[pct-l] SIERRA WATER...Filters & Giardia

[Reinhold Metzger]

[pct-l] Frog Toggs - new products - create the consumer

Yes Daniel,...I agree.
There is no question that giardia does exist in Sierra water
and other water sources along the PCT..
The only question is to what extend and where in particular.
If we had the answer to that question, giardia would not be a
problem, we would simply avoid that particular water source.
The problem is you can not detect giardia with the naked eye
and water that looks pure may be contaminated and water that
looks contaminated may not be contaminated.
Also a water source may be pure today but may be contaminated
tomorrow.
You just never know for sure and that is why many folks buy all
kinds of expensive filters and purifiers to make certain the
water they are drinking is giardia free.
Some folks are more resistant to giardia than other folks and may
not get sick drinking the same water that made other folks sick.

I have, on several occasion run into an Attorney from Los Angeles,
on the JMT, who drinks his water straight from a cup and never gets
sick.
On the other hand other hikers have gotten sick....even, with 14
PCT thru-hikes, the former PCT record holder and unquestionable,
undeniable, indisputable "KING OF THE PCT" Scott Williamson came
down with it on more than one occasion and Scott probably has a
better feel for the water along the PCT than anybody else.

So you see,....it's out there....the question is ...WHERE?

I don't filter, I have not filtered in 40 years.
I got an expensive filter for a present many years ago.
I hated it and gave it away.
Filters weigh, they take up room, they take time to filter water,
they are unreliable, they can plug up, they can crack or cross
contaminate and no longer do their job.

Now,...my home made purifier consisting of a little glass bottle
with some iodine crystals in solution (the whole thing, bottle,
iodine crystals and water solution weighs only 1.5 ounces),
takes no time at all to fill up my 2 water bottles and add the
iodine solution to my water and I'm on my way while the rest of
you guys are furiously pumping and grumbling while I am yodeling
and skip hopping on down the trail.
Yes, I just love my little crystal iodine in solution kit, it has
kept me, my wife and countless Scouts giardia free for over 40 years.
Yes, those 1.5 ounces allow me to drink when I want to drink and
where I want to drink without worrying about giardia.

So you guys keep on pumping, it's good exercise for the arms, while
I am skip hopping on down the trail.

JMT Reinhold
Your skip hopping worry free trail companion

-------------------------
Daniel wrote:
While I agree with much of what Jeffrey says about the pitfalls of rampant
consumerism, I do have to take issue with his statement about Giardia: "Why
do we use water filters in the Sierra - it's not because there is a giardia
problem - it's because manufacturers saw a niche and then created a
consumer for that niche - us...".

Giardia is found worldwide, including along the entire length of the PCT.
People who choose not to treat their water are not only endangering
themselves, but are, in fact, putting other hikers at risk as well. Also,
it doesn't matter how "clean" and clear the water source looks -- if there
are or have been cattle, beavers, sheep, deer, or any number of other
animals in the area (i.e., anywhere along the entire length of the PCT).
Keep in mind, too, that it's possible to be a carrier without actually
becoming sick oneself, so even if you think you dodged the bullet, so to
speak, you may be spreading this nasty little bug to others every time you
poop or share food or shake hands, etc. So ... protect yourself -- and do
your fellow hikers a solid -- by treating your water. It is, in my view,
the only ethical choice.



On Wed, Mar 12, 2014 at 3:28 PM, Jeffrey Olson <jjolson60 at centurylink.net  <http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>>wrote:

>/  Get a copy of Colin Fletcher's first edition (1968) of "The Complete
/>/  Walker".  He goes into depth about how to put together a system for
/>/  backpacking.  Then read Ray Jardine's 1996 "Pacific Crest Trail Hikers
/>/  Handbook" where the "system" is refined.
/>/
/>/  Neither Fletcher or Jardine focused on brands of gear.  Jardine rails
/>/  against marketing hype.  Just because goretex boots and shoes exist
/>/  doesn't mean they're appropriate to hike in.  Why do we use water
/>/  filters in the Sierra - it's not because there is a giardia problem -
/>/  it's because manufacturers saw a niche and then created a consumer for
/>/  that niche - us...
/f  <http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>