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[pct-l] Re: water purification



We carried the 'Pristine' water purification system which we bought from
M.E.C. - 2 60ml bottles of stuff (not iodine) - add a drop of each to water.
It lasted us 4 months on the PCT. We only used it if we had reason to
suspect the water as having been contaminated by cattle or human habitation
or if the water was from a still pond or lake. Generally - (probably 9 out
of 10 litres drunk) - we did not treat the water.
 I think we treated more water in Oregon than anywhere else.
A v shaped trough cut from a foil pie plate was useful for getting water
from small seeping water sources.

Alistair

----- Original Message ----- > Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2003 15:29:20 -0800
> From: "Marissa Ferejohn" <ferejohn@hotmail.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] water purification questions
> To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <BAY9-F24u3q1vblaLJP0000e7a7@hotmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
>
> Hi all,
>
> I will be thru-hiking in 2004 and I've made a couple of
> posts here with random questions over the past few months.
> So now I guess I have a couple more random questions:
>
> First, I am trying to figure out how to treat water on the PCT.
> In past trips I have used Polar Pure and really liked it (easy,
> don't mind the aftertaste, lasts forever, etc).  I even used
> polar pure on gross cow water and some really silty waters
> in Utah and not minded (I guess I'm not too squeemish about the
> appearance of my water, as long as I know it's not full of nasty
> diseases).  I have heard, however, that I will want a filter for
> parts of the PCT, notably southern CA, because the water will
> be coming from hard-to-extract places and I will need the pump
> action of a filter.
>
> So part one of my question is, is this true?  Is a filter necessary for
> the desert because of difficult accessibility, or just becuase
> the water is silty?  If I don't mind silty water, can I use Polar Pure
> all the way?  Has anyone done this?
>
> My other question is has anyone tried the MSR MIOX purifier yet?
> It looks more expensive, but I'm sort of intrigued by the idea of
> using salt and electricity to purify water, and it sounds a little
> less sketchy than long term iodine use (I know nothing is proven about
> any long terms risks of iodine, and I myself have used it
> for several months in a row before, but I wouldn't mind avoiding
> it if there is another lightweight alternative that is just as easy).
>
> Thanks for your help!
> -Marissa
>
> _________________________________________________________________