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snegley
03-14-2007, 23:30
a friend and i are section hiking from delaware water gap to katahdin beginning mid-may '07. this will be my first time on the trail, with the exception of day hikes through the years. i was going to bring a water filter, but reading all the posts on WB i'm convinced that i should go with aqua mira instead. my question, then: how do you "camel up" at water sources if you have to wait for aqua mira to do its job? thanks a bunch.

rafe
03-14-2007, 23:36
a friend and i are section hiking from delaware water gap to katahdin beginning mid-may '07. this will be my first time on the trail, with the exception of day hikes through the years. i was going to bring a water filter, but reading all the posts on WB i'm convinced that i should go with aqua mira instead. my question, then: how do you "camel up" at water sources if you have to wait for aqua mira to do its job? thanks a bunch.

Excellent. You've hit (IMO) the major weakness of chemical treatments. One possible compromise is a super-lightweight filter or maybe one of those filter squeeze bottles (eg. Katadyn Exstream or Mini) for "cameling up" at water sources.

FanaticFringer
03-14-2007, 23:40
a friend and i are section hiking from delaware water gap to katahdin beginning mid-may '07. this will be my first time on the trail, with the exception of day hikes through the years. i was going to bring a water filter, but reading all the posts on WB i'm convinced that i should go with aqua mira instead. my question, then: how do you "camel up" at water sources if you have to wait for aqua mira to do its job? thanks a bunch.

Thru-hike I would use Aqua Mira. Section hike go with something like a Katahdin Hiker Pro.

Appalachian Tater
03-14-2007, 23:54
I started out with chemicals but got a pump because I got tired of watching people drink clean, good-tasting water while I was sitting around waiting. Many times the water I pumped would not have been pleasant to drink no matter how many chemicals added.

RobKimball
03-14-2007, 23:57
As is indicated by the wealth of conversation on this topic, it's not clear cut either way. However, I will say that the PUR (now Katahdin) hiker line of filters hardly needs constant cartridge replacing. If you wrap your intake with a coffee filter, and clean the nifty little screen that wraps around the filter itself with some regularity, you can put a lot of gallons through it.

snegley
03-15-2007, 00:00
funny, everything i read says go with aqua mira. i decide to make the switch, and "go with the filter" is all i hear!:) what if cost is a factor, is the aqua mira a no-brainer then?

Appalachian Tater
03-15-2007, 00:03
No, if price is a factor, use bleach, or a bottle of Polar Pure, which will last the whole hike, if you're willing to drink iodine for 5 months. Aqua Mira is expensive.

warraghiyagey
03-15-2007, 00:35
No, if price is a factor, use bleach, or a bottle of Polar Pure, which will last the whole hike, if you're willing to drink iodine for 5 months. Aqua Mira is expensive.

Glad you brought up the bleach. The expense of chemicals and the weight/inconvenience of pumps kept me drinking out of the streams in Maine/NH. By then a few friends had sworn to either 4 or 5 drops of bleach per 2.5/3 Liters. They thru-hiked and were never sick.
Iodine tabs are also light, convenient and do the trick - but you'll have to have yogurt in towns to replace the things glucoacidimilky. . . well you're just spost to have yogurt once in a while if you use iodine.
With either bleach or iodine you can carry enough two last through 3 or 4 re-supplies.
I watched many hikers send their filters home after a while as they got tired of the cumbersome pumping process 3 or 4 times a day.
Hope this helps.
Bleach drops worked for me and that's what I'll be using this time.
Peace:) :)

warraghiyagey
03-15-2007, 00:38
You might also bring small flavor/electolyte packs to break up the monotony of water. Maybe someone here knows who makes them. Kool aid packs are good but I don't think they're high in the electrolyte department.

ShakeyLeggs
03-15-2007, 00:59
Like previously stated you hit the major drawback to chemical treatment. I have been an avid filter user and have used nothing but filters. I have pretty much used all the lightweight ones; MSR, PuR, Katahdin. My farvorite is the PuR now Katahdin Hiker. It is small light for a filter and easily field servicable.
That being said I just reciently bought some Aquamira to give it a try after all the raves I have been hearing and reading. Time will tell if I decide to make the switch fully. I like you like the fact that I filter and drink right away. no waiting on chemicals to do their stuff. If I don't switch I will reserve the Auamira for backup incase of a major filter malfunction.

OrionTheRanger
03-15-2007, 19:32
I would say get your clean water the old fashion way, bioling it. is nearly fool proof.

dloome
03-15-2007, 22:03
Camel up? On the AT?

