Water purification - what's popular? What works?

[Roche]

[QUOTE=take-a-knee;976048]

The thread is about AT water sources. Your post is a classic example of......[/QUOTE
What part of my answer wasn't an applicable. appropriate answer to the need to filter water? I guess dihydrogen oxide from the Carib is somehow markedly different than that that falls on the slopes of Applachia. Faiti is about as far from Springer as Baxter St Park is.

Are you referring to Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO)? Yes, that has been a problem for 20 years.

[Appalachian Tater]

[QUOTE=tppreston;976085]

Are you referring to Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO)? Yes, that has been a problem for 20 years.

If you drink too much of that stuff it will kill you. On the other hand, if you don't drink enough you'll die anyway. Can't win for losing.

[mweinstone]

dear street in paris


the day any water on the at needs filtering or purifiing, is my last day on the at. how come i got 7000 mi and no filter and no pills and no illness? cause their aint none. the weight of your filter will be exchanged for my whisky witch you will now carry at 40 paces rear.

[Roche]

dear street in paris


the day any water on the at needs filtering or purifiing, is my last day on the at. how come i got 7000 mi and no filter and no pills and no illness? cause their aint none. the weight of your filter will be exchanged for my whisky witch you will now carry at 40 paces rear.

Does untreated water affect grammer and spelling?

[Appalachian Tater]

Does untreated water affect grammar and spelling?

Yes, among other things. Probably you die not too long after that though from the meningitis. Lyme affects your nervous system, too.

Wikipedia has a good list, I was surprised.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterborne_diseases

[Tuckahoe]

I think anyone is well served with a primary and a back up. Personally I dont think that there is going to be an issue with much of the water on the AT. But on the other hand -- unless I know the source -- I wouldnt necessarily take that chance either. Its not at all unreasonable to be a little cautious.

Just remember that even our simple and natural water put more soldiers into our national cemeteries than the enemies bullets.

[garlic08]

Back to the original question: In my experience on the AT, filters are popular in the first 500 miles, then you see more chemicals (often Aqua Mira, sometimes chlorine bleach, less often iodine), after the filters have a few maintenance problems.

Those who do not treat water at all seem to be relatively few.

I combine methods: No treatment most of the time, mainly using high pristine springs. If there's any doubt, I drop some Aqua Mira. (On my AT thru hike, I used about 1/3 set of Aqua Mira, for about 10 gallons of treated water total.) I agree with reducing the chemical intake whenever possible.

While hiking in the Smokies, I would see hikers with plastic bottles of "Smoky Mountain Spring water", purchased in Gatlinburg for $3/liter. Yet when faced with the actual spring, they'd throw chemicals in it. Go figure.

[Colter]

There is no chlorine in Chlorine Dioxide.

[Treefingers]

Long term chlorine ingestion could be a problem HOWEVER, CHLORINE DIOXIDE, end product of Aqua Mira is NOT CHLORINE, i am not sure what the chemical compound actually is but i have been told they are far from the same thing...just pointing this out

Long term ingestion of chlorine? Just wondering. Check out:

http://www.healthynewage.com/chlorine-cancer.htm

And anyway, the original poster said he's against using chemicals, so why recommend Aqua Mira?




There are chemicals and then there are chemicals. There are hundreds of man-made foreign chemicals in our bloodstreams that are being studied and no one really knows what harmful effects they might have. These chemicals are concocted in labs and have no natural origins and thus there's no long term knowledge of their health impacts. These are not the chemicals you're talking about, like calcium and iron and niacin and sodium.

[Praha4]

anyone not treating or filtering water along the AT are rolling the dice on getting sick... it's true that experienced backpackers are usually more knowledgable about where not to get their water along the trail... the problem is sometimes the only water source for miles is a mud puddle for a spring.... near campsites and near areas where folks have been squatting in the woods... especially in the middle of the summer when the springs are not flowing well. Everybody knows not to drink from such nasty areas, but.... more than one hiker has been faced with a choice between dehydration and drinking dirty water, it would be smart to have some type of treatment with you for those times.

