[pct-l] Re: water treatment options in the desert

[mgeis@xxxxxxxxx (Matt Geis)]

It's all a matter of personal preference and comfort
level.  For me, I just about abandoned chemical
treatment once I hit the sierras.  There's simply so
much clean water available that treatment is almost
entirely unnecessary.  However, there's always that
one case of a hiker who gets sick (probably from
having something handed to them by a giardia carrier
who didn't wash his or her hands).

No, I'm not trolling to start this one up again, just
offering my own experience.

In answer to your question, before I get way off
track, a bandana works really well for removing
floaties from a water source.  I would fill a bottle,
treat it, and then strain through a bandana into a
small plastic cup I carried with me.

Filters can clog if there's too much particle matter
in the water you're filtering.  They really aren't
designed to be used in situations where the stuff is
so large that a bandana would actually filter it out.
What that means is that if you find yourself in a
situation where a bandana would actually be useful,
your filter would keep that stuff out as well, but
might well end up getting clogged.

My personal choice (and every hiker has to make his or
her own) would be chemically treat everything but
spring water in the desert, filtering w/a bandana as
necessary (like at ass-water spring a mile off Kelso
Valley Rd. north of Mojave).  From the Sierras on up,
I would only chemically treat standing water, or water
in grazing areas or parts of the trail w/heavy horse
usage.

Iron Chef


> Hi All,
>
> While I am planning on using chemical treatment for
> water from
> the Sierra north, I'm wondering about water in the
> desert.  After
> reading many journals, it seems that people
> frequently come upon
> water sources that are, shall we say, less than
> pristine.  Sources
> where a filter might be a good idea to remove
> particulate
> matter.  So, would a filter be a good idea?  Or,
> would straining
> the water through a bandana and then chemically
> treating it
> be okay?
>
> Chris

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