Back Country Hunters, Water Question

[sidelock]

I guess it does happen,but I have never carried pills or other water treatment (including water from home) in my 65 yrs of treading the woods in VA,NC,TN,KY,WV,MT and ID and I have never gotten any sickness from drinking water in the woods. I will say that I am careful about which water I drink. I think the problem is way over blown. I sometimes carry water from home if no water is available where where I plan to tread. But be safe as you want to be. OH yes--- I have never seen a cow pie in the back country.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Just drink it...IF you get the squirts then you do and your immue system will be the better for it nest time.
Ive NEVER had an issue drinking outta moveing water.

Dangerous advice. I have two aquaintances - one an avid bowhunter and the other a racing cyclist. Both contracted giadarisis from drinking "wild" water. Both spent a good time in the hospital and were down for six to 12 months and sickly like walking death. This is not, as mentioned above, the "trots" or "Hersey Squirts". This is lose 50% of your body weight, look like the living skeletons in the images of concentration camp survivors, have zero strength and convince your friends and family you are pretty much going to die.

Giardiasis is a parasite and is darned hard to shake once contracted.

You may get away with drinking water untreated - but know the risks can catch up with you.

Another note - when using chlorine bleach or iodine use the proper amount. Too much (especially for extended trips) will kill ALL bacteria in your system. And you normally keep about 20 kinds of friendly flora that help you digest food. You will likely also get diarrhea if you use too much bleach or iodine and kill the friendlies in your gut.

I boil what I don't carry in.

 

[BrownBear]

I have two aquaintances - one an avid bowhunter and the other a racing cyclist. Both contracted giadarisis from drinking "wild" water. Both spent a good time in the hospital and were down for six to 12 months and sickly like walking death. This is not, as mentioned above, the "trots" or "Hersey Squirts". This is lose 50% of your body weight, look like the living skeletons in the images of concentration camp survivors, have zero strength and convince your friends and family you are pretty much going to die.

Giardiasis is a parasite and is darned hard to shake once contracted.

You may get away with drinking water untreated - but know the risks can catch up with you.

Another note - when using chlorine bleach or iodine use the proper amount. Too much (especially for extended trips) will kill ALL bacteria in your system. And you normally keep about 20 kinds of friendly flora that help you digest food. You will likely also get diarrhea if you use too much bleach or iodine and kill the friendlies in your gut.

I boil what I don't carry in.

If I could shoot that straight, I'd be world champion for life. It just doesn't get any straighter than that.

I'll only add that in many places up here you have to haul in your fuel, and if you run short the local wood is either too small or wet to do you much good. It takes a lot of fuel to boil water for several people for several days.

While I prefer boiling, we always carry a good filter pump. Use it when fuel is running low late in a trip, plus carry it while hiking in the field. No shortage of water here, so it's easier to carry a liter of water on hikes and refill several times a day using the pump.

Giardia isn't fun and games. It'll do its best to rip your guts out.

 

[huntertrapper]

damn well said stump killer i dont care who you are or where you live no waters absolutelt clean. . . Think if a carcass in laying up stream a few hundred yards and the manure is washing down and you drink from it. your never gonna know...

 

[jbtusa]

Giardia is everywhere, even the deepest wilderness areas of Idaho. DO NOT DRINK UNTREATED WATER EVER! Giardia causes permanent damage to heart muscle and kidneys. Is it worth it?

I carry a water filter because it's most convenient and doesn't give water a bad tase.

 

[rkmeyer]

To me the filter sounds like the #1 solution.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Dusty :wink:

 

[Dphar]

If there are cow pies in your water you ain't in back country. If you are in back country you don't need water treatment. Just my exp. :thumbsup:

Ha! You need more experience.
What about the beaver, elk, etc etc? Beaver are a major carrier from my reading.
I have drank from small streams that have a lot of drop and aeration back when I was guiding hunters. There have been domestic animals pastured in a lot of the back country in MT. Horses, cows, sheep. People have been in every drainage in the country.
I don't go to the mountains for long trips anymore so I just pack enough to get me back to the pickup.

Getting sick is not a lot of fun. I could stand to loose 30-40 pounds I suppose but not that way.

Dan

 

[Little Wattsy]

If there are cow pies in your water you ain't in back country. If you are in back country you don't need water treatment. Just my exp. :thumbsup:

Ha! You need more experience.
What about the beaver, elk, etc etc? Beaver are a major carrier from my reading.
I have drank from small streams that have a lot of drop and aeration back when I was guiding hunters. There have been domestic animals pastured in a lot of the back country in MT. Horses, cows, sheep. People have been in every drainage in the country.
I don't go to the mountains for long trips anymore so I just pack enough to get me back to the pickup.

Getting sick is not a lot of fun. I could stand to loose 30-40 pounds I suppose but not that way.

Dan

True story...As a kid (up till I left for collage)we drank right outta the Coquille River in Coos County, Oregon. As did many of our neighbors. We didnt know what a water filter was and probably couldnt have afforded one if we did. It was dairy country thats cows for you city folk :wink: ). There were plenty of beaver, some otter, pick your birds, etc, etc, etc. One summer there was even a dead cow within eyesight UPriver from our footvalve (water intake for them city people again). The 6 of us were the healthiest family you ever coulda found. I did have a city livin brother in law that would get the squirts every time he came to visit. Finally he started bringing his own bottled water. Califorians! :grin:
Anyway...Ive made it 40 some years drinking any moveing water that suited me and I have NO intenetions of changing that. So to each his own I suppose. :v

 

I did have a city livin brother in law that would get the squirts every time he came to visit.

Maybe it was just the company. :wink:

Once upon a time, I spent 6 days crawling in and out of a tent to void my innards in one direction or the other. It hit me several miles from our camp and in the bottom of a 2000' deep canyon. I had to crawl most of the way back out of that canyon. It was decidedly unpleasant. My buddy kept me going by pouring water in me even though it kept coming right back out. Nice campsite before that. Afterwards, we referred to it as the EPA Superfund site. Never camped there again. Too many bad memories. Hope you never have to go through that.

Sean

 

[longshot47]

I too, have used the Pur Hiker and Scout [Explorer?] water filters on extended trips thru the Sierras, Wind Rivers and the Whites. Each served well. Have also tried other filters, but the tedium of prolonged pumping was a sure turnoff. If you're going out, you need one. Consider a model that can be cleaned/maintained in the field.