Stop at a water source, put your chemicals into a couple liters of water, keep on walking for 15 minutes and drink up. By that time, you're probably close to another water source anyway. Getting out your filter and pumping a couple liters of water takes about that long as it is. Water is freaking everywhere on the AT, and is generally very good quality with few particulates, so a filter is dead weight IMO. Anyway, is chilling out at a water source for 15 minutes really that big of a deal? Just relax and let the Aqua Mira work instead of pumping away like an idiot.

dloome
03-15-2007, 22:13
Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever carried more than 2 liters of water at a time on the entire AT, maybe once or twice when I was camping dry.

Moving to AZ really gave me some perspective on trail water. Water here is very scarce and wherever you find it, animals have found it first. Nothing like a tiny, scummy water source entirely surrounded by piles of animal crap... AT water is quite gourmet by comparison to pretty much anything in the Western U.S. The worst you'll get on the AT is maybe some moose **** nearby, or bug larvae in the water. No big deal. I have no idea why people bother to carry filters on the AT...

Lyle
03-15-2007, 22:19
Thru-hike I would use Aqua Mira. Section hike go with something like a Katahdin Hiker Pro.

A section hike from DWG to Katadin is not a typical section hike. Same advice would apply for this section as for a thru.

Will have to carry some water to "camel up" with, or take long enough breaks to allow the Aqua Mira to work (my preference - forces me to slow down). You can "camel up" at breakfast (plenty of water), lunch (should be time) and supper (plenty of water and time). Doing this will reduce, but not eliminate the need to carry water, especially in hot weather.

moxie
03-16-2007, 11:44
Just do what works for you. I started with a Pur, when I couldn't find a cartridge in North Carolina I bought a Sweetwater but didn't care for it. When my Pur actually split in half while I was pumping water in Mass. I went to an outfitter, called Pur and they replaced it on the spot. Some water sources are filthy, full of floaties and I appreciated being able to filter the chunks out. Alot of us folowed the rule if the water came out of a pipe don't bother to filter. In Virginia a water source coming out of a pipe had a strange smell. I followed the pipe up a hill and found it came out of a stream bed and a dead rotting dog was laying in the stream. In the mountains where the streams ran clear I sometimes used iodine tablets instead if my filter because very few people trap beavers anymore and they are having a population explosion. Thus most streams in Maine and New hampshire now carry gairdia but not everyone who drinks untreated water gets it. I used iodine tablets just to be on the safe side. I have studied the use of bleach and advise against it. Municipal water supplies test their water every day and put in just enough chlorine to kill the germs, no more. Too much is bad for your health and there is no way a backpacker can test his or her water to know how much to use. An approved proven chemical is much smarter and safer. I carried sugar free lemonaid powder to add to foul tasting drinking water and that killed the bad taste. It seems many people who grew up on farms and shoveled alot of ***** in their life were imune to gairdia but why take the chance. Ideas vary from never treat the water to only carry bottled Poland Spring water so just find out what works best for you.

OntheRoad
03-16-2007, 12:01
You don't need to drink chemicals which take a while to work, and you also don't need to carry a heavy filter that needs a new filter every 300 gallons. There is a solution to your problem: Katadyn Mini.

At only 8 oz, it's hardly "heavy" compared to other filters. The filter is also ceramic and can pump 2000 gallons of water, until it needs to be cleaned(can be done in the field). It is a bit pricey at around $80 or so, but Katadyn Hikers and pro hikers are still around $50 and after only 300 gallons you have to buy a replacement filter for around $25. This Katadyn mini is worth the money.

snegley
03-16-2007, 12:29
thanks for all of the suggestions. i've learned that the solution to my dilemma was not as straightforward as i thought. i wish pristine water sources on all of you!

Lone Wolf
03-16-2007, 12:31
thanks for all of the suggestions. i've learned that the solution to my dilemma was not as straightforward as i thought. i wish pristine water sources on all of you!

they're all pristine to me. i don't filter or use chemicals. ummm good!:)

pokeyhontas98
03-16-2007, 13:25
Bleach is great, I have recently had the opportunity to test it in my Microbiology lab and it kills those harmful microbes better than other chemical treatments. I used it on the trail and mixed it with powdered Gatorade. The Gatorade also gave me more energy than water alone.

Schulo
03-16-2007, 16:23
Ok I wasnt sure where to post this comment but Moxie said something that hit a chord so here it goes. I was doing a day hike in Virginina, where hwy 77 crosses the AT right before the VA and WV state line. As I walked I noticed there were carcases littering the trail side. I continued down the trail and came upon a stream with about 40 deer carcases with in 20 feet of the stream. I would treat every water source in VA as suspect.

Lyle
03-17-2007, 10:53
Ok I wasnt sure where to post this comment but Moxie said something that hit a chord so here it goes. I was doing a day hike in Virginina, where hwy 77 crosses the AT right before the VA and WV state line. As I walked I noticed there were carcases littering the trail side. I continued down the trail and came upon a stream with about 40 deer carcases with in 20 feet of the stream. I would treat every water source in VA as suspect.