One bad experience with the creeping crud from bad water will convince you never to drink untreated or unfiltered water.

Wish I had a dollar for every tough guy I've met along the trail who claims he can hike 20 miles a day barefoot in ice and snow, and can drink anything he finds in the woods without treating it, their stories are entertaining though i will admit, and do help entertain the crowd at the shelters at night.

[jeremyduncan]

Do the people using Aqua Mira prefilter it, first? I don't hike the AT. Most of the water I have come across in the woods around here is visibly dirty. Just wondering if you prefilter it, or drink the floaties.

[Sassafras Lass]

Thank you for all of your answers; it's so nice to have helpful people here, unlike some others I've encountered elsewhere.

There's no way my husband is going to drink untreated water, so we're going to be using something. I just definitely don't like chemicals and don't mind the weight of a filter, and was hoping for some honest-to-goodness feedback from real folks who really use this stuff.

Thanks again!

[take-a-knee]

Long term chlorine ingestion could be a problem HOWEVER, CHLORINE DIOXIDE, end product of Aqua Mira is NOT CHLORINE, i am not sure what the chemical compound actually is but i have been told they are far from the same thing...just pointing this out

A little basic knowledge of chemistry can go a long way, when a chemical formula says CHLORINE, it means CHLORINE. Dioxide simply means two atoms of oxygen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine_dioxide

[leaftye]

A little basic knowledge of chemistry can go a long way, when a chemical formula says CHLORINE, it means CHLORINE. Dioxide simply means two atoms of oxygen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine_dioxide

And your point is?

[thelowend]

I don't think you've ever been to Haiti. People there don't know what a beefy turd looks like. This is a classic example of the "ignorance of the blessed".

This has nothing to do with what he is talking about at all.. I love how folks who have knowledge of people doing horribly in the world love to sit on the internet and scold other people for being ignorant of such unfortunate coniditons in the world.. not to mention, he is talking about water and risking running doo if he drinks it untreated.. I can see why a lot of folks on here choose to hike a lone..

[Sassafras Lass]

Thanks thelowend, and thank you everyone who answered.

[Linesman]

Treefingers is right in saying that chlorine dioxide is not the same thing as chlorine. Another example is salt, aka sodium chloride. Both sodium and chlorine are dangerous elements but bonded together they are harmless.

[leaftye]

Treefingers is right in saying that chlorine dioxide is not the same thing as chlorine. Another example is salt, aka sodium chloride. Both sodium and chlorine are dangerous elements but bonded together they are harmless.

<sarcasm>Oh no, don't you see, chlorine is chlorine, which is why everything with chlorine is as deadly mustard gas. Basic chemistry man, basic chemistry.</sarcasm>

[Tuckahoe]

<sarcasm>Oh no, don't you see, chlorine is chlorine, which is why everything with chlorine is as deadly mustard gas. Basic chemistry man, basic chemistry.</sarcasm>

{History prof voice} Now now in the scheme of things, chlorine gas is a rathe minor gas, that was only successful because it was the first employeed at a time in the Great War, when there was no gas defence. That is why it is replaced with phosgene and diphosgene. Asphyxiating agents.

Now mustard gas is a whole other issue. Not a gas, but a heavier than air particlate that will settle. And when it settles it will burn anything moist. Its a long lasting agent and does not dissipate like chlorine and phosgene... nice!! {History prof voice}

Wait whats this got to do with the AT?

[toothpick]

I have a Sawyer 4 liter bag type filter. You fill it up and hang it up and use as needed. You can use it much like a Camel Back. I am going to try it this year also as a small shower type thing to wash with. No pressure but anything is good if you can get some trail grime off. The filter is supposed to be good for a million gallons but we'll see. Costs about $100.