[pct-l] bleach

[moodyjj at comcast.net]

I'm a newbie to this board and the PCT but not to hiking.  I thru'ed the AT in '06, so I have a little experience to share.

I used iodine tabs and Micropur (chlorine dioxide) tabs exclusively when I couldn't get water from an approved public water supply.  On the AT, that's probably as much as 1/3 to 1/2 the time, but I'm sure that's not the case on the PCT.

I used iodine tabs during the day and ClO2 at night, due to the 4-hour treatment times for ClO2.  Vitamin C tabs, crushed up, or a citrus powder additive such as lemonde or Gatoraid will kill the color and taste of iodine in treated water in seconds.

I used both types to avoid overexposure to any one type of chemical.

Mango