What do you do about water on a hunt?

[Beardy]

Hey All!
Just had a question. I've been prepping for the spring grizz hunt and figured that this year, it would be a long hike and a walk up a mountain. So, to make things easier for me, I was curious to know what any of you do about water? Scared to drink out of a creek, don't want to ruin every pair of underwear I'll bring :?, and sometimes, it's a big pain in the ass to make a fire to boil water, especially when it rains. So what are my options to pack light but have a good water source?
Cheers

[Squirrelnuts]

Maybe take a camlebak and some of these: http://www.aquatabs.ca/. Finding a fresh water source should be easy enough on a spring grizz hunt.

[martyonthewater]

2 words, coors light. It tastses like beer (sort of) and it weighs less:)

[kastles]

check hiking shops for powder'd water. JK. saw a new gadget a few months bac in F&S that uses UV light to kill all the bacteria in a glas of water. i will keep my eye out for it and post up

kastles

[Deaddog]

I just drink out of whatever spring is running, I know others have been sick but so far so good, If you are concerned just pack a small water filter, some you can get in a cup and they are pretty light and easy to pack around

[ElectricDyck]

I picked up this http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=253437430 2696609&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442505891 , 3 of us drank from a beaver pond and were fine, it's kinda slow, but it's fairly inexpensive.

[BCRiverBoater]

There are tons of filter bottles, UV lights etc. I have used filters and also just drank out of clear running water in the rocks. Too date it has been the best water I have drank. If you want to boil then carry a small stove and some fuel then you do not need a fire and large pot.

[bigben]

go to wally mart and buy to flats of water for 5 bucks and put it in your truck and when you go for a hike take a couple with ya light and its purified goood luck LOL

[jeeper]

I picked up this http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=253437430 2696609&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442505891 , 3 of us drank from a beaver pond and were fine, it's kinda slow, but it's fairly inexpensive.


That is cheap and compact ! I use a katyden pump unit when backpacking after having beaver fever a few times i dont take a chance

Bruce

[whitetailsheds]

I just drink out of whatever spring is running, I know others have been sick but so far so good, If you are concerned just pack a small water filter, some you can get in a cup and they are pretty light and easy to pack around

x2 The "fever" does not, usually, kick in till 7-10 days after ingesting. Speaking from experience, I've had it twice and never had any problems while out on a trip. Then it's time to see the doc for some drugs that you're not supposed to consume alcohol. Dayum....

[FlyingHigh]

i carry a nalgene bottle in my pack. lots of water for a 1/2 day hike. any longer, and i carry a back up bottle.

[Singleshotneeded]

:smile: Any outdoors shop will sell the compact filters that hikers carry, or you can get the purifying tablets at Canadian Tire, but they give the water a bit of a bitter taste.

[Rob]

katadyn has some decent products out there. This is the route I'll be going for this year. Seems like a pretty decent investment. Rob

[Beardy]

Right on, I was thinking of that one! I usually also drink out of anything I see, but because this is my last chance (moving soon), I don't want to ruin my grizz hunt because I browned every pair of pants I brought! lol
Thanks for this, it got good reviews, if you're a patient man that is.


I picked up this http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=253437430 2696609&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442505891 , 3 of us drank from a beaver pond and were fine, it's kinda slow, but it's fairly inexpensive.

[bopper]

There's not only 'beaver fever' to worry about.....way back in the 70's when I was guiding for Red Sorensen, away above treeline on a sheep hunt I was drinking from a beautiful little creek in an alpine meadow. A helicopter landed nearby, and the Federal research team on board tested water samples and said the water was full of DDT.....apparently airborne from Russia! So don't take any chances....

[Hotwheels81]

this is still IMHO the best soloution

http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/whisperint.asp

a 500ml fuel bottle lasts a looong time.... get a small 1-2 liter pot that the stove fits inside for easy storage... if you pack tea/coffee/hotchocolate and some lipton chicken soup pouches your laughing.

[DWH]

I've used this and never had a problem. Sometimes a bit of a taste but it's better than the alternative.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 6661&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302696751&bmUID=1236192463770

[tomahawk]

Tablets.........

