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RE: [at-l] Water purification

> From: 	Nicole Markee
> Sent: 	Wednesday, June 03, 1998 1:29 PM
> Subject: 	Re: [at-l] Water purification
> 
< snip >

> I do tend to wash my spoon and bowl (when I carry one) and cup with
> filtered water, but not always.  I've been known to wash the bowl and
> spoon
> with river water and *gasp* sand from the river - sometimes, it's the
> only
> thing that gets grits out of the darn bowl.  I don't carry soap at all
> (I
> use wipes that I pack out for my own cleanliness).
> 
> I generally dip my bandana right in creeks to get the super-cool water
> found there, and I wear it over my head or around my neck.  I also
> wipe my
> face with it sometimes.
> 
> I've never had a problem with any of this, but maybe I'm lucky.  Maybe
> the
> nasties on the bowl and spoon can't survive on dry surfaces all day?
> 
> -Nicole
> 
This is the kind of thing that keeps me wondering.  Dip your bandanna
into a creek and it seems to me you'd have to consider both your
bandanna and your hand to be potentially contaminated.  Yet, I've never
heard of anyone who believed they got sick from this type of exposure.
It's been pointed out several times on the list that guard spores can
survive for extended periods on dry surfaces, so I don't think that's
the answer.

Somebody on one of the lists (for a short time I was on both) argued
that given favorable conditions (presumably like a human body) guard
will reproduce at some astounding rate, which all but guarantees that
even the smallest exposure will eventually lead to full blown symptoms.
But somehow I'm not convinced.

Given that casual contact with potentially contaminated water is all but
impossible to avoid on the trail, I find it hard to believe that even
the most fastidious hiker is able to totally avoid ingesting any water
borne nasties.  But, since most of are able to spend time on the trail
without getting sick, I have to think that the human immune system must
be able to fight off some level of exposure these guys.

Now, I am most certainly not trying to argue in any way that water
treatment is unnecessary, or that you can build up your immunity to the
nasties over time (a la Jardine).  It's just something, as I said, that
I wonder about (when I should be working).

Peter
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