[pct-l] Water treatment question for the PCT community

[Eric Lee (GAMES)]

Ollen wrote;
>
So,what's the community's opinion/experience/advice on the efficacy, if one carries &
uses some (presumably effective) form of chlorine-based treatment (Sweetwater, Aqua
Mira), of foregoing the small-pore-sized, relatively heavy, clog-prone manufactured filters
systems and simply using filter paper (i.e., coffee filters, chem-lab filters perhaps?) and
gravity to physically clear the water of its largest, chunkiest, most textureful components,
then relying on the chemical treatment to kill the bad stuff, then maybe some E-mergen-C
or the like to polish up the taste?
>

This is one of those topics where there is no right answer; it's all about your personal comfort level.  I can tell you what I do, but it may not be right for you.

In the Northwest, I sometimes treat my water and sometimes I don't, depending on what kind of source we're talking about and the likely level of human impact on it.  But then, I do short hikes where anything in the water isn't likely to cause serious problems until I'm home again.  If I were on a long section hike or a thru-hike, I'd probably treat more often than I currently do so as to not jeopardize my hike.

When I do treat the water, I use Aqua Mira drops.  It's supposed to be pretty effective, according to the literature I've read, and I don't notice any nasty aftertaste.  At the most, it sometimes has a slight citrus-like twang to it, like lemon water.  It actually improves the taste of brackish water sources.  The five minute wait while the two parts react is a bit of an inconvenience, plus time until the water is ready, but it's a lot lighter than a filter and less work, too.

I don't do any kind of pre-filtering, but then I'm fairly finicky about where I'll get my water from.  I firmly avoid stagnant ponds and anything that has visible chunks in it, even if that means I've got to walk farther to get to good water.  If I were in an area where there wasn't any choice about it (like parts of SoCal), I'd carry a regular filter as well, and probably use both the filter and the chemicals for the nastiest stuff.

I've never tried it, but I'd guess that a paper coffee filter would be difficult to use over and over again.  A bandana might do just as well to remove visible chunks, and you'd need to rely on chemicals for actual treatment in either case, so it would probably be sufficient.

Eric