AMC huts hazardous to your health?

[Two Speed]

. . . They don't call it "beaver fever" for nothing . . .

"The disease has been referred to as “beaver fever” because of a presumed link to those water-dwelling animals known to be carriers. However, it has been suggested that it is more likely that humans have carried the parasite into the wilderness and that beavers may actually be the victims. In particular, there is a growing amount of data showing that beavers living downstream from campgrounds have a high Giardia infection rate compared with a near-zero rate for beavers living in more remote areas."

. . . Go read the journals . . .

Great idea!

I appreciate it so much I'm gonna suggest some reading material for you:Giardia Lamblia and Giardiasis With Particular Attention to the Sierra Nevada. Right here on WB and free as a breeze!

Yeah, I know I'm gonna regret getting into this conversation. Talking common sense about hygiene . . . my bad.

[the goat]

"The disease has been referred to as “beaver fever” because of a presumed link to those water-dwelling animals known to be carriers. However, it has been suggested that it is more likely that humans have carried the parasite ......

i've had beaver fever since i was 12, haven't been able to shake it since.....

[rsmout]

To the thoughtful members who responded politely, thank you for your observations, suggestions, and links to other information. Very helpful. My take-away rules are to filter/treat all of your water except what you buy or get from town or a house, keep your stuff clean, and keep the hands out of the goody bags.

As for the trashing and name-calling, I guess it takes all kinds to make a world.

[envirodiver]

i've had beaver fever since i was 12, haven't been able to shake it since.....

Treating the symptoms can be very expensive.

[Sickmont]

Treating the symptoms can be very expensive.

You got that right.

[TheChop]

Let's be honest. It's called Beaver Fever because beaver rhymes with fever and we humans think we're clever like that.

[rickb]

i've had beaver fever since i was 12, haven't been able to shake it since.....

I think they mean Castor Canadensis feaver-- for which there is a cure.

[The Old Fhart]

rsmout –“After reading dozens of Trail Journal stories and WhiteBlaze posts, it seems that an amazing number of thru-hikers suffer some form of stomach flu (gastroenteritis) while at a hut or within several hours after leaving a hut.”

All the posts in this WhiteBlaze thread prove exactly the opposite of your claim. Where are the “amazing numbers” of complaints in this thread, or any other thread for that matter? So far you have made a claim using third-hand anecdotal stories that you can’t substantiate, and you call these rumors you’ve started “facts”. Unless and until you can offer any proof, you are displaying the characteristics of a creature that lurks under bridges. Note that it isn’t for others to disprove your claim, the burden is on you to prove your point. So far you’ve failed miserably.

rsmout –“If you think it's fiction, read Slot Machine's 2008 Appalachian Trail Journal, among others (http://www.trailjournals.com). If someone had the time, the topic would make a good master's thesis because the data is there.”

If anyone wants specifics on the above claim, go to: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=246807 and you will see that Slot Machine stayed or stopped at several huts and never claimed the huts had anything to do with his being sick. (“LATE ENTRY: 2:30am - no sleep - something I've consumed has made me sick and I have been in the bathroom all night... “) Reading carefully you will see he picked up a mail drop the day before he got sick and you could speculate that it was much more likely that some of the food that had been setting in that mail drop for who knows how long was more likely the cause his problems than the fresh food he, and many others, got at one of the huts. If the hut food was at fault everyone would have gotten sick and we’d have heard that on the 6 o’clock news. He also continued to stop at the huts with no problems so he didn't have any concerns for the hut food. If you’re going to base your master's thesis using that for data, you aren’t going to graduate.

[Blissful]

Just another observation = I worked in the huts several times washing dishes this past summer and I tried to be really careful doing it correctly with wash, rinse, and sanitize. (I know what needs to be done as I worked food service in concession stands). But I can see where corners can be cut with sanitation there (one guy at Madison did not know how to do it and didn't want to do it and was very thankful I showed up to help. In fact they didn't even instruct on how to do it properly.). The water was nasty and I changed it out many times. I am also a nurse so it was hard to see some of what is done. I'm sure they get instruction, but its good also for fellow hikers doing work for stay to know the proper technique.

[rsmout]

Here's a quote from Mokay on her 2008 trip regarding Carter Notch Hut:

"The final straw in my hut discontent was the water quality test report that I noticed on the message board as we left. Apparently the well water here recently tested with fecal choliform bacteria, and had been remedied by the addition of chlorox. You would think that someone that has been drinking out of streams and lakes for the past 2 months would not care about that, but we had been trusting that the water here was potable without treatment. The sign above the drinking water faucet indicated so, and I personally don't think that posting a report on a message board constitutes sufficient notice to the patrons of the hut that the water may not be as clean as expected. At the very least the report should have been posted over the faucet, next to the "water bottles can be filled here" sign."

Here's the link to her post: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?ID=248076

I know the post is three years old, but if you search TJ you can find more recent posts about stomach trouble in the AMC hut system, as well as other locations north and south. I think the

Perhaps the AMC huts have done something to solve the problems with water quality since then. If I'm up there this summer and I find a notice, I'll take a picture and post it. If I don't find a sign and don't have any problems, I'll let everyone know.

[emerald]

It may be a good time to point out correlation is not the same as causation and anecdotes are not the same as data. I see no data or any good reason for anyone to change their plans or boycott AMC.

[mikec]

I've eaten at Lonesome Lake and Madison Spring and thought that the food was good and I didn't get sick. Now, if you have ever seen the young college kids bringing food up to these huts, it is an interesting sight. I took the Valley Way Trail down from Madison to NH2 once and I passed about 20 young men and women carrying supplies for Madison up to the hut effortlessly. They were carrying wooden external packs with wooden boxes attached to them. Were these boxes refrigerated with dry or wet ice? I don't know. On a hot day, it is conceivable that, if the food was not chilled somehow, that spoilage could occur while being carried up to the hut.

[Llama Legs]

Where do you really think they get all that food on top of a mountain?

Soylent Green is people!

[hikerboy57]

So, in summary, if you distrust Hut food, stay away from it.I've eaten dozens of meals without incident, the huts serve thousands of meals annually, the Crus seem to survive, a few hikers have gotten ill, dont really know if it was a hygiene issue, doesnt seem to be widespread. If you're not sure, then dont eat ther. But the peasoup rocks!!