Couldn't tell from your post if this actually applies in your case, but in general it's not a good idea to get your water from anywhere near a road crossing, especially down stream. No filter or chemical treatment will remove oil, gas, antifreeze, etc. that is probably in such water.

Sly
03-17-2007, 11:02
I continued down the trail and came upon a stream with about 40 deer carcases with in 20 feet of the stream.

Natural deer burial ground or nitwit hunters? :-? I think the latter. :mad:

sirbingo
04-30-2007, 15:45
I use iodine and the extra pills to take away the nasty taste.

Aslo iodine is great if we happen to come under nuclear attack while you are hiking the AT

Appalachian Tater
04-30-2007, 19:53
In Virginia a water source coming out of a pipe had a strange smell. I followed the pipe up a hill and found it came out of a stream bed and a dead rotting dog was laying in the stream.

That's a good reason to carry a filter or chemicals, but I always thought it would be a dead deer or squirrel rotting just upstream.

SGT Rock
04-30-2007, 19:54
For cost, I have gone to the polar pure and some powdered Vit C. VERY cheap compared to some other options. I just need a way to make it lighter LOL.

oldfivetango
05-01-2007, 07:38
I thought I read somewhere that bleach does not kill all
the spores.
Oldfivetango

SGT Rock
05-01-2007, 09:55
It does, it is just that the level of chlorine required is less than most hikers apply - and to be effective the water actually has to smell of chlorine, something a lot of hikers don't desire.

Quoddy
05-01-2007, 10:10
I switched from a Katadyn filter to Aqua Mira for the weight saving. I gather and pre-filter my water in a 3L Platypus (gold coffee filter screen in a drilled out Platypus cap), if I'm going to cook immediately I pour that water into the pot before using Aqua Mira for the remainder. After the wait time is up the water is switched in the regular, smaller, trail drinking containers.

Rhino-lfl
05-01-2007, 12:05
I take a better safe then sorry approach to water, especially when humans can be dumping waste or chemicals that are odorless and tasteless. I got a First Need water purification system that can do up to 150 gallons on a filter. Since I do backpacking that is no longer the 5 days it isn’t an issue. But you could easily use the system for a thru hike with filter change planning. They way I look at it, I don’t want to get f***ed up by drinking, and I don’t want added chemicals to my diet. I prefer pure clean water, and the comfort of not worrying about it. I have enough to worry about since I pack light on the food end and usually hunt or kill squirrel, rabbit, raccoon, etc and they have enough issues on their own to contend with. Good thing I like my food burnt. Just throw’em on a fire with a stick so the fleas and ticks don’t infect you and eat was doesn’t burn J

Mags
05-01-2007, 12:14
they're all pristine to me. i don't filter or use chemicals. ummm good!:)


That's about my strategy as well.

Gray Blazer
05-01-2007, 12:41
they're all pristine to me. i don't filter or use chemicals. ummm good!:)
I tried your advice last month. Drank out of Muskrat Creek which is prolly not your most pristine water source. It's been one month and no giardia (it's supposed to show up in 2 weeks).

Rhino-lfl
05-01-2007, 15:03
I tried your advice last month. Drank out of Muskrat Creek which is prolly not your most pristine water source. It's been one month and no giardia (it's supposed to show up in 2 weeks).

Good thing you've got nothing better to do than get sick. When it finally happens, you should be thrilled and throw a diaper party.

SGT Rock
05-01-2007, 15:04
He will be fine. :D

I wouldn't drink water stright from that source though LOL ;)

Mags
05-01-2007, 15:09
Good thing you've got nothing better to do than get sick. When it finally happens, you should be thrilled and throw a diaper party.


Hmm.. I suspect when I get more experience backpacking I'll be better about treating my water.... :)

Gray Blazer
05-01-2007, 15:54
Good thing you've got nothing better to do than get sick. When it finally happens, you should be thrilled and throw a diaper party.
Yeah, I waited with bated breath for two weeks, sure that I had contracted it and kicking myself for shedding the extra wt of the Katahdin Filter or not filling up at one of those many beautiful springs coming out of the side of the mountain on the way out of Deep Gap South.

OrionTheRanger
05-01-2007, 17:40
I really havent put much thought into water filtering. Is it really that important? What do all these little bacteria do to you? This Katadyn mini water filter sounds pretty good. Is it a pump or what? I dont like the sound of having to pump my water to drink it first. And for the Iodine tablets, what are the health risk?

SGT Rock
05-01-2007, 18:45
If you are healthy, not much risk as long as you use it right.

mudhead
05-01-2007, 18:56
What is the source of you powdered Vit C?

SGT Rock
05-01-2007, 19:26
I got it at one of those vitamen stores in the mall. It doesn't take very much at all to clear up the water in my experience.

