View Full Version : thru-hiking without purification
sloopjonboswell
03-07-2007, 22:03
ive met people who say it can be easily done. they just get the runnin water and hit out on highway 61. of course my roomate said he got the piles for almost two weeks. smooth sailing afterwards. he said just be smart about getting safe water, and to take extra bathroom tissue until the body grows acclimated with a little more bacteria than usual. or at least until the giardia goes away. naysayers? :eek:
Lone Wolf
03-07-2007, 22:05
i've never treated or filtered. over 20 years now. i don't suggest you try it. i'm smarter than most
sloopjonboswell
03-07-2007, 22:12
tips on getting some good bad water? i was skeptical at first but you made me feel much better. ten more days...
RobKimball
03-08-2007, 00:19
I'll quote (rather, paraphrase) the old ad for the PUR camp filters... All it takes is one drop from that pristine mountain spring to totally ruin your dream trip!
Filters don't weigh (TOO) much. Aqua mira weighs even less. Why risk spending that lovely evening in the mountains getting intimately acquainted with the workings of a composting privy?
Jim Adams
03-08-2007, 00:40
I am taking a filter for the first time this year for the desert section of my PCT thru. Normally I use iodine and only if I can't see the source or know what is uphill.
I don't like filters and think that their use is blown way out of proportion. Most need contant maintenance and then are packed away incorrectly. Your clean end of your filter doesn't stay "clean" when everything is rinsed together while doing maintenance or when you wrap everything up to put back into the bag and your "dirty" end is packed against the "clean" end.
I think that most people don't get sick because the water isn't as bad as it is thought to be. It's either that or just plain luck and that would be an awful lot of luck.
geek
Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-08-2007, 08:07
If you don't treat, then be careful about where you get water. As Jim Adams notes, what is upsteam is important. If there are farms or a town up there, then your chances of infection go way up. If there is a shelter or heavily used campsite upstream, again the chances go way up. If the area has lots and lots of critters' footprints at the water's edge, the chances go way up.
I prefer untreated spring water or melted snow. If I can't get that, my next best source is a stream high on a mountain with no civilization above. If I have to get water from lower streams or know there is a town or shelter above, I use chemical treatment or boil. YMMV
sloopjonboswell
03-08-2007, 08:11
all good advice. should i expect to get sick?
Lone Wolf
03-08-2007, 08:13
all good advice. should i expect to get sick?
no. i never expect to get sick and never have. you gotta have faith.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-08-2007, 08:23
I have never gotten sick from drinking untreated water so i don't think you should expect it. However, you should have some imodium just in case.
superman
03-08-2007, 09:04
In 1966 I and a bunch of other guys discovered that amoebic dysentery is way under rated. Then I had to drink the water from the Song Dong Nai in 1967 and resulted in hepatitis A among other things. I take my drinking water pretty serious these days. I filter. Having said all that the most delicious water I've ever had was some of that high elevation Georgia spring water.
This is a truly disgusting reason to filter your water!
In some areas of the US, 90% of raccoons and many other animals are infected with a parasite which if consumed by humans grows into a worm that burrows into your brain. Then, you die. There is no treatment available.
http://whyfiles.org/086urban_critter/3.html
and in case you don't trust that story:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no4/01-0273.htm
Still want to drink out of that stream?
Lone Wolf
03-08-2007, 09:15
yup. sure do.
Two Speed
03-08-2007, 09:19
. . . However, you should have some imodium just in case.I'll second that. Haven't ever gotten giardia, but spent a few weeks out, got used to "trail food" and got into town and gorged on cheeseburgers, onion rings, etc. I'll leave the rest to everyone's imagination. :eek:
Some say that giardia will not kill you, but you will wish that it did.
Is the risk worth it? That's a question for each of us to decide for ourselves.
A true GI event that requires medical attention is a memorable thing. Some of the side affects (effects?) of antibiotics are only several notches below the fun.
This is a truly disgusting reason to filter your water!
In some areas of the US, 90% of raccoons and many other animals are infected with a parasite which if consumed by humans grows into a worm that burrows into your brain. Then, you die. There is no treatment available.
http://whyfiles.org/086urban_critter/3.html
and in case you don't trust that story:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no4/01-0273.htm
Still want to drink out of that stream?
That's nice but I didn't see where it was a water borne disease.
Jim Adams
03-08-2007, 09:53
This is a truly disgusting reason to filter your water!
In some areas of the US, 90% of raccoons and many other animals are infected with a parasite which if consumed by humans grows into a worm that burrows into your brain. Then, you die. There is no treatment available.
http://whyfiles.org/086urban_critter/3.html
and in case you don't trust that story:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no4/01-0273.htm
Still want to drink out of that stream?
In early America there were raccoons and Native Americans everywhere.
Raccoons didn't kill the Native Americans, white men did. You stand far more chance of getting sick once people have anything to do with that water source.:-?
geek
Footslogger
03-08-2007, 09:55
[quote=Jim Adams;335256]I am taking a filter for the first time this year for the desert section of my PCT thru.
=============================
Geek ...how come only in the desert ? Interested because at the moment I am planning on carrying AquaMira/MicroPure tablets on the PCT.
Thanks.
'Slogger
That's nice but I didn't see where it was a water borne disease.
