Water Filtration vs. Chem Treatment

imported
#1

Can anyone provide advice about a recommended method of treating water on the Colorado Trail? I’m planning a SOBO starting July 22nd with a few friends. We are at an impasse regarding whether we should filter, then chemically treat with chlorine dioxide (aquamira), or just chemically treat.

I’m looking to save packweight by not buying a filter and just relying on the aquamira, and also the expense of purchasing a filter. But my friends tell me that I’ll be very unhappy drinking turbid water.

Can anyone provide some guidance?
Thanks!

Laurie

#2

I love turbid water. The water out West tastes like crap anyway. I think of Aquamira as a flavor. If you don’t like looking at turbid water…make koolaid out of it.

Francis

#3

I thru-hiked the CT in 2013 and don’t remember drinking any particularly turbid water.

The water along the CT was generally great. I used a Sawyer Squeeze most of the time, but the water was clear going into the filter.

This could be a drier year, but I loved the water out of those cold, rocky streams.

paddlefoot

#4

I used Aquamira on the CT, sent my Sawyer Mini home because I was fed up with the little trickles of water it would product. Aquamira worked fine - but to my surprise I could not find it in any of the towns where I stopped, not even Breckenridge or Salida. The outfitter stores in those towns were surprisingly inadequate, and the employees I spoke with were nice but didn’t seem to hike much. I resorted to bleach from Lake City to Durango. I recommend including Aquamira in your resupply boxes. And nearly all the water sources I used on the CT had tasty clear water.

Lucky Man

#5

If you plan on using Aqua Mira, bring something to flavor your water with. It tastes terrible.

Marti Andersen

#6

Thanks for everyone’s input!

Laurie

#7

I prefer using a filter because you can stop at a water source and camel up on water without waiting the 20-30 minutes for the chemicals to work. The CT has some of the best tastng, clear, and cold water you will ever find. I used a Sawyer for a couple of years but they are hard to use after a while so I gave it up for a Platypus Gravity filter, which weighs only slightly more, and can be set up to work exactly like a Sawyer. It has worked flawlessly, and I highly recommend it.

bearcreek

#8

I plan to start the CT in mid July and plan to just use Clorox bleach to treat my water. Two drops in each liter and wait 30 minutes. I used bleach for a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2012 and a 4 ounce bottle with a dropper top lasted the whole way and I never got sick.

But there are some things bleach does not kill, like Giardia, so some of the other options are more effective.
Below is a good article on water treatment.

http://www.hikelight.com/18ultralightbackpackingwatertreatment.html

Dan