up that monstrous talus scramble.
One item you should drag up there, however... is a pack of spare batteries. Really. Several hikers I spoke with also had their cameras go dead at just this point. Perhaps the devices know that the scenery here is some of the wildest and highest in North America, that there are hundreds of views so striking you'll yearn to capture them. Perhaps it's merely Murphy's law at work. Whatever the ultimate cause of camera failure, make sure your spare batteries are fresh. You may well need them.
Shortly before Carson Saddle, you'll probably start to see ATVs again. The roads they race over are worn in deep ravines and potholes large enough to sink a jeep -- it'd be interesting to see how the accelerated erosion shapes this area over the next couple centuries. The trail soon crosses the road which leads down and to your right; you can stay on switchbacked footpaths for part of the way at first (highly recommended), but eventually you'll have to rejoin the slick, steep road.
The knife-edge ridge extends the next couple hundred yards up the trail is scarier than it looks here. Off to the right, the views are extraordinary and stunning -- and camera slaying. :< Note the plateau and rocky outcrop in the upper-left of this picture. Looks steep? That's where the trail goes.
Jack, with his packs, takes a breather. So does my pack.
Suggested updates to the guidebook:
0.0
Though there are toilets at this trailhead, they are the old type. Which means they stink so strongly of ammonia, you may be in very real danger of passing out and having to be rescued by hazmat crews. Don't know about you, but I'd rather pee behind a tree than risk such a fate.
1.7
It's hard to tell where this water source actually is. I wandered through several meadows and found marshy bits, but no water. It'd be easier to just go ahead to 2.6.
2.6
The actual spring is located off the road to your right, just before you leave the road for the trail; there may be some trickles of water running across the road which mark the general area. To find the best place to gather water, look for a large 'W'-shape of boulders and talus, about 200 feet upslope to your right. There are small pools and streamlets near both bottom points of the 'W'. There are camping spots past the 'W', near the treeline.
3.5
Bear left, climb a hill and enter the Jarosa mesa alpine area. The ground here is very, very rocky, so no actual trail could be cut -- you have to follow cairns for about 2 miles. This is easier than it sounds, as the cairns basically just lead you in a straight line west, to a point just barely left of a hilltop with communications antenna. You wouldn't want to camp up here, though.
5.6
At the base of the hill with the communications antenna, you'll come to a T-intersection. Bear left (west) around the antenna hill. The intersection is marked.
6.5
There are lots of ATVs along this road. Also, if you keep an eye open to your right, you'll see a fantastic red-sided mountain.
8.7
After you head right and downhill, through the forest and away from the ATV road, you'll come to an open field which is crossed by a very faint jeep road. Across the road and to your left, you'll see broad-leaved plants and possibly evidence of erosion, about 100 feet left off the trail. This is the Big Buck spring, and you'll find water somewhere along this watercourse, starting at the eroded spot. If you follow the faint jeep road right (uphill) you'll come to the famously comfortable yurt and a field of wildflowers in about 0.3 miles -- a very highly recommended stopping spot.
8.8
Enter a thick forest and start heading up. These are practically the last trees you'll see for the next 30 miles -- there is precious little firewood ahead, if you've been cooking on campfires. Also, you'll scarcely dip below 12,000 feet for the next 30 miles, and many stoves don't work well at that elevation. Hope you brought a no-cook dinner or two.
11.4
Cross a short knife-edge ridge with tremendous views down to your right. Check your spare camera batteries: I only discovered that mine had died here, when I needed them most! To your left, you can spot pools of water at the head of Ruby Creek. To get to the water there, though, it's a half-mile hike south and maybe 300 feet down.
12.0
Make a note of this point, for it is the single most difficult portion of the CT. The trail seems to head straight up a crumbling cliffside, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that the trail could not possibly go up right *there.* But it does. Take your time on the climb, watch for any indication of switchbacks, as they will make your ascent marginally easier. You might want to pack up your trekking poles, so you can use your hands better. Be extraordinarily careful about cutting switchbacks, even if it's clear other people have become confused and done so, because you could find yourself rim-rocked on the edge of a cliff. I did. My only consolation on the climb was the occasional hoofprint -- proof that horses have made it up this slice of talus hell. And if horses made it, so could I... and so can you.
13.0, 14.4, 16.5
There were ponds near the trail (within 0.3 miles and 100 vertical feet) at all these spots. The ones at 14.4 are evidently quite reliable, the others may only appear in the days after rain. Unless you're hiking during a very dry year, don't try to haul tons of water up the awful ascent at 12.0.
The elevation profile for this segment is generally correct.
---->Onward, to segment 23!
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