[pct-l] Anyone gotten Giardia on the PCT?

[jason moores]

Buck,

This can be a difficult question to answer for many reasons. Quite a few hikers report having Giardia on the trail, but few actually seem to seek medical help for the symptoms. Beyond that is determining where one actually became ill, due to the amount of time that it can take for symptoms to present. I would hazard to guess that the majority of these cases involve food borne illnesses or are due to poor hygiene. There is also "town-itis" which comes from overdoing it in town-the human body can only ingest x amount of fat in a given period of time, the rest is voided from the body in an unpleasant way.

In '09 my fiance suffered very specific gastro intestinal symptoms that pointed to Crypto. We sought medical help in Mountain Mesa, where they performed over $4,000 in tests only to inform us that all of their tests were inconclusive. The doctor prescribed broad spectrum antibiotics anyway, and the symptoms went away. Did she have Crypto, who can say? We spoke to a number of other hikers who told us that they had suffered from exactly the same GI problems, but again there is no real certainty that they had Crypto nor that their problems could be definitively blamed on a specific water source. We did have our own theories though- more than one hiker(including ourselves) timed their symptoms back to their time around Hikertown. I don't personally blame Rick at Hikertown for this because: a) we have no proof b) there are "sketchy" water sources both before and after Hikertown c) even the doctors were unable to diagnose the problem when they were specifically looking for a water-borne illness.

Over the past several years hikers have complained of Giardia and Crypto symptoms after hiking out of Kennedy Meadows. Now the areas just north of KM still see a good deal of cattle activity and the "swallow" bridge over the Kern River is a very possible source of illness, but again I've heard of no real proof that this is the case. It's just as plausible that hikers became sick at KM(disclaimer: I love the folk in KM and do not mean this as a criticism of the Store, the cleanliness of their food-service or the water in the meadow). And again there are some "sketchy" sources in the miles before KM. With all of the hikers congregating in large numbers, for multiple days in the meadow, this could just as easily be the problem. Many hands are shaken, food shared and bottles passed.

While living in Stehekin in '08 I read a Forest Service report that found very little evidence of Giardia in the Sierra and Cascade ranges. I don't usually trust what the gov. tells me, but...

In the end I don't doubt that hikers contract these illnesses while on the trail, I only question where and how. I find it much more likely that the preponderance of GI problems stem from poor hygiene-that of the individual or that passed on by others. In '09 and '10 many hikers refused to shake hands with others for this reason(myself included). Instead we chose to "bump" fists when meeting hikers or better yet, hugged each other when reunited(which is always better). No matter how vigilant we are about treating our water or post lavatory hygiene it is impossible to be 100% certain that cross-contamination isn't occurring. 

Do what you can to mitigate and go with the "flow" the rest of the time.

Jackass


> Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 07:41:06 -0900
> From: buck at bucktrack.com
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] Anyone gotten Giardia on the PCT?
> 
> Hikers often talk about whether it is necessary to treat water on the
> Pacific Crest Trail. I thought we might try to get a feel for how often
> hikers actually get Giardia in the "real world."
> 
> Years ago I had Giardia, twice, and vowed to treat all water in the future.
> I faithfully treated water up until last summer. After reading an article
> about the low likelihood of getting Giardia from drinking water, I only
> treated on a case-by-case basis. Instead, I focused on hand hygiene and not
> passing food back and forth with other hikers.
> 
> I got sick at Sonora Pass while southbound during my flip. After a couple of
> days I felt better, but I got sick again in Mammoth. Experience told me it
> was likely Giardia. The doctor concurred. He gave me Tinidazole and in 24
> hours I had recovered, if somewhat weakened.
> 
> Bottom line: beyond a reasonable doubt I got Giardia from untreated drinking
> water.
> 
>    - Have any of you, or anyone you know personally, gotten Giardia on the
>    PCT?
>    - Were you diagnosed by a doctor?
>    - Were you treating all water?
>    - What's your best guess as to how you got it?
>    - Where on the trail did you get it?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Colter
> 
> 2010 PCT Thru-hike
> http://www.bucktrack.com/PCT.html
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