[pct-l] Water Treatment & ending my hike (Ollen Mullis)

[Vic Hanson]

When I started my thru-hike in 2006, I planned on using coffee filters to pre-filter the larger crud out of my water as I was planning on using mostly Aquamira for treatment. I found out that the coffee filters were not really practical for me as I was using Platypus bladders. It was too hard and time consuming to hold the filter in the narrow opening of the bladder. They don't filter very fast and I soon gave up on using them. If you were using widemouth Nalgene bottles it might be a different story, as they would sit in the bottle better. I later switched to Agua Fina 1 liter water bottles as it was too much hassle to put the bladder in the bladder sleeve inside a full pack. Agua Fina bottles also have a little larger opening than soda bottles or a Platypus bladder, which was nice.
 
Another option I used when I needed a quick drink and was too thirsty to wait for the Aquamira treated water to be available, was a small disposible filter, also sold by McNett, the makers of Aquamira. It is called the Frontier Emergency Water Filter System. It consists of a plastic straw and a small filter about 1"x4". The straw fits into the filter and you put the filter into the water and drink. It takes a bit up sucking to get a water flow, but isn't too bad, until the filter is getting plugged. It is supposed to be good for up to 20 gallons, but of course that depends on how much crud is in the water. I only used in "clean" water when possible to extend its life. I normally either used my drinking cup or an Agua Fina bottle, it wouldn't fit into a soda bottle opening. It is also possible to drink directly out of a pond or stream if you want to bend down, as the straw filter combo is only about 9 inches long. I think I went through 2 of them on the
 hike, they were very handy to have at times. They are very light and only cost $10, available here:
 
http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm/MCN1200
 
I normally treated water with Aquamira, except springs and some in the Sierra, where I drank directly. In a few cases where the water was really bad looking, Pang, one of my hiking buddies, offered to filter it for me (he filtered everything the whole way). None of us had any water related illness.
 
Sugar Daddy