Jester2000
05-01-2007, 19:49
I got a First Need water purification system that can do up to 150 gallons on a filter. J

Rhino -- I've heard people say that First Need is a pain to pump compared to other filters (possibly because of the 3 stage filter). Any truth to that?

rafe
05-01-2007, 21:32
Rhino -- I've heard people say that First Need is a pain to pump compared to other filters (possibly because of the 3 stage filter). Any truth to that?

From experience with one of their very early models (ca. 1990) that was indeed the case. Most filters get hard(er) to pump with use, but the First Need was harder to pump from the get-go. Near the filter's "end-of-life" it was damn near impossible.

Nice thing about the MSR filters is that they're field-cleanable. But still harder to pump than the Katadyn Hiker.

hopefulhiker
05-01-2007, 22:19
I used Aqua Mira for pretty much my whole thru hike...

I got it off ebay at a discount.... I would give it about fifteen minutes to a half hour to treat the water then I would camel up and retreat...

It involved taking about a fifteen min to half hour break..

Sometimes the source looked good enough not to treat...

pokeyhontas98
05-03-2007, 10:40
I don't believe it was mentioned, but if using bleach it's important to let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Bacteria and other microorganisms usually don't die instantly it can take up to 10 minutes for some microorganism because the chlorine denaturizes enzymes and this takes time. Bleach does kill bacteria, endospores, fung, and viruses but only if you are using it appropriately. Bleach is inactivated by organic material so it's important to make sure your material is free of any surface dirt or food. Bleach is inactivated by the sun, so don't leave it out of your pack for prolonged periods.

pokeyhontas98
05-03-2007, 11:22
It's important to note that you want to wait until your bleach water is treated effectively before adding things like Gatorade etc. If flavorings are added before or during treatment it will inactivate the bleach.

Rhino-lfl
05-03-2007, 15:25
Rhino -- I've heard people say that First Need is a pain to pump compared to other filters (possibly because of the 3 stage filter). Any truth to that?

If you’re quadriplegic 6 month old baby carrying a 90 lb backpack while doing jumping jacks at the same time, yes it is a pain. Or you can just fill it with water and let the gravity filter do its thing while you make lunch. Or you can just pump out a gallon in a minute if you’re strong enough to lift a spoon … a plastic spoon that is … a dry one … with no water weight … and clean … no food particles … on the space shuttle in orbit … in zero gravity.

Rhino-lfl
05-03-2007, 15:35
I don't believe it was mentioned, but if using bleach it's important to let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Bacteria and other microorganisms usually don't die instantly it can take up to 10 minutes for some microorganism because the chlorine denaturizes enzymes and this takes time. Bleach does kill bacteria, endospores, fung, and viruses but only if you are using it appropriately. Bleach is inactivated by organic material so it's important to make sure your material is free of any surface dirt or food. Bleach is inactivated by the sun, so don't leave it out of your pack for prolonged periods.

It is also used up as it kills contaminants. You always want a slightly chlorine like smell if you treat it this way to make sure that there are not more bad cells in there that are still alive.

To the OP: but who the F wants to suck in more chemicals then they need to. If you're such a panty waste that 20oz of filter weight ruins your hike ... you're too sickly to hike. Drink water not chemicals.

And to others: there is no need to sound like a tough guy and tell other people that you can drink straight gasoline mixed with hoarse urine straight from a mud clogged water source. Most people here telling you to just drinking without filtering/purifying are internet tough guys. It's your neck rectum drinking the water not theirs. Purify it. That one time you don’t and you spend a month or three puking phlegm out of your ass exit while it burns like the wrath of god shooting brimstone into your toilet. You deserve it.

Mags
05-03-2007, 16:00
Most people here telling you to just drinking without filtering/purifying are internet tough guys. .


Naah..I'm a wuss who just happens to rarely treat my water. I do like to backpack every so often, so I think I have some experience for my opinions. ;)

In all seriousness, why do people spend so much time talking about water treatment? The effectiveness of treating water is highly debatable. And, truth be told, for so much bandwidth wasted on this subject, it is one of the least important parts of a hike.

Some food for thought:
http://www.yosemite.org/naturenotes/Giardia.htm

Interesting reading from an LA time article (sorry, no URL):

If you don't want to read the article I can sum it up
for you:

Most GI illnesses are caused by bad sanitary habits
Wash your hands.

*************


A very long but interesting article in the Los Angles
Times (July 26, 05) on water safety for hikers:

Bob DERLET drinks his water straight — without fancy
filters or chemical treatments. He leans face down
into Delaney Creek, which flows directly down into
Tuolumne Meadows from the Sierra Crest, taking healthy
gulps from the rushing stream, and then fills his
water bottle. It's nearly noon on an early summer day,
and temperatures are hovering in the mid-80s. After a
rigorous two-mile ascent in altitudes around 9,500
feet, the pristine mountain water is indescribably
refreshing: no chemical aftertaste of tap water and
chilled to perfection by the Sierra's melting
snowpack.

