[pct-l] Oregon, tent cooking, and water

[Suzannah Swinehart]

OK, I wasn't going to respond to this but since it continues...I spend my mornings teaching reading to first graders. The term for the vowel sound in Oregon is a "schwa", not a short a (as in cat). Saying it with a long e will definitely get you funny looks, but a short a would be even funnier. Try it aloud.  Sorry, Bob :)

It's hard to explain the precise sound of a schwa, but the closest I can come is "uh". OR-uh-gun.

I also had several other posts to respond to this morning.

1) RE: FreeRefill's comment: "I wished to have a Jetboil everytime I heard that  blubb from them starting it inside their tent to make some hot  chocolate."

I was originally going to write to remind newbies that while many hikers might cook in their stoves, conventional wisdom says that it is NOT RECOMMENDED because of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. Then I started to do some research and learned that the newer butane stoves *may* let off lower levels of CO. I haven't done the research, so don't take this as truth.
There was a Backpacking Light article that actually had empirical data on this, but since I'm not a subscriber I couldn't access it. Anyone have any information? I'm not asking for personal experiences...obviously you're all still alive...but actual research that's been done.

2) RE: Ernie's comment: "I was a tonto...The water looked clean but it wasn't running fast. I should have known better."

I'm still cautious even around fast-moving water...because unless you're at the source, what's to say that a slow-moving lazy stretch doesn't run through a cow pasture 500 ft upstream? To me, a better indicator seems like it would be looking at surroundings in general. If you're in an area trafficked with people, cows, etc, treat your water. If you can see it coming out of the source near the top of a mountain, you're probably safe. Probably.
Many will dismiss me as being overcautious; to me that's fine. From talking to people who have actually had to endure giardia, this is one where I'd rather be safe than sorry. Urgh. Hands down. 

Cozy inside, waiting for the arctic blast to hit,
-Chipmunk
 		 	   		  
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