[Cdt-l] water treatment (New Mexico)

[Moynihan]

I used the SteriPEN Adventure opti and fully recommend it. I didn't have a
single problem with it. I carried a second battery and the solar charger.
It's charge lasted an average of 8-9 days and there is never a shortage of
sun. Water filters have always failed me and are exhausting. I used iodine
on the AT and PCT until realizing how ineffective iodine actually is. I
believe I am asymptomatic, but better to air on the side of caution when
your goal is to reach the opposite side of the country.
I too found most of New Mexico's sources to be clear and no worse than
soCal. The biggest difference is your not able to determine the exact miles
between sources or when your going to become misplaced. I carried a bit
extra to take that into account. The sources are likely to be stagnant,
algae covered, and shared with a curious slobbering cow, but that is on the
surface or at the bottom. Otherwise they were fine.
I did have a few nights I had to ration, but it was never alarming.
-speedstick

On Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 1:16 PM, Scott Piddington <sp2mtns at yahoo.com> wrote:

> In the NM desert section I carried two 2-1/2 liter Platypus bladders with
> a drinking tube and a 1 liter cranberry juice bottle. At most water sources
> I would get 3 liters. I would treat 1 liter in the juice bottle and pour it
> into the Platy. Then a second treated liter would go into the Platy. A 3rd
> liter would wait in the bottle to be treated if or when the Platy water ran
> out as I walked. Sometimes I would cook with the 3rd liter and never treat
> it. Sometimes I got extra water in the 2nd Platy.
>
> I used the Steri-PEN Adventurer. I carried no backup other that a second
> set of batteries at 1 ounce. None of the water sources were cloudy. Even
> the "green" water was actually clear. It just had green things growing on
> and in it. A nice photo of one of the most unpleasant looking sources I
> used can be seen in my postholer journal entry for 5/6/2010:
>
> http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?sid=326cf0be3a0f026b1c28f52be3563616&entry_id=14765
> Happy hiking,
> Voyageur
>
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* Jim Boatwright <jimboatpct at gmail.com>
> *To:* Brett <blisterfree at yahoo.com>
> *Cc:* cdt-l at backcountry.net
> *Sent:* Wednesday, December 28, 2011 3:25 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Cdt-l] water treatment (New Mexico)
>
>  I've been thinking of using the Steri-Pen with either Aqua Mira or
> bleach as a backup.  I've always used chemicals in the past but decided I
> would prefer drinking chemical free water this time.  I was concerned about
> using the Steri-Pen in NM, but it sounds like it will work just fine,
> especially if I supplement with Aqua Mira when the water is particularly
> cloudy.
>
> A trick that 1/2 Ounce taught me:  Cut the top out of a 1.5 liter soda
> bottle and draw a line at 1 liter.  Use this along with the Steri-Pen to
> treat your water and then pour from this container into your other water
> bottles.  This way you eliminate the chance of getting untreated water on
> your bottle threads.
>
> I'm glad this question was asked and appreciate the helpful responses.
>
> --Boat
>
> On 12/28/2011 1:06 PM, Brett wrote:
>
>   >>So, hiking NM what would be the filter method of choice to avoid
> clogging
> and disease?
>
> Avoiding the burger joints in town oughta help. Or isn't this a discussion
> about arterial health?
>
> Actually, I would just carry Aqua Mira out on the trail in New Mexico.
> Chlorine dioxide solution is safe, more effective than bleach or iodine,
> and contains no chlorine. And avoid the dirt tanks as much as possible. If
> forced to drink from a dirt tank, you can pre-filter it through a bandana,
> and then give it the full 14 drops per liter of A.M., waiting a good long
> while before drinking, and preferably exposing it to direct sunlight
> through a clear water bottle while you're waiting.
>
> Even a filter would be incapable of removing all traces of silt from the
> worst sources. That which it did successfully remove will, at some point -
> possibly very soon - cause that filter to fail. Unless you're able to clean
> it. Pretty heavy, regardless.
>
> Also, I wouldn't trust a filter to actually rid the worst sources of all
> contamination. The physical manifestation of a filter's clogging and
> failing may be only the first obvious sign that it's been failing your GI
> tract for some time.
>
> The Steri-Pen can be a worthwhile alternative to Aqua Mira, but with a few
> caveats, namely it's battery-powered and otherwise fail-able technology,
> it's likely to perform worst when you need it most (again, the dirt tank
> water), and the UV bulb won't fit inside a standard liter-sized Platypus
> bottle opening.
>
> - blisterfree
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
*Three trails, one woman. To find about more about Mary and her recent
completion of the Triple Crown visit* http://www.marriedtothetrail.com/
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