[pct-l] purifying water

[Steve Cosner]

  On 10/8/2010 3:08 PM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes wrote:
> I used a filter in So Cal. Aquamira drops the rest of the time.
> Frankly, with the exception of all those warm shallow lakes in
> Oregon, I rarely treated my water after the High Sierra.
I am curious why you needed to treat in the High Sierra ...at least 
between Sequoia NP and Yosemite NP.

> It all looked pretty clean to me. I never got sick. I think we get a little
> too paranoid about germs.
Yes, I agree, I think almost everyone is too paranoid of the water.  
Recent studies have pointed out that personal hygiene and improperly 
stored food are much more at fault in people's getting intestinal 
bugs.   Here's a link:
Evidence-Based Medicine in the Wilderness: The Safety of Backcountry Water
http://www.adirondoc.com/publications/water_quality_2004.pdf

> Somebody did a study and showed that most
> high sierra was is very clean unless livestock is allowed near it.
Exactly.  That would be Dr. Robert Derlet from UC Davis.
>   Unfortunately livestock is plentiful along the JMT.
Are you referring to cattle  or pack animals?  I've never worried about 
the few pack horses.  They're not out grazing and contaminating the 
meadows along the trail.