[fleming13]

The last time I drank untreated water was around '97. I had a few springs in Shining Rock Wilderness that I would use. Straight from the rock, not a creek. I had done it quite regularly when I was younger, in my teens.

An expensive water filter is cheaper than the Dr's visit though. I have a Katadyn filter I always carry into the woods. The iodine is even cheaper, but I don't have the taste for it like I used to.

Keep in mind you can get this from the water on fly lines, wet hands, even cork grips!!! If the water is contaminated and you get unlucky it does not take much. But I don't live my life worrying about it.

[Riparian]

Originally Posted by FlyDoctor

I think that the widespread expansion of Giardia occurred in the 1980s so maybe you were on the early end of that. There used to be a spring like that on RT211 going up to SNP. Had a really nice stone wall with a galvanized water pipe--folks stopped all the time to fill up water jugs of good spring water. The park service or the highway dept finally had to take out the pipe because of contamination a number of years ago. Like Dylan said, "the times they are a changin"--Larry

Originally Posted by FlyDoctor

My aunt and uncle had a big water box (cistern) high up on the mountian I think was about 6x6x6 made out of cinder block and a cement slab top. They had so much water pressure that it regularly broke the line to the house plus they ahd to have a pressure valve to keep from blowing the lines in the house. My uncle used to annually toss in a gallon of chlorox to sterilize it and then flush the whole thing. My grandads "box" was just a bunch of rocks piled around an open hole in the bank across the creek from the house. He also had some fanicing aroun d it to keep the cows out but they and the chickens and sheep were contstantly getting in there. Don't know why we never got really sick, maybe we just never drank enough water down there. Of course we all drank out of a tin cup that hung on the wall over the sink--so much for being sanitary. Of course back then there were about half as many people in this country as there are today spreading disease and pollution--Larry

So is the contamination and resulting disease from too many people ****ing in the woods?

[fleming13]

Originally Posted by Riparian

So is the contamination and resulting disease from too many people ****ing in the woods?

That's a possibility, but spores can be transported on animal fur, maybe felt soles, etc. It's called "beaver fever" because they thought the beavers were moving it from stream to stream.

Lot's of things in water can make you sick. Dead animals in a creek can be really bad. Human waste around popular campsites. Animal waste, trails, farms, runoff. Giardia and Crypto are specific diseases, and the most talked about.

For me, it's too cheap to be safe and not have to worry about it. A good filter and you can drink from nearly any water source you would find trout fishing.

[Fly Flicker]

I can remember drinking water off a old galvanized gutter troughs from the mountain in S. WV back in the 80's where I spent some time with friend families. I had never gotten sick and it was by far some of the best tasting water especially living my life in great lake area where water supply are heavily chemicated. Well one day we decided to hike up and see where it came the source. It was about 1000 feet long and it surface filtered, we also found 3 decaying animals among the troughs and it sure didn't even taste like it was bad and all. Also I believe if you are very healthy it shouldn't affect you at all. I know of quite of few springs with pipes coming out of the mountain that I regularly drink from wehen I am fishing in Mtn in WVA with no problems. You have to know and understand what to look for before drinking it. If the vegetation is brown or water inclear or foamy you just don't drink it. There is a rather large spring north of Nelsonvill Ohio that everyone goes to fill up there jugs for some great pure water. Usually EPA in each state will regulate it and post it otherwise if unsuitable for drinking or found contaminated for health reasons. If you are unsure then filter and treat it.

[ScoutHikerDad]

Though this Field and Stream article is a bit dated (2002-note the "new," expensive (for then) uv radiation as a treatment option), the idea of the utter ubiquity of giardia in waters virtually everywhere is eye-opening. One hiker even got sick drinking run-off from a glacier!

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articl...k-or-not-drink

And even though I will occasionally (if I'm camping VERY high up!) add a little fresh icy-cold stream water to the evening bourbon in my tin cup-does the alcohol kill the nasties?, I normally either use tablets, boil (makes a great hot water bottle for the sleeping bag in colder months as a bonus), or use a steri-pen. I just don't like the bulk of filters; maybe I should get one of those hanging gravity filters. As tempting as those "pristine" crystal springs might be as you're sweating your way up a trail, the prospect of severe beaver fever (in some rare cases, apparently even surgery!) keeps me disciplined.

Just wet your hat, and splash some around your hair, face, and neck for consolation. Treat the rest!

[TatteredFly]

Wouldn't think of it unless purely for survival. Giardia is found in just about every stream in the East. I carry my own water in...the amount depending how long/far I'm going.

[nick johnson]

I've drank from small streams a few times. It is not a very good idea at all though. I'm just lucky I never got sick.

[ctchrelz]

I wouldn't drink from a stream with out filtering. And I mean FILTERING, not steri pen or aqua-mira or iodine. Those all kill most of the unseen stuff, and by most , i mean something like 99-100%. But they don't do much for the just over microscopic stuff or the stuff you can almost see. Filtering keeps out, again, 99-100% of that stuff.

now having said that, when I hiked the AT in 2007, I OFTEN drank water un-filtered. If it was out of a pipe coming out of the ground or I could get my bottle under the stream I was good. If it was a seep spring and had a pool, I filtered. If it was a stream at all, I filtered. Good spring water is good spring water.

In fact there is a spring right up the road from where the spring show is, in shady valley. It is where the AT cross the road that you use to get to the SOHO, I forget the name, it is one the left side of the road heading to the SOHO. There is a pull out and 2 parking spots on the other side of the road. Great water and straight out of the mountain. There is a cistern there and often during hiker season, trail angels will leave beer or gatorade there for the hikers and it is rally cold! We drank there while hiking and I stop there on my way to the SOHO to fill my bottles.

pt

[packgoat]

I ended up with giardia from a water fountain. I think a stream is cleaner!

[smallmouthfeverindamascus]

having suffered the pains of giardia personally a couple of years back, I try not to even lick my lips too often when fishing.