[pct-l] Water purification clearification!!

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I think what you are really asking is what is the water in So Cal like.

It seemed that water sources for me in 2008 consisted mostly of  
creeks, many of which were very small, water faucets (either on trail  
or in hotel rooms or other facilities), springs (a pipe dripping  
water into a trough) and other sources (tanks, bottles left at  
trailheads.)

I think most of the time the water was a cattle trough spring. I even  
wrote a song one day while I was hiking and one of the lines was  
about drinking out of cattle troughs because there are no creeks. Of  
course there are creeks, just not many!

I carried a filter in 2008 but in 2009 when I returned and hiked a  
portion of the So Cal region on my way to Canada, I carried Aquamira.  
Aquamira is lighter. The cattle trough spring water is clear coming  
out of the pipe. I often drank it untreated.

In addition to water purification, it is good to learn good water  
management so you don't labor under too much heavy weight of excess  
water. In 2008 I labored with 5.5 liters and tried to keep it full as  
much as I could. Bad idea. In 2009 I only had 3.5 liters capacity  
(NOTE: OTHERS OF YOU MAY NEED MUCH MUCH MORE THAN ME! I LEARNED WHAT  
I NEEDED.) and would add extra capacity in the form of tanking up at  
a source (drinking a whole liter) or making pudding, which carried  
well in my pack and provided not just hydration but a delicious,  
filling treat!

Good luck!

On Nov 16, 2010, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> I'm sorry about my last post, I didn't realize water purification  
> was such a
> touchy subject!!! Let me clearify what I am trying to ask you guys.  
> I have never
> hiked Southern California before, at least not more than a few  
> hours at a time.
> Most of my experience is Northern Cali where the water is plentiful  
> and moves
> rapidly. My concern, or fear, is that much of the Southern Cali  
> water is
> stagnant cesspools filled with gunk which would be better filtered  
> than purified
> with iodine. I don't mind the little floaters but nothing serious.  
> So what I am
> asking is, as silly and stupid as it sounds, is the water in the  
> desert stagnant
> or does it flow making it possible for me to just pop a few tabs in  
> there not
> having to worry about gigantic floating infested cesspools of  
> unidentified
> larva. Sorry if that was a stupid question but I better safe than  
> sorry.
>
>  Brandon Reed