[pct-l] Mistakes I made while hiking

[Matthew Edwards]

Okay, this is going to get me in hot water with some folks. Remember this is just my opinion. I have no scientific evidence to back this up but:
I drank water untreated fro Hose Spigot at Kennedy Meadows (South).
I believe that water gave me Giardiasis.
There, I said it.
I Love what the kind folks at the store do for us hikers every year. I truly do not think they would knowingly give us bad water. I know they swear the water is tested but:
Being a gravity feed hose bib, downhill from a septic system, and having a large number of hikers get sick within 10 days of KM are too amny coincidences in my opinion.
If I were to hike again I would purchase bottled water at the store while there. Obviously this would be good for the store as well so hopefully I did not just piss them off too much.
YMMV, IMHO, and all that.
To be honest I personally did not treat every drop of water on my hike previous to reaching KM so I can't say with total certainty.. Just a GUT feeling (Sorry.. Bad Pun)
I will say for sure that losing 30 lbs in 20 days while crossing the Sierra was not very fun.
I will carry Metronidazole tablets (Flagyl) on my next hike. I suffered needlessly as the pills were 9 bucks and 21 of them were almost weightless. After 2 days the antibiotic began to work and by day three I was back on trail and pushing towards Canada again.

Alright, let the slings and arrows fly.. I can take it.
-Iceaxe
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