newbie water question

[snegley]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I would say get your clean water the old fashion way, bioling it. is nearly fool proof.

[dloome]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.