Filter or Aquamira?

[Coffee]

I've read that certain sections of the Colorado Trail have many cows and that in these areas the water sources may be questionable at best. I've used aquamira happily on parts of the Appalachian Trail and the John Muir Trail but I have never had to deal with drinking gross water in a cow pasture before. Would it make sense to take a water filter for at least part of the Colorado Trail possibly mailing it to myself in a resupply and then mailing it back after the cow filled areas? Or will using a bandana for floating debris and aquamira prove effective? I'm concerned both with water safety and with the aesthetics ... even if aquamira works on gross water, I might be unwilling to drink it without the psychological reassurance of having it go through a filter. And then I'll likely get dehydrated walking to the next clean water source.

[Paddlefoot]

I thru-hiked the CT mostly during July this summer. I carried a Sawyer Squeeze, mostly because I'm just not a big fan of chemical water treatment.

I'm sure I dipped at some water sources that potentially had contaminants like giardia, but I never had an water sources that had debris. Perhaps in a dry year or later in the season this might be a problem, but from my limited experience water clarity was not an issue.

[HeartFire]

I hiked the CT in August and Sept this year. I did not see any cows ON the trail, only one small group way off the trail. we did pass a flock or two of sheep though. The only place I thought the water was 'dirty' was getting it out of Twin Lakes - lots of little black floatie things, and the water tasted nasty (filtered).

My biggest concern was not so much the cows as the beavers - very often you will be getting water from beaver ponds. Beaver are the main source of giardia. I can't really answer your question otherwise though - I don't use chemicals, so I filter, but that's my preference. All but the one water source looked very 'clear' of debris.

Also, the beaver ponds are almost the entire length of the trail.

[Coffee]

If the water is clear, then I'm probably ok with the aquamira. I finished reading Yogis guide and there were quite a few references to getting water near cows and it sounded potentially nasty. I was happy with using aquamira on the JMT but the water there was great quality to begin with almost everywhere.

[bearcreek]

I have used both Aquamira and a filter (in Mexico, I've used both sometimes on some really nasty water). My present setup is a Sawyer squeeze filter with a Evernew bag. It weighs about 7-1/2 ounces including an extra bag. I have found that my load is lighter with the filter as I get a chance to camel up when I get water then carry less. With the chemical treatment, I ended up carrying full water bottles while waiting for the chemicals to work. There is abundant water on most of the CT - you can do over 90% of it with a single liter water bottle. There are a few dry places where you might need two.

[Hole-In-The-Hat]

I used Potable Aqua tablets on my thru - this worked well for me. In a few cases my water source was a mere trickle - but always clear.

[Wuff]

I used Aqua Mira on my thru during the month of August. Funny that HeartFire and I were hiking pretty close to each other, and I passed loads of cattle right on trail. They even walked through our camp one night. There were a couple sources that had floaties and looked questionable, i.e. right next to cow patties. I needed the water, so I filled up and prayed for the best. For the most part however, I found Aqua Mira to be fine.

[kidchill]

I'm not sure about the CT, but I used the Sawyer Squeeze on the AT with a dropper bottle of bleach for backup. Your primary concern with water treatment is gonna be giardia/crypto. Filters will pull this right out, no problem. Some of the data on chemical treatments suggest that the chemicals need to be in the water for up to 4hrs to truly be effective. I just can't wait that long! If you google CDC water treatment you should find a nice little table that outlines the guidelines and strengths and weaknesses of each. I know there's a lot of debate as to how long the chemicals need to be there for crypto spores...I use a filter, and that's just me. The primary limitation of filters is virus protection and possibility of failure (that's why I carry bleach). Just my 2cents.

[Catlady]

Here is a recent article I wrote about giardia and water purification systems based on my experience through-hiking this year.
Hope it helps!
http://catboymartinez.wordpress.com/.../on-filtering/

[Cookerhiker]

We encountered cows on only one part of the Colorado Trail but their presence was heavy. I counted more than a hundred in the Lost Creek Meadow of Segment 4 where we camped. I doubled my Aqua Mira portion and didn't experience any side effects.

[SouthMark]

I grew up in the rural South and drank water from many streams draining cow pastures with no ill effects, at least so far 60 some odd years later. That may explain why I have no problem drinking unfiltered and untreated water today. I may have built up an immunity.