"No one camps above here. There's no livestock or park
animals so there's little chance of contamination,"
says Derlet, gesturing toward Mt. Dana in the distance
and the lush, grassy alpine meadow surrounding the
creek.

Derlet should know. The emergency room physician and
professor at UC Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento
has spent part of the last five summers hiking about
2,000 miles throughout the Sierra and stopping at
spots such as Bubbs Creek in Kings Canyon and
Vogelsang Lake in Yosemite to test the water at 100
sites each year for the presence of microscopic
miscreants.

It's a Herculean task, but he's driven by a desire to
meld his lifelong passion for the outdoors with his
expertise as a scientist. Because half of California's
fresh water comes from the Sierra Nevada, Derlet is
curious about pollution levels in the wilderness and
what that would mean for the future of a state whose
growth is dependent on clean water. Funded by grants
from the Wilderness Medical Society, Derlet's field
work is part of a projected 20-year water quality
study.

But what he's uncovered already is surprising, both
for the seasoned wilderness traveler as well as the
day hiker who stares longingly at a gushing river and
wonders whether it's safe to take a slug. At many
trails and backcountry camps throughout California,
signs warn visitors off casual sipping. But are the
dangers of Giardia lamblia, E. coli, Cryptosporidium
and other bugs that wreak intestinal havoc grossly
exaggerated?

Derlet thinks so, and his research reveals that the
water is much cleaner than most people believe. His
findings thrust him into the middle of a
long-simmering controversy that's blatantly at odds
with what many state biologists preach and what
wilderness classes teach: Purify water before
drinking. But is that really necessary? Do those
high-priced pumps, chemical disinfectants and
elaborate filtration gadgets truly merit a place in
the backpack?

"It's a huge debate," says Ryan Jordan, a biofilm
engineer at Montana State University in Bozeman who
has studied pollution in wilderness areas.

The available scientific evidence, which is admittedly
limited because of the scarcity of funding for testing
wilderness water quality, confirms Derlet's findings.
The threat is comparable to the chances of beachgoers
being attacked by a shark, according to University of
Cincinnati researchers who studied the danger giardia
poses to backpackers, namely "an extraordinarily rare
event to which the public and the press have seemingly
devoted inappropriate attention."

And yet, some doctors say that backcountry water is
not safe to drink, even if it looks clear as glass.
Defecating wildlife and encroaching hordes of campers
who aren't environmentally savvy have spoiled the
lakes, rivers and streams of the pristine wilderness.
"Infectious agents don't change the water's
appearance. You can't taste, smell or see them," says
Dr. Paul Auerbach, an emergency room physician at
Stanford University in Palo Alto and author of the
standard text "Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine."
"All it takes is a few beavers upstream, and you're in
big trouble."

The National Park System and the U.S. Forest Service
urge backpackers not to drink untreated water, and it
has become an accepted article of faith among
wilderness travelers that a water cleanser is as
indispensable as a tent, compass and boots. Veteran
backpackers like Jim Metropulos, who handles water
quality issues for the Sierra Club in Sacramento, view
water purification devices as an insurance policy that
"provides a backup layer of security."

Little wonder people are convinced that drinking
untreated water these days is inviting trouble. A bad
case of the runs can ruin a backpacking trek, and you
can end up chained to the bathroom for weeks if you
contract giardiasis, the intestinal scourge that
ignited the water purification debate more than two
decades ago. "The issue was first widely publicized in
the early 1980s," says Derlet. "Because it only takes
a small dose, 10 to 25 giardia cysts [infectious
particles of the parasite], to become sickened, people
were alarmed."

Some point the finger at pump makers for inflating the
risks and making backpackers ultra-vigilant about
purifying water. "The advent of affordable water
filters kick-started this whole debate," says Jordan,
who is also editor of Backpacking Light magazine.
"There's a lot of money in water filters: They cost
anywhere from $40 to $100 a pop, and there are several
million backpackers in the United States, so do the
math. The water filter industry has instilled in
people a mantra of 'you just never know,' rather than
trying to educate them about the differences between
good water sources and bad ones."

The results of a study conducted in 1993 by
researchers at the University of Nevada in Reno and
the U.S. Geological Survey in Sacramento were
eye-opening. Of 41 backpackers who trekked to the
Desolation Wilderness in Eldorado National Forest west
of Lake Tahoe, six of them were stricken with
cramping, diarrhea, nausea and bloating. Yet lab tests
revealed that none of them was infected with
giardiasis. Researchers didn't determine exactly which
bugs were sickening the backpackers, but they think
the culprits were the usual suspects — E. coli,
salmonella or Campylobacter jejuni — which they might
not have contracted from drinking water.

