Re: [pct-l] Re: Giardia exposure

[Paul A Magnanti <pmags@juno.com>]

> Greg, I rarely treated the water on my PCT hike this summer.  I used 
> Iodine for questionable sources, and just drank the water out of the 
> streams the rest of the time.  No gastrointestinal problems. 
> 

A book was recently published entitled something along the lines of
"Lessons of Long Distance Hiking" (forget the exact title!), by Roland
Muesser.  This book is essentially a compilation of statistics about long
distance hikers.  In one study the author did, the rate of giardia among
those who filetered/treated/boiled water was the same as those who did
not treat their water in anyway!  It appears giardia, in most cases,  is
more a symptom of poor sanitation habits that is sometimes part of the
backcountry experience.
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