Walter S

Yes, but that's not true for most of my camping. I recently went camping in Dawson Forest where I had to be careful to manage water. The camping is free but there are no facilities like bathrooms and potable water - just the forest and some trails. There's a store near the south east corner of the forest. But if you're on the north side of the forest you'll have to go several miles AFTER you get out the forest itself (which might be two or three hours on a strenuous trail) before you see safe drinking water.

So I've learned by experience. I fill up five water bottles at my last water stop along with my collapsible water container that will fill most of five again. Even at that, I'll need to leave the forest sometime the next morning rather than just go exploring. On my last trip I had one water bottle left when I made it to my water stop the next day. Having that is not excess - that's a buffer in case of unexpected delays like fixing a tire in the sun for example.

Edit: It's worth mentioning that I could treat the plentiful water that's in the forest, like from the Etowah River. I need to learn more about doing that. And also educate myself on the risks to my health that might remain in spite of that. This might enable me to spend the whole weekend in the forest. In the meantime I'll continue to stay safe by carrying it all with me.