Taking this research one step further, the scientists
analyzed the backcountry water for giardia. The bug
was indeed present, but at such low levels of
concentration — just a few cysts per 100 gallons —
that backpackers, on average, would have to drink 250
gallons a day to become ill.

"People tell me they went on a five-day backpacking
trip and when they got back they got diarrhea, so they
assume they had giardia," says Derlet. "But when I ask
them if they've been tested for it, they haven't. But
they're still convinced that it has to be that. The
fact is that if someone develops diarrhea after a
wilderness trip, they most likely got the bug before
they entered the wilderness or from someone while they
were on the trip, not from the water."

The 1995 University of Cincinnati survey of 48 of the
50 state health departments in the United States came
to similar conclusions. Only two of the agencies
considered giardia a problem for backpackers, and even
then, they had no data to support this concern.
Although giardia sickens about 20,000 Americans each
year — outbreaks have been linked to contaminated
drinking water in small towns, food handlers and
child-care workers who are infected when they change
diapers — the researchers didn't find any evidence
that wilderness water is a cause. "Neither health
department surveillance nor the medical literature,"
they note, "support the widely held perception that
[giardia] is a significant risk to backpackers."

The reality is that poor personal hygiene, not
contaminated water, "is to blame for people getting
sick in the backcountry," says Gregg Fauth, wilderness
manager for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.
Diarrhea-causing bugs, such as giardia and its cousin,
Cryptosporidium, two parasites that live in the
intestines of animals and humans, are transmitted
through fecal matter — primarily by people who don't
practice good sanitary habits, such as washing their
hands or properly disposing of their feces, which
should be buried at least 10 feet away from the water.

The typical chain of events is that hikers or
backpackers go to the bathroom, then don't wash their
hands thoroughly, if at all. Afterward they make
dinner or even share a snack and contaminate the food
with fecal matter, along with any disease-causing
germs that were hitching a ride in their intestines.
Giardia can even be spread by touching surfaces —
eating utensils, camping gear, water filtration pumps
— that are contaminated with feces from an infected
person.

"We are so dependent on convenient sanitation that
when people go out in the wilderness," says Dr. Howard
Backer, a water purification expert and a past
president of the Wilderness Medical Society, "they
fall apart, and their habits drop to Third World
standards."

In light of this growing evidence, Derlet decided to
do some testing of his own — not only to debunk some
myths, but also to figure out ways to preserve
wilderness water for future generations. Starting in
early May until the first snowfall in October or
November, Derlet shoehorns wilderness forays into his
busy schedule of teaching, research and stints in the
emergency room, racking up 24 miles on a day hike,
during which he hits about 10 places, or taking
three-day backpacking trips to visit more than 20
spots. In the process, he's become intimately
acquainted with the terrain of nearly every lake,
creek and tributary off the hiking trails in the
Sierra.

By collecting enough information so that pollution
patterns become strikingly apparent, he hopes to
identify the reasons why some areas become
contaminated while others remain pristine. That way,
effective steps can be taken to keep all the waters
clean. "Initially, this was instigated by the
backpacking water quality debate," he says. "But I
also want to come up with some conclusions about which
water is always pure, which water is subject to
pollution and why that is and what we can do about
it."

Lean and lanky, the 56-year-old physician, with his
shock of thick, dark hair and long unlined face, is a
poster boy for the benefits of clean living. He nimbly
climbs up the steep 700-foot incline from the
trailhead off of Tioga Road, the two-lane blacktop
that traverses Yosemite, to his first stop of the day:
Dog Lake in Tuolumne Meadows near Lembert Dome, at the
eastern edge of Yosemite. He walks in long loping
strides past the lodgepole pines, and the profusion of
yellow and red wildflowers that burst into life in the
early summer, and kneels at the edge of the water.

"Lake water is better," he says, glancing up. "Most
people think the water is better from a nice, running
stream because it's so fresh and churned up. But the
top few inches of lake water are zapped with
ultraviolet rays from the sun, which are a very
powerful disinfectant."

Despite his lofty goals, Derlet's testing methods are
decidedly low-tech. He carries his equipment in a
fanny pack strapped around his waist that is about the
size and heft of a tool belt. His routine is virtually
the same at each of the sites where he takes samples:
He snaps on a pair of blue latex gloves to avoid
contamination and then skims a plastic test tube along
the surface of the water, collecting just enough to
fill the 2-inch rectangular container, which he stores
neatly in an ice chest that he stows in his SUV. He
dips a thermometer in the water, and then jots down
the time, water temperature and altitude on a log to
record each visit. The samples will be taken back to
his laboratory at UC Davis and tested for such bugs as
giardia.

