Regarding water treatment. Hiking the AT nobo in 05,(I am a spring drinker) I began using Polar Pure with a vitamin C aftertaste enhancer (at less than spring pure water) until I realized that the bottle says right on it that water has to be over 68 degrees F before iodine will kill giardia cysts. There is no 68 degree water on the AT and I wasn’t going to heat water whilst hiking. Switched to Aqua Mira (costly and seven minutes slow before one is able to resume walking.) Used some Katadyn brand chlorine tablets, no mixing, expensive, too. The worst water on the AT, from past experience began in Ct. and then Mass. north, with lots of beaver ponds and runoff streams, by then we began carrying a filter. (MSR Ceramic.) Of course I’m still drinking springs when they flow from the breast of Mother Nature (some in Pa. were sketchy.)Woodrose, my hiking partnerwife, who drinks about half of the water that I do, insisted on filtered water , she carried and cranked the filter. Realizing that AMira and Katadyn chlorine was chlorine in some form, way back south I had begun carrying a little vial of household bleach, and treated most of the water that I drank on the AT that wasn’t spring source with 5-6 drops in a big Nalgene bottle, waited 15 minutes and drank 'er down no problemas. Bleach little nicks and cuts, too. Trying to hike the PCT next year. Any bleach droppers out west ??? Muleskinner
Muleskinner
What are you up to?