DAE map out water sources before a trip? I almost ran dry on the Eagle Rock loop because I trusted the map
Last weekend I hiked the Eagle Rock loop in Arkansas and almost ran out of water on day two. The map I printed showed a spring at mile 14, but when I got there it was just a dry patch of rocks with no water for miles. I had maybe half a liter left and still had 6 miles to the next marked source. I ended up filtering from a muddy puddle that tasted like dirt and praying I would not get sick. After that I started calling the local ranger station before every trip to ask which springs are actually flowing, and it has saved me twice since. I also started marking extra sources on my GPS that are not on the paper map, like a creek crossing I found by accident. Now I carry an extra 2 liters no matter what the map says. Has anyone else had a map lie to them about water, and how do you double check before you go?