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Tennessee Viking
05-01-2009, 23:54
Since I am moving to Raleigh, I am going to hit up the MST more often. I was wondering if the lakes and streams on the NC Piedmont have realiable water. Seeing that its flatter with more farm land and communities near the trail, would the water be too contaminated for filtering or treating?

Then for the water around the coastline, how hard is it to find fresh water sources? Is salinity present in all sources near the coast and on the coast, and will need to plan water caches or carrying in water?

Phoenixdadeadhead
05-02-2009, 00:29
Wow, ummmmm I won't drink the water around here lol, and I dont filter on the mountains. I have read and seen a lot about polution from hog farms, pesticides, and herbicides. I don't know if any of this would really harm you, and as a kid here I used to swim in it all the time, who knows how much ended up in my belly. To give you an idea how weird the water is, when I fill the tub the water is green like a pool, if they need that many chemicals to clean it I doubt it is safe lmao

Taba
05-02-2009, 04:48
This reply is going to be short and I will go ino more detail later. As for the water sources in the piedmonts and around the coast, I used a lot of water spigots at roadside churches and stopped in several of the stores along the way. I kept myself on limited water so I would always be looking for it. I will go through the manual and see what I have listed for those areas. I will also let you know that when you are on trail in the piedmont sections the water from the streams should be treatable. I used a filter and didn't have too much trouble getting water. The manual hopefully fixes most of these questions about water and where to get it.

Like I said I will go into more detail later.

Taba

Tennessee Viking
05-02-2009, 17:07
This reply is going to be short and I will go ino more detail later. As for the water sources in the piedmonts and around the coast, I used a lot of water spigots at roadside churches and stopped in several of the stores along the way. I kept myself on limited water so I would always be looking for it. I will go through the manual and see what I have listed for those areas. I will also let you know that when you are on trail in the piedmont sections the water from the streams should be treatable. I used a filter and didn't have too much trouble getting water. The manual hopefully fixes most of these questions about water and where to get it.

Like I said I will go into more detail later.

TabaI figured you would post something. And I plan to contact you about the guide soon when I get over there.

I just didn't want to be walking by a stream, then find out its runoff from a farm.

But I will be hitting up the Falls Lake section a lot from what it looks like.

Reid
05-02-2009, 17:18
I've seen statistics, for what they are worth, that say that the water in and around Charleston (my hometown) has a certain percentage of feces in the water. A very small amount but the closer you get to sea level the more your subject to parasite's in the water. I could be completely wrong on this......but I've heard this argument before. So I'd be careful how you get your water.

Taba
05-02-2009, 17:56
Water from earthly resources are good in Stone Mountain State Park, on the Sauratown Trail, Hanging Rock State Park, Lake Brandt and Lake Townsend, and Falls Lake Trail will be good enough to treat or filter. The Croatan National forest has several shelters with working wells and several small freshwater streams, I would still treat the water there. The closer you get to the coast the more pollution is possible from cattle and agricultural farms and from ocean salt. There are 108 churches along the MST. These churches have been very helpful with shelter and water. My journey this year will include exploring the churhces a little more to find more shelter and water spigots to list in the 2010 version of the manual. The quick reference column in the manual makes it easier to find the water sources available and sizes them up. Whether they be a little trickle and you would have to create a pool, which would be classified as a "very small spring," to various sized streams with many waterfalls and on to creeks, canals and rivers all the way through to the Atlantic Ocean. The direction of the MST will take you from the very beginning of the water sources that empty into the ocean, so, of course the water in the mountains is going to be the best water on the trail. When you are hiking the road sections, you will just have to use different resources. Those will be the stores and churches you pass by. Try not to disturb private homes however if it is a case of survival and you get into a dangerous situation, don't be afraid to ask some of the locals for help. I had to knock on a couple of houses to see if they could fill my water bottle from the faucet. Usually, they were ok with my being there and would jump at the chance to help, even filling my bottle with ice. Just be wise about the doors you choose to knock on if you have to go that route. But I am doing my best to fix that water issue so you will not have any dangerous situations that will have you knocking on private homes.

I hope this helps,
Taba

Taba
05-03-2009, 22:43
Since you said you would be hiking in the Falls Lake Area mostly here is some more detail about that stretch of trail.

There may be new trail in this area that I have not explored yet because it may have opened this year. If there is it will be in the 2010 manual. But what I do have right now is that the section is 22.43 miles with 6 natural water sources and 3 water fountains, 3 possible primitive camping locations, 1 campground, a small museum, and a couple of places with restrooms. There is a lot of wildlife out here and the trail is peaceful. It's a great getaway from the city. Keep an eye out for hunters during hunting season.

I really enjoyed this section and look forward to seeing it again. There is a great swimming area I want to stop at again.

Taba