The combination of the following three statements is enough for me:
Introduction of sufficient quantities of B. procyonis eggs into a water system or selected food products could potentially result in outbreaks of the infection.
Baylisascariasis is an emerging helminthic zoonosis with the potential for severe infection that may be a more important public health problem than is currently recognized
The public should be discouraged from feeding raccoons and should ensure that possible food sources (such as pet food, water, and garbage) are protected from raccoon access
In other words, it will kill you if it gets in your water and is probably under-diagnosed, but is common in the wild.
Sometimes I wonder if you non-treating folks are already infected.
HYOH
Footslogger
03-08-2007, 10:00
[quote=Peaks;335323]Some say that giardia will not kill you, but you will wish that it did.
========================================
Giardia wasn't as bad as the antibiotic (Flagyl) I had to take to kill it !!
'Slogger
Giardia wasn't as bad as the antibiotic (Flagyl) I had to take to kill it !!
Why do you say that? I bought a prescription in Mexico before I started the CDT in 2002. I've found it has a 5 year shelf life so I'll be taking it along this year just in case.
Footslogger
03-08-2007, 10:11
Why do you say that? I bought a prescription in Mexico before I started the CDT in 2002. I've found it has a 5 year self life so I'll be taking it along this year just in case.
====================================
Well ...people react differently to antibiotics, but Flagyl made ME very sick (nauseated). Plus, I still exhibited symptoms after the first dose so I was given a second dose of the Flagyl.
'Slogger
Jim Adams
03-08-2007, 10:19
[quote=Jim Adams;335256]I am taking a filter for the first time this year for the desert section of my PCT thru.
=============================
Geek ...how come only in the desert ? Interested because at the moment I am planning on carrying AquaMira/MicroPure tablets on the PCT.
Thanks.
'Slogger
I'm also taking aqua mira. Boudan, who is hiking with me is taking iodine and a steri-pen. From what I've read, alot of the water in the desert is standing water which can be ugly or smell bad. The filter is the only one of the bunch that will improve clarity, odor and severe foul taste. That is why I'm carrying a filter in the desert. Once in the Sierras, most of the water is running or standing snow melt. My filter is going home at KM.:cool:
geek
Geek ...how come only in the desert ? Interested because at the moment I am planning on carrying AquaMira/MicroPure tablets on the PCT.
There were only two sources in southern California I thought worthy of filtering. The 1st is the stock container at Pioneer Mail (mi. 52.7). I didn't know it at the time but supposedly there's a valve just uphill that will release "fresh" water. The second being San Felipe Creek (mi. 77.6) which "may be contaminated."
I suppose there may be a few others were I used iodine, but those were memorable.
Jim Adams
03-08-2007, 10:22
Thanks Sly, good to know.
geek
Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-08-2007, 10:25
After reading up on this parasite, it seems all the known cases have come from people putting raccoon scat in their mouth. Understandably, most victims have been toddlers. The rest were cleaning raccoon cages or places raccoons had routinely used as a latrine. This parasite does not appear to be a concern to the hikers' water supply.
Thanks Sly, good to know.
geek
No problem. The year I hiked was a fairly wet year and normally dry sources were flowing. This year is supposed to be one of the driest. Make sure to get the databook that has "water alerts", areas of 12 miles or more without water within 1/2 mile of the trail You'll find lots of water caches left by trail angels. Although there were less back when I hiked, I didn't depend on them and carried enough to get by, only "cameling up" on the caches on two occasions.
Keep an eye on the PCT water report. It should be updated again before mid April and atleast into June.
http://www.4jeffrey.net/pctwater
superman
03-08-2007, 10:48
When Tex and I hiked that desert section of the CDT we didn't do the road walks and such that is the common way to go. Tex had his GPS and we followed the CDT analy up through Gila National Forest. I assure you that not many people successfully hiked the CDT the way we went. Oh we were right on the CDT but the CDT is not like hiking the AT as a purest. There are as many as three alternative routes at any one time. Which route is taken depends on the situation. Water is a big consideration. You don't have to make it as hard on yourself as we did. We started by the barbwire fence with that Mennonite bunch on the Mexican side of it. Tex had his GPS and I had mine. After a while I didn't bother with mine because Tex was constantly monitoring our position. This is a long winded explanation of the water situation we encountered. The AT water is heavenly in comparison to what we dealt with on the CDT. Tex had a PURE filter. His filter was useless the first time he filtered. I had an MSR which I cleaned a number of times most of the times I filtered. It got a hell of a work out. The ceramic filter finally cracked to pieces when we were in the mountains of the Gila National Forest. We didn't take the route that everyone else does by the Gila River. Tex had brought Aqua Mira so we treated the water that was running across a field with deer feces in it using a plastic bag. It was a hoot.
superman
03-08-2007, 10:50
The PCT wasn't as bad as the CDT. People put gallon jugs of water out in areas where there were problems on the PCT.
After reading up on this parasite, it seems all the known cases have come from people putting raccoon scat in their mouth...
So, you're saying people shouldn't put racoon scat in their mouth? Oh my, I wish someone had said something sooner....:eek: Perhaps this helps explain why I keep knocking over the neighbors garbage cans in the middle of the night.