[brian]

I went for broke and bought one of these expensive Katadyn filters.
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 7453&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302696689&bmUID=1236204045882
I figured I could always use it in my survival kit at home as well as for hiking camping and hunting. It does a great job. It's built like a little brick shit house, nearly indestructible (which is good for me). I've used it many times and its awesome. With this and a small canteen I never have to worry about finding decent water in BC. It's great if you are going to be out for an extended period of time and you don't want to needlessly weigh yourself down with all the extra water.

[Gnarly]

I use the katydyne filters, and sometimes the two part drops , Giardia is not a pleasant experience nor is dysentery let me assure you.;)

[308Lover]

I try desperately not to drink water when hunting.

[bridger]

I never drink it straight, never been sick and it tastes better! lol

[kjohn]

I don't mean to make light of having to take water on a hunt, but it seems that in the last ten years or so, people have become fixated on absolutely having to have a bunch of water with them. I know about dehydration and how that's not good, but it seems that we overdo it sometimes. For sure though, I would not drink from a slough or stream without treating the water somehow. I used to, but I regularly thank my lucky stars I didn't get sick. I did get sick one time from drinking strange well water. Sick would only barely describe my condition. Interesting post about the DDT.

[BCHunterFSJ]

Maybe I have a cast iron stomach, but I have never had any problems drinking water directly from creeks in our B.C. mountains! It's ice cold and tastes awesome...

[mark]

Maybe I have a cast iron stomach, but I have never had any problems drinking water directly from creeks in our B.C. mountains! It's ice cold and tastes awesome...

This was attitude all my life until this past season on a little sheep hunt. Woke up, pissing out my ass, and shitting out my mouth, fever, dizziness, cold shakes. Not fun trust me!
Im curious, why would guys go for the pump filter unit, when drops or tablets are cheaper and lighter????????????

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Im curious, why would guys go for the pump filter unit, when drops or tablets are cheaper and lighter????????????

If the water source has lots of solids(algae, slime, glacial sediments etc.) a filter may be better. If your water source has a stagnant taste(limited water sources) chemical sterilization may be better to cover the taste.

Kind of a personal choice.

On a spring grizz hunt there should be good water everywhere.

SSS

[brian]

Im curious, why would guys go for the pump filter unit, when drops or tablets are cheaper and lighter????????????

My main reason for picking it up is for disaster preparedness. So if the water system gets knocked out for an extended period of time I'll still have good water. This thing is good for something like 50,000 liters before you need to replace the filter. Pills have a limited shelf life and only have as many treatments as you have pills. So I bring it hunting and camping (it's not that big to haul around, it's only an extra couple of pounds). I'm not that big on pills anyways and stay away from most chemicals if I can help it. But I will bring them along as well as my filter if I think the only water I will be able to get will be stagnant. Fortunately in most of western BC this is not a problem.

[Gateholio]

I've used filters before but mostly just drink out of the creek...

I bet most gastro intesinal problems have less to do with water and more to do with dishes that weren't cleaned properly.:mrgreen:

[Ciskman]

I've used filters before but mostly just drink out of the creek...

I bet most gastro intesinal problems have less to do with water and more to do with dishes that weren't cleaned properly.:mrgreen:

or hands...

I use a msr filter. Pills do work fine as does boiling but I realy like being able to get all the junk and sludge floating around.

[Ron.C]

Last year on my goat hunt, I treated my water with the katydyne water tablets, 1 tablet per liter of water. I also used these for 8 days on a canoe trip. They do give the water a slight "bleach" flavour, but to be honest, you get used to that in a day. I also carried a small ziploc of gatorade crystals and flavoured every second bottle for a change.
There are alot of lightweight filters out there but they can be quite expensive and do add weight and take up space, albeit not much.

