Next week is our ride

I posted back in June about our planning. The only change is we are planning to push on into Hermann from Rocheport which is a long day. Sorry Doug for not staying with you but we wanted to see Hermann. I am taking your contact info for shuttle if the weather kills the day.

So the housing plan is Kim's Cabins, School House B&B Dorm building, Vinchester Inn. Will do a trip report after.

Questions:
1) Water - I know people have said there is water at all the trail heads. Can we count on water at least every 30 miles? We usually ride with two water bottles and a 1 liter Nalgene but wondering if we should add a second Nalgene to the panniers? Running out of water vs. extra weight.

2) Wading the creek at the washed out bridge. Is there any indication from shore about the depth? We also backpack so we are used to wading through creeks but really don't want to end up above our knees. The back up is to take the detour but seems wading is preferred.

3) What is the current condition of the trail? Sounds like crews have been at work on repairs. Are we still going to run into multi-mile patches of rough trail or walking? Is there much that is going to slow us down? The trail advisory has 50+ miles on the Rock Island which doesn't sound good but not much on the Katy itself.

To answer your question about wading Salt creek. the last time I went through there (May) there was a line of stones showing where the ford was. If you see the stones then it is ok to wade. If not it is worth your time to try and walk across with out your bike to test the water level. Then you can judge whether or not it is safe to take your bike across as well. One work of note the concrete slab that makes up the ford is slippery due to algae growth.

There is not water at every trailhead. Do not count on water every 30 miles or at any distance for that matter. There is always the possibility that it is under repair for whatever reason. We always fill up when we reach a trailhead with water or any opportunity to fill up. Take the extra bootle if you feel you may need it and don’t pass on filling up when you can.

There was a list of places with water on this forum some time ago….not sure how current it is. Search “water” to find it and look at the Towns and Services above for locations.