[at-l] Water filters vs. Tablets?

[wb4pan at mindspring.com (Chase Davidson)]

YO,
	The couple of times that I carried a filter on the AT, I sent it home 
at the first post office. I enjoyed using an in line filter for 
several years while drinking from a hose in mild weather. Filters and 
hoses freeze up in cold weather. Mostly over the last 20 years I have 
just drank the water from springs and small streams along the AT. I do 
carry some Aqua-Mira for ponds and rivers or other times I feel it 
wise. It is much better than choking down iodine water or the old 
Halazone tabs we used many years ago. I think a few drops of clorox 
are a waste of time. I think it would take swimming pool strength 
clorox to do any good in a reasonable amount of time. Unless it is a 
dry season I almost don't need to carry water in Georgia. There are so 
many streams so often I just drink when I get to them.
	I am not recommending this method, only sharing what I have done for 
thousands of miles. I spend more time in the woods than most folks and 
some say you can develop some sort of tolerance this way. I wouldnt 
drink the water in Mexico for example, but the natives there do.
	The first thing on staying well is hygiene. In the absense of faucets 
with running water a lot of hikers tend to not wash their hands as 
often as they normally might.  A Purell type hand cleaner is  a handy 
way to improve hygiene. Don't forget to clean up after handling 
shelter registers, or anything around a shelter for that matter. In 
past years groups of hikers sometimes come down with gastric 
disorders. Often after being hold up together during snow storms etc. 
The ones that practice extra caution often are not infected.
	Another thought to ponder. I believe that the use of filters may 
spread bad things from one spring to the next. Most people drop that 
foul filter inlet hose right in the spring to pump water. So whats the 
chance that they are infecting the spring with something from another 
spring. This is true especially for the ones with a prefilter that 
drops in the water. Just wondering.

chase

> 
> How did  it taste?  I'd think the water would be a bit grittyy.    I'm
> sure most of us has had to drink from a muddy hoof print.  Or,  something
> similar. 
> 
> 
> It depends where you scoop it up from.  If you scoop from one of the  many 
> (or even all of them) Springs aside the trail (or even adjacent to the  trail, 
> or off the trail as long as it is a Spring) there wouldn't be much grit  if 
> any.  Although if someone is playing in the spring then there is another  factor 
> to be weighed (and I am not referring to Marsha).  Scooping from a  Spring, to 
> my mind (and that could be suspect) would be safe.  
>  
> Anyone get sick from scooping?
>  
>