Dude, the bugs sucked. Wish I'd taken a net for my head/face. Bug spray only lasted for so long but they were swarming pretty bad and got worse as it warmed up. This is one you wanna start super early for, it was pretty hot on the way down. I took 3L of water and drank almost all of it. You can take a filter and get some water from the stream on the way back. I would have been about ready to use my filter by the time I reached the stream but wasn't sure when I'd see it so I conserved a little, but I would have been fine. I think the stream starts at the very beginning of the trail and ends about 3 miles in, so that last three miles before you're back at the parking lot should have intermittent access to the stream, but please double check.