Thanks for this. I'm doing my first August 4 s a day hike as well. Lost my partner so hoping to find a second to use the extra pass. My wife is worried about going alone but this has eased her qualms a bit.
Before the hike I emphasized to my wife that I would be meeting and talking to other hikers on the trail; I think she found that reassuring.
I had read some of the linked materials in Steve C's post above about water and filtering, but having had giardia before (I got it on a surf trip to Baja California in the 90's), I decided to filter water. The Sawyer Mini is inexpensive and lightweight, the trick was getting the unfiltered water into the squeeze bag (I used a 1L Platypus bladder as the squeeze bag). Marty's water collection method sounds good and I plan to use it the next time around.
I think your 3 liter Camelbak reservoir will come in handy for the stretch from Trail Camp to the summit (I would also bring an additional 4th liter for that leg of the hike). You can keep the reservoir partially filled the rest of the time, or dip and drink...plenty of opportunities to do that on the trail!