After making the late morning ascent to Dog Lake, he
drives along Tioga Road to do a series of hikes into
other places in the park, ranging from the highlands
of Tioga Pass, where he clambers through packed snow
in altitudes that climb to 10,000 feet, to
boulder-strewn trails in the lower elevations around
Tenaya Lake closer to Yosemite Valley. He finishes up
in the early evening after treks along Gaylor, Budd,
Snow and Yosemite creeks to collect samples in
designated wilderness areas that aren't heavily
trafficked.

It's an arduous day, but what his research reveals so
far is encouraging: High Sierra waters are not nearly
as polluted as was thought 15 or 20 years ago and
contain about 10,000 normal aquatic bacteria per
quart, which is not harmful at all. Derlet has mostly
found low levels of E. coli, primarily in regions
below cattle grazing tracts and popular campgrounds,
and Yersinia enterocolitica, a bacteria from the
droppings of migrating flocks of birds, in high
country alpine lakes. The most fecal matter he's
unearthed has been in the runoff from the melting snow
in the spring, when it washes the ground, and sweeps
everything, including manure, into the streams. The
only situation in which Derlet treats water is below
sheep and cattle pastures, and in slow-flowing warm
streams immediately below heavily used campsites.
Otherwise, most of the water is clean enough to drink

"I've felt at home in the wilderness for the past 50
years," he reflects, perched on a log near the
trailhead leading to Gaylor Lakes in between bites of
a tuna salad, fruit and crackers. "I want to do
whatever I can to ensure that 100 years from now, we
have clean water and clean forests. That why I'm doing
this — to contribute to the science to help preserve
it and to distill the true science from rumor."

TIPS

Drink responsibly

There are many places in the Sierra where you can
safely drink the water, but choose carefully. "If you
have a question, then treat it," says Gregg Fauth,
wilderness manager for Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Parks. But if you have a hankering for fresh
water and don't want to lug a pump or disinfectants
that make the water unappetizing, drinking smart can
minimize risks of getting sick.

Don't drink untreated water in places downstream from
livestock pastures and large backpacker camps. "Humans
and cattle are the worst offenders," Fauth says.

Water at higher elevations is safer because there's
less risk of pollution by humans or wildlife. As water
travels to lower elevations, it can pick up
contaminants along the way.

Lake water, especially the top few inches, has less
bacteria than running streams because the rays of the
sun act as a disinfectant. And big lakes are better
than smaller, shallow lakes because there's more of a
surface to sanitize.

Clean melted snow is less risky than ice from the
surface of a lake or stream because hardy
diarrhea-causing bacteria can survive for months on
ice.

Deep well water is considered safe because the water
is filtered when passing through the soil, which
removes giardia cysts. Springs bubbling from the side
of a mountain are generally safe too.

Avoid drinking untreated water from stagnant ponds or
slow-moving streams.

Don't leave home without them: Alcohol hand gels,
which are available in drug stores, are incredibly
effective at inactivating bacteria on your hands.
"Washing your hands," says Dr. Howard Backer, a water
purification expert, "will prevent you from spreading
bacteria to your fellow camper when you prepare the food."

Lone Wolf
05-03-2007, 16:03
Most people here telling you to just drinking without filtering/purifying are internet tough guys.

oh really? i've never filtered or treated in 16,000 miles of backpacking on the AT. i must be tough.

mweinstone
05-03-2007, 17:54
im a fairy faced woose and never treated or got sick either. and by the way,...point zero one people will read such a long post.

Mags
05-04-2007, 11:33
im a fairy faced woose and never treated or got sick either. and by the way,...point zero one people will read such a long post.

Which is why I put the two line summary. :)

Rhino-lfl
05-04-2007, 13:31
oh really? i've never filtered or treated in 16,000 miles of backpacking on the AT. i must be tough.

You scare me.

Rhino-lfl
05-04-2007, 13:32
Which is why I put the two line summary. :)

Thats what he meant lol.

Gray Blazer
05-04-2007, 15:18
Good thing you've got nothing better to do than get sick. When it finally happens, you should be thrilled and throw a diaper party.
Thanks for the kind thoughts. I'm already past the incubation period. I'm bringing my filter from now on.The extra weight is worth not having to worry.

Jester2000
05-04-2007, 18:22
If you’re quadriplegic 6 month old baby carrying a 90 lb backpack while doing jumping jacks at the same time, yes it is a pain. Or you can just fill it with water and let the gravity filter do its thing while you make lunch. Or you can just pump out a gallon in a minute if you’re strong enough to lift a spoon … a plastic spoon that is … a dry one … with no water weight … and clean … no food particles … on the space shuttle in orbit … in zero gravity.

A "no" would have done fine.


i must be tough.


You scare me.

He scares me.

Rhino-lfl
05-07-2007, 13:05
Sorry scary

Cannibal
05-07-2007, 15:09
Don't be scared; I have a night-light AND a water treatment solution! It is a little high on the price side, but I've been using a SteriPen. You have to wait a whole 45 seconds! As an added bonus...it looks cool. The Pen itself is only 3 oz. with batteries. No filtering, no chemicals, and no trail trots.

