Sunshine and Balls, a well known long distance hiking father and daughter team, had their water cache stolen yesterday. Apparently other hikers stole it. This is beyond comprehension. I hope the thieves read this. My message to you is that your are less than scum. What goes around comes around, and I hope you get yours in the end. You can read Balls’ post here.

I am a desert hiker, and your life in a desert hike depends upon water. In hot weather you can die quickly if you don’t have water.

I first read about water caches in Colin Fletcher’s, The Thousand Mile Summer. A ranger had cached water for him in a remote part of Death Valley. And for months, Fletcher worried about this cache being there. It clouded his journey. Water is life.

I too cache water. I try not to, I try to plan my trips with reliable sources of water along my intended hike. But this isn’t always feasible. And when I cache water, I worry about it being undisturbed constantly.

These hikers, these pieces of shit, who put a man and his 13 year old daughter in jeopardy. Yes, you are pieces of shit. I hope your identity is found. Word will get out along the trail and your hike will be miserable.