[pct-l] Desert water filters

[Diane Soini]

My experience was that prefiltering was almost never necessary and  
when it might have made things more aethetically pleasing, I would  
just be grateful I'm old enough to have presbyopia and not be wearing  
my reading glasses.

That said, I live in So Cal, I drink the water here unfiltered and  
have done so for decades and my experience on the PCT was to have  
people stare in amazement and disgust that I would drink from certain  
water sources. Water sources that looked perfectly clear to me and  
were treated with a little aquamira. Many people visiting So Cal will  
walk by a decent water source and declare there is no water there  
when I will walk by the same source and file the information away  
that this is a good water source to remember for next time.

If anything, I drank a heck of a lot more murky water in Oregon than  
anywhere else on the trail.

On May 30, 2013, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> From: "Dan Welch" <welchenergy at gmail.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] Desert water filters
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
>
> I didn't want to hijack the thread about the Sawyer squeeze filter  
> - so I'll
> start a new one. I'm gathering gear this year to try out in prep  
> for a 2014
> PCT thru.  In my Sierra hikes, I've often used steripens and Aqua  
> Mira drops
> and have been happy with both.  I'm leaning towards the AM drops  
> for weight,
> simplicity, and robustness.  However, I realize there may be times  
> when
> water calls out to be pre-filtered - mainly to get rid of the Yuck  
> factor.
> I know some people use bandanas, some people use coffee filters,  
> etc...
> Something like the Sawyer Squeeze seems like overkill and more  
> prone to
> clogging for truly yucky water.
>
> So my question is this - on a typical PCT thru, how often does  
> water need to
> be pre-filtered to make it "aesthetically acceptable"?  Keep in  
> mind I'm not
> looking for crystal clear water.  I'm OK with somewhat cloudy  
> water, but I
> think I would drink less water (not a good thing) if it was  
> frequently brown
> or I was often picking things out of my teeth (!).
>
> The frequency of occurrence matters to me because if it's just a  
> time or two
> the whole trip, I can live with the bandana filter.  If I need to  
> do that
> several times a week in the desert, I'll probably want to go with  
> something
> more robust and convenient.
>
> I know this is a subjective question, but I would appreciate your  
> experience
> and I'll figure it out from there.  Also, if you have ideas about
> pre-filters that have worked for you (as opposed to total filters  
> like the
> Sawyer treatment systems) I'd love to hear them.
>
> Thanks!
> Timberline