I did not bring any water with me from the trailhead. There is water in multiple places along the trail, including the switchbacks, there's even some above the cables. I had a 24 oz water bottle and I refilled it when it ran out. I brought the basic necessities (first aid kit, flashlight, batteries, knife, etc), cookies, gels, and some electrolyte powder. I recommend bringing at least a couple of gels (GU or Clif), they are cheap, lightweight, and many people don't have much of an appetite for solid food at high altitude. At departure, my backpack weighed 6 lbs.
Excellent post. Makes me want to run up and do a mid week attempt. Big question for me is did you filter the water or not? My brother and I are always arguing about this issue. I have never gotten sick from the water. He won't drink without filtering. To each his own. But it matters in that it lightens the pack weight.
BTW - snack size butter fingers tend to get me through the "I can't take another step" phase.
Thanks for the post.
