Water treatment for a shorter trip

[Chris10]

Plan on hiking from Springer up to Fontana Dam, or even Gatlinburg with my son in June-July. I already have Aquamira , but will I also need a filter for this section as well? I have a First Need XL filter but at one pd wondering if I'll really need it for this section. Many thanks!

[jeffmeh]

Aquamira should be fine. Use a bandana or paper coffee filter if you need to strain out any debris, then treat.

[10-K]

Aqua Mira is fine..... For short hikes and long.

[G-FOURce]

Doesn't AM take quite a while? I use my Squeeze set-up with a total of four items: the Squeeze filter, the red plug for the blackwater side, a green cap I kept from a 2L bottle of ginger ale to go on the clean water side, a homemade female/female adapter, and the 64oz blackwater bag. The entire set-up weighs 4.8oz and there is no waiting. The female/female adapter can also be used with your drinking bladder to backflush the Squeeze which eliminates the need for the syringe (saves another 1.1oz).

[Cookerhiker]

For "short" trips i.e. less than a week, I bring my Steripen after testing it beforehand. Haven't had any problems yet, knock on wood.

Aqua Mira is fine and I never feel the need to filter the water. Aqua Mira only takes 20 minutes - 5 minute wait for the 2 sets of drops to mix followed by a 15 minute wait for the entire bottle. I can't recall any hike where the wait inconvenienced me.

[MuddyWaters]

Doesn't AM take quite a while? I use my Squeeze set-up with a total of four items: the Squeeze filter, the red plug for the blackwater side, a green cap I kept from a 2L bottle of ginger ale to go on the clean water side, a homemade female/female adapter, and the 64oz blackwater bag. The entire set-up weighs 4.8oz and there is no waiting. The female/female adapter can also be used with your drinking bladder to backflush the Squeeze which eliminates the need for the syringe (saves another 1.1oz).

AM will not reduce Crypto significantly except with long times 3-4 hrs
It actually reduces Giardia 1000 fold a couple of minutes
Most bacteria are actually reduced in 1000 fold in 1 minute

The EPA has published their conc-time treatment requirements for ClO2, and these are even conservative. This is commercial water treatment guidelines,
You can wait as long as you want, but truthfully , more than a couple of minutes is not really necessary, except for crypto, which no one worries about.

The wt of the squeeze filter when wet adds a bit more I think, .
There is also a wait time when you have to backflush, etc, which will happen filtering waters not crystal clear.

Use whatever you like, or nothing at all, 99% of the time if you stick to springs, you will have not problems anyway.
Try not to run out of water so that you HAVE to use mudpuddles and surface runoff, thats asking for problems.

I like simple. Minimum items carried, minimum volume, minimum wt. My full charge of AM for 1 wk weighs 1.25 oz, and thats treating ALL water with the prescribed conc. It can easily last much longer if treat with less, (longer wait) and treat selectively..

[Chris10]

Appreciate all the feedback! Just wondering specifically on this stretch of the AT if the AM will be sufficient, or if the First Need XL would just be added weight? Thanks again!

[SCRUB HIKER]

A highly personal decision, because it really doesn't matter. Just do whatever makes you feel good. Some people treat everything religiously and get sick, some people never treat and never get sick. There's no right answer.

[Starchild]

If you are looking to carry more total weight AM should be fine all by itself.

Peace

[Jeremy Peyton]

Sawyer Squeeze for me. On all trips even short day hikes. You never know when you will need water

[Turk6177]

We hiked the GA section in the fall and only used AM.

[Matt2012]

Aqua Mira drops. I thru hiked this past year. I stopped treating piped springs halfway through my hike. I started doing half doses for streams when i was low on drops and the 5 minute waiting time to mix the aqua mira got shorter and shorter. I had no issues.

I did meet someone who premixed his drops. He said it was ok as long as the mixture wasn't exposed to light. I never tried it.

-Mmrf (Murph)
www.facebook.com/at4mm

[Bucho]

Plan on hiking from Springer up to Fontana Dam, or even Gatlinburg with my son in June-July. I already have Aquamira , but will I also need a filter for this section as well? I have a First Need XL filter but at one pd wondering if I'll really need it for this section. Many thanks!

I think AM would be great for a short trip. I don't remember any issues with the water on that stretch of the AT, that said I hiked thru a couple months earlier than you're talking about.

[Papa D]

just use aqua-mira - skip the filter all together - - if you want to use a filter, I have used the Katadyn Hiker Pro in the past - I rarely carry it anymore - it's just weight I don't want

[Praha4]

you won't need the First Need filter in that section, there are plenty of springs and available clear water... and with this winter shaping up as similar to winter 2009-10, there's plenty of snowmelt along the AT to come in the spring.

use Aqua Mira, and if u really want a filter, get the Sawyer Squeeze.

[Chris10]

Thanks for the reply! Hoping there will be plenty of clean, clear water!

[shelb]

AM - BUT bring a method to "filter" the "floaties"...a handkerchief would do fine.

[Sweetspot]

What do you all think about using Clorox as a water treatment?

[blackwater slim]

I tried the tablets last trip. I liked them but did not like the 4 hr wait. I took my Katahdin hiker filter for last time though, for its weight and it is hard to pump etc. I bought a lifestraw for 20 bucks and tried it on a daytrip and liked it (at 3 oz). That will get me through that 4 hr wait time. As always, evaluating gear for me at a particular time. The Lifestraw and tabletsfor me next time.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

What do you all think about using Clorox as a water treatment?

It's not a very good choice for a backcountry application.