by Phil » Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:39 am
Reliable year round water on the trail is limited to that unnamed tarn that you can see to the west from the trail about a mile or so past the fork of the trail junction at Cloud's Rest/Sunrise Lakes, and then the small split stream Dave also mentioned coming down off Sunrise Mountain about another klick out (the second has the better flow). Both offer limited camping too (the tarn is better than the stream though), although if you have enough water, there's a flat a little further up the trail at the next junction that will keep you from having to backtrack. If you decide to push on to the summit for the night, at the stream, load up with all the water you think everyone is going to need for the entire up and over on Cloud's Rest, because that's it. There is a small spring on the descent, but in a dry year especially, it's either easy to miss because of low flows, or it's nothing you really want to foul your filter with unless it's an emergency...one of those places where a Sawyer mini comes in really handy. The next good, reliable water is at Sunrise Creek where it joins the JMT.
Also, if you're thinking of heading up to Sunrise Lakes, middle and upper make for better and probably more abundant camping than the lower lake if you hike a little extra to/around them. Bears are really active in the entire area. If the kids or you are fishermen, upper Sunrise if more about catching than just fishing, especially in early season.