Rhino-lfl
05-07-2007, 15:38
Don't be scared; I have a night-light AND a water treatment solution! It is a little high on the price side, but I've been using a SteriPen. You have to wait a whole 45 seconds! As an added bonus...it looks cool. The Pen itself is only 3 oz. with batteries. No filtering, no chemicals, and no trail trots.

Isn't there something like a tube that you suck directly from the water and it filters it? I thought it was called a 'Sip stick' but I can't find it anywhere. It was supposed to be the size of a pen and you could purify 300 gallons of water with it. It was made for 3rd world countries and the like, was supposed to sell for $10. I can't find it anywhere, anyone ever hear of it?

Cannibal
05-07-2007, 15:58
There are several versions of this tech. Try typing "straw" + "purification" on Google and you'll get plenty of sites. Most of them are good for about 150 -200 gallons. I've never used one, but I bet I'd lose it. Good news: they are cheap!!!!!!!!!

mountain squid
05-07-2007, 16:23
When I was at Springer at the end of March, saw a couple start off with this: http://justdrink.net/#. They had one of the inline ones, but I don't know which one, nor do I know how well it works. But, it certainly looks interesting...

Personally, I've used Aqua Mira with success on the AT. I carry a 100 oz bladder with hydration tube for 'clean' water (town water and aqua mira'd water). I also carry a 70 oz Platy reservoir for 'dirty' water (un aqua mira'd water). After filling up the 70 ouncer with as much water as I think I need, (1 qt maybe 2 qt, etc - almost always still have some left in the 100 ouncer.) I add the appropriate Aqua Mira mix and continue hiking (as -BLEACH- mentioned way back at post #12). I'll add that water to the 100 ouncer when I need it (now that it is 'clean'). That system worked for me...I usually don't treat meal water, since it is boiled...

There is too much traffic on the AT to not treat in some way. How many times have you gone down to a spring (should be safe) and observed something that shouldn't be there? A stray noodle, someone trying to clean up, a dog standing in it and, not too mention, all the hikers that have stuck their 'unclean' hands into it to fill their water containers before you, etc. Just my thoughts...better safe than sorry...

See you on the trail (& at Trail Days),
mt squid

Rhino-lfl
05-07-2007, 17:07
When I was at Springer at the end of March, saw a couple start off with this: http://justdrink.net/#. They had one of the inline ones, but I don't know which one, nor do I know how well it works. But, it certainly looks interesting...

Personally, I've used Aqua Mira with success on the AT. I carry a 100 oz bladder with hydration tube for 'clean' water (town water and aqua mira'd water). I also carry a 70 oz Platy reservoir for 'dirty' water (un aqua mira'd water). After filling up the 70 ouncer with as much water as I think I need, (1 qt maybe 2 qt, etc - almost always still have some left in the 100 ouncer.) I add the appropriate Aqua Mira mix and continue hiking (as -BLEACH- mentioned way back at post #12). I'll add that water to the 100 ouncer when I need it (now that it is 'clean'). That system worked for me...I usually don't treat meal water, since it is boiled...

There is too much traffic on the AT to not treat in some way. How many times have you gone down to a spring (should be safe) and observed something that shouldn't be there? A stray noodle, someone trying to clean up, a dog standing in it and, not too mention, all the hikers that have stuck their 'unclean' hands into it to fill their water containers before you, etc. Just my thoughts...better safe than sorry...

See you on the trail (& at Trail Days),
mt squid

**** load of water to carry.

mountain squid
05-07-2007, 17:16
with as much water as I think I need, (1 qt maybe 2 qt, etc - almost always still have some left in the 100 ouncer.)

See you on the trail (& at Trail Days),
mt squid

rafe
05-08-2007, 00:26
**** load of water to carry.

100 oz. is a bit over 3 quarts. Not terribly unusual for a hot summer day in PA. Better to have too much than not enough. Dehydration is the pits. Even worse... it can kill you, or permanently damage you.

(And routine, low-level dehydration will give you kidney stones. Ask me how I know...)

Tennessee Viking
05-08-2007, 01:43
Word of warning, watch out for water near highways and heavy traffic roads. These waters are usually heavily polluted do to oil, antifreeze, and litter. So polluted that even filters and chemical treatments can not treat effectively. Water systems near farms can also carry heavy pestiside run off.

I seen some outfitters carry a small filter/chemical combo kit.

I heard of some people using small amounts of bleach to clean out the water, the filtered through activated charcoal and cheesecloth, to clean out the chlorine.

Rhino-lfl
05-08-2007, 08:22
100 oz. is a bit over 3 quarts...

He carries 170oz of water in 2 different packs.

**** load of water to carry :)