[pct-l] Treating water on the PCT is a personal choice"choosewisely"

[linda.hungerford]

Everyone complains about cows, but deer and mountain goats and elk can carry 
giardia just the same.  I never really thought about it, until one day I was 
steripenning my water and eating lunch on the Rogue River trail, and three 
youngish deer came up and watched me for about 15 minutes.  Apparently they 
never got the flyer telling them they are supposed to defecate at least 100 
yards from any water course...

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ellen Shopes" <igellen at comcast.net>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 3:55 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Treating water on the PCT is a personal 
choice"choosewisely"


> While I worked for the NPS in the Tetons, I had a friend who got Giardia
> drinking water flowing straight out of a glacier.  HYOH.  I'm treating my
> water!
> Elderly Ellen
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Brett Cosner" <brettcosner at yahoo.com>
> To: "Austin Williams" <austinwilliams123 at gmail.com>; "AsABat"
> <asabat at 4jeffrey.net>; "Steve Clark" <hiker823 at yahoo.com>
> Cc: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 6:20 PM
> Subject: [pct-l] Treating water on the PCT is a personal choice
> "choosewisely"
>
>
> This is one of those "hike your own hike" issues that people will tell you
> with authority which path to take. Ultimately the decision is yours and if
> you choose to treat your water there will be critics just as if you choose
> to not treat it.
>
> The fact is that yes there are some bugs in the water, but not in all 
> water
> sources. I've both treated and not treated water and I have never gotten
> sick in the Sierras. I've drank from lakes, rivers, streams, and springs. 
> I
> try to avoid stagnant water and water flowing slowly through meadows. I 
> have
> heard that the biggest source of bugs is poor hygiene not water sources.
>
> I like to think of the line in the movie Indian Jones where the guardian 
> of
> the Holy Grail told the seekers to "choose wisely" which cup to drink 
> from.
> One will give you eternal life the other will give you the shits! So don't
> choose poorly.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- On Wed, 12/16/09, Steve Clark <hiker823 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> From: Steve Clark <hiker823 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Not treating water on the PCT
> To: "Austin Williams" <austinwilliams123 at gmail.com>, "AsABat"
> <asabat at 4jeffrey.net>
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 2:59 PM
>
> I attended a trail fest in riverside, ca, back in 2005 and heard a lecture
> by a doctor that said that you did not have to treat your water on the 
> PCT.
>
> --- On Wed, 12/16/09, AsABat <asabat at 4jeffrey.net> wrote:
>
>
> From: AsABat <asabat at 4jeffrey.net>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Not treating water on the PCT
> To: "Austin Williams" <austinwilliams123 at gmail.com>
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 8:23 PM
>
>
> I had a friend who got giardia at Rae Lakes in 1981. No one else of the 6 
> on
> the trip got sick, and she was the only one who drank the water 
> unfiltered.
> She lost a lot of weight and didn't have much to lose when she started.
>
> AsABat
>
> On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Austin Williams <
> austinwilliams123 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I just want to know: has anyone
>> here ever caught any 'bugs' by drinking untreated water *on the PCT*? 
>> (I'm
>> not concerned about other trails).
>>
>> If so, what part of the trail did you catch it in?
>>
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