[pct-l] Fw: More Poop Poll/Giardia

[Edward Anderson]

Shon,
I appreciate that you took the time to do your own research.  Few hikers would do what you did. 
 
The greatest, and the most common, biological risk to hikers using the PCT is exposure to giardia lamblia. Hikers who are infected, were usually exposed while they are camping with other hikers, or when they went into towns for "0" days. Those locations often become contaminated. Since I was riding a horse, I did not visit towns. I resupplied myself by driving ahead and caching near road crossings and trail heads. My approach did require a lot of hitching to get back to my horse. I never take water directly from lakes or from rivers or streams. I never filtered north of Tehachipi Pass and always camped alone with my horse. I  tried to find wild places well off the PCT where others had not camped - and tried my best to leave them as I found them, scattering Primo's poop so it would bio-degrade. My water sources were usually springs or very small flowing creeks when I can tell,by the topo map, that the water had not crossed trails or roads -
 and I am not in cattle country.  I have also scooped surface water from small, clear, and still, ponds that were in the full sun - the UV purifies surface water down to about three or four inches. I mostly lived on the trail for over five months and never got sick.
MendoRider-Hiker   
 

________________________________
 From: shon mcganty <smcganty at yahoo.com>
To: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 9:17 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Fw:   More Poop Poll/DOGS
 

I first read this and thought "really??"  So I did some research, and found three studies all agree that horse poop pose very little risk of contamination to humans in the backcountry.  So, thank you for your information, I love learning new things or to break any misinformation I may have.
 
shon
 

________________________________
 From: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>
To: Shon Mcganty <smaganty at yahoo.com>; "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net> 
Cc: Reinhold Metzger <reinholdmetzger at cox.net> 
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 6:44 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Fw:   More Poop Poll/DOGS
 
Shon,
It might be somewhat comforting for you to know that studies have shown that fecal material from horses is not a significant source of pathogens - while that of humans, dogs, cats, and cattle is. Hikers who bring dogs should bury the poop in a cat hole - just as they do their own. I don't have a problem with dogs on the trail so long as they are on a leash. Then you know when they poop.
MendoRider-Hiker 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Reinhold Metzger <reinholdmetzger at cox.net>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 7:44 AM
Subject: [pct-l]  More Poop Poll

Shon,
A more experienced hiker would have taken his water farther away from 
the horses instead of in the "drop zone".
But, like I said,
 "Veggies" are good for you.
You remember your mother telling you that, don't you?

Remember to eat lots of "Veggies" on the trail....they are good for you.

JMT Reinhold
----------------------------------
Shon wrote:

.......two horses, standing in the water near the shoreline, with butts 
towards the lake's center and faces down in the shallows earting the 
nice green grass, while poop plobs out and falls into the lake over and 
over.  I needed to take water from this lake, so I filled two 1L Nalgene 
bottles and watched the water in the bottles as horse poop sank to the 
bottom.
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