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[pct-l] Iodine doesn't have to taste bad



Ben,
You might not be aware of it, but the newer iodine kits 
have a second tablet which removes the iodine after it 
has killed the beasties.  I've used it lots of times 
(my Sweetwater's filter handle broke off on Silver Divide one year, 
and the iodine served me for 4 days.)  Given the 
consequences I wouldn't consider drinking wild water 
without treatment (except for the few times I've 
succumbed to the temptation of melting glacier water <g>).

Re:
I was one of the unlucky ones last summer. My
Safewater Anywhere in-line filter clogged about two
days out of Kennedy Meadows. Though I had iodine as
backup, I decided to not treat. I had no ill effects
until two days out of Ashland, OR.(must have caught it
in cattle infested Northern California) It didn't cut
into my mileage, or hurt my appetite at first, but it
was hard to get any sleep when I had to get up ten to
fifteen times a night. I made it to Cascade locks
before I started to lose my appetite and get cramps. 
I hit the Rock Creek Clinic in Stevenson WA and
got a prescription for Metronidazole (Flagyl). Five
days later I was Giardia free. I used that awful
tasting iodine to White Pass where I had my Pur Hiker
filter sent to me.
-Ben 
Pete