I spoke to a fellow last fall while I was getting ready to set out for my goat hunt and this topic came up. He told me he got so sick a few years back while sheep hunting, he almost didn't have the energy to make it out. He said he went down with Guardia (sp). Up to that point after years of backcountry hunting, he never treated or filtered his water and was of the opinion "I've never been sick before, nothing wrong with this water". I remember the expression on his face when he said "you don't know what suffering is until you get sick miles from any help"

[budismyhorse]

I'll throw some more support to the Pristine Water Drops......they worked great on a sheep hunt where all we had (after 4 days of sun) was glacial till streams.

http://www.pristinewatertreatment.com/

[Rob]

I think both have there place. If my only water option was a pond with floaties in it, I would like to have a filter. If I was getting water from a sparkling creek the tablets would be fine. Both may clean your water, but Ill take the non floatie drink:grin:

[Beardy]

Thanks for all the input! Great

[Camp Cook]

I have never had a issue with water on my trips before I have always just drank straight from clear/clean streams.

I also keep food consumption to a minimum when I hike into remote areas which is all of the time because I am working as a prospector basically I eat oatmeal for every meal oats, dried blueberries & cranberries is my staple and I use a stainless steel pot for cooking and for heating water.

I clean my pot immediately after cooking by bowling water in it then drinking the water that was boiled.

When they were building the Fraser Canyon hwy they were having problems with the workers gettting sick and some were even dying they started boiling the drinking water with dried oats in it all of a sudden people weren't getting sick.

I am now a bit concerned after reading some of the posts here on folks getting sick think I'll look into this a bit more...

[Smokepole]

I think it makes a big difference what your system is used to. If your digestive system is used to treated water only you might be more likely to have problems.
Our household water comes out of an eight inch hole in the ground 45 feet deep and we have trouble stomaching chlorinated water, can't stand the smell. We never have any problems with drinking water the natural way, straight out of a cold clear creek.

[ve7iuq]

For many years I have drank out of what was available in the area I was in. Never had a bad effect. I know beaver fever exists, a brother once had it. But it developes weeks after drinking the water. So these sicknesses that come on over night, I am inclined to think must be from something else. I do think a lot depends on what your constituition is used to.
This fixation people have with drinking water, came about with the popular use of bottled water. People come to a meeting for two hours, and have to bring their bottle of water. It's the in thing, you know. if you came without your water bottle someone may think you were some kind of hill billy, that might even go hunting in the bush!

[Ron.C]

I just don't understand all the guys that don't treat water. It's not being paranoid to treat your water, it's being smart.
No different than the guy that goes out clubbing every other week and beds a different clubgirl, but does'nt use a rubber because the chicky he's about to have relations with looks like a good clean girl :eek:

Anyway, enough of my bad analogies.

One thing to keep in mind is that you may make it home and then get sick. And then you may not be sick for a few days, but upwards of a month or better. How many guys can afford to take that kind of time away from work??? I say be safe, treat your water



here's a link to a site with more detailed info on a couple common water bourn disease

http://www.dct.uminho.pt/biogeo/recursos/Outros_recursos/pdfs/Giardia2.pdf

[GoatGuy]

Drink out of the creeks. There's lots of water flowing at this time of year. One of the perks of a spring hunt.

Either that or take a pump and your gtg.

[GoatGuy]

I just don't understand all the guys that don't treat water. It's not being paranoid to treat your water, it's being smart.
No different than the guy that goes out clubbing every other week and beds a different clubgirl, but does'nt use a rubber because the chicky he's about to have relations with looks like a good clean girl :eek:

Anyway, enough of my bad analogies.

That's what they built penicillin for a reason. If that doesn't work, well then you have a memory that lasts a lifetime.

Rubber is for tires.:lol:



One thing to keep in mind is that you may make it home and then get sick. And then you may not be sick for a few days, but upwards of a month or better. How many guys can afford to take that kind of time away from work??? I say be safe, treat your water



here's a link to a site with more detailed info on a couple common water bourn disease

http://www.dct.uminho.pt/biogeo/recursos/Outros_recursos/pdfs/Giardia2.pdf


I look forward to it. I thought giardia was around 21 days. Makes for a great hunt and when you get home you get a couple extra days to lounge around at home puking out of both orifices. Awesome!