Date: 2014-05-27
To: Day 3 Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Water - Planning/TreatingSo, I'm packed up and ready to go. Generally I start out early (usually between 7 and 8) and one of the first ones out of camp. If I have adequate water supply I "camel up". That is drinking a lot instead of carrying it as backpack weight. Water is the most valuable asset on the trail and must be planned. Using the AT Guide book that shows water sources by mileage location, you plan accordingly. Water is 2.2 pounds per liter. So carrying both my liter bottles adds four and a half pounds of weight......to be avoided if you feel comfortable of getting more soon. Generally I always wanted to have about half a liter no matter what. I have always been a heavy sweating exerciser and tend to drink more than most hikers. Only on a few rare occasions were water sources an issue with springs or streams not within several mile increments. Actually I was surprised how many springs there are in the mountains. That is where water just appears from out of the ground. And of course there are small streams crossing the trail frequently.So whenever I had a need to refill water bottles, here was the process. Take off my backpack to access the bottles. Sometimes the water source was deep enough to simply dip the bottle down into the water. Other times the water was flowing over rocks that allowed filling the bottles from a mini waterfall. And quite often a piece of pipe ( PVC or metal) has been inserted a little upstream to allow water to come out the lower end, much like a faucet. And less often the source was a low volume situation. I carried a simple plastic cup obtained from a motel bathroom to dip into a shallow source over and over again to pour into my bottle.Treatment of water is a variable on the trail. Some hikers go on faith and seldom treat their water for harmful micro-otganisms that can cause sickness/diarrhea. Some only treat from questionable sources such as streams or ponds. They assume that springs coming right out of the ground cannot have harmful pathogens introduced. As for me, I treated virtually all my water just to be safe. There were a few times I used water that I simply forget to treat. There are several methods to treat water. Seems the most common is filtering. Some use a pump filter that places a hose in the water source and via a manual pumping action pulls in water through a filter and into your bottle or plastic water pouch. Another filter method is to fill a pouch/bladder at the source and filter via gravity or squeezing through a tube into a bottle, cooking pot, etc. Another method is to use chemicals. This can be either liquid or tablets added to the water and waiting an appropriate amount of time for them to work their magic ( generally about 20 to 30 minutes).My primary method was to use a Steripen. This was a little battery powered device that generated ultra-violet light to render any organisms incapable of multiplying. It does not kill them, just makes them harmless. This method is used by most city water systems. In a liter bottle of just obtained water, the SteriPen takes 90 seconds to perform it's magic. Then being careful to wipe dry any untreated water on the rim or threads, it is drinkable immediately. The model of SteriPen I used was the "Ultra". It has a rechargeable battery that I would top off in each town visit. Fully charged it is suppose to treat over 40 or more liters. I also carried a bladder that fit into my backpack and had a hose with a bite wing that allowed drinking without stopping. I only used it once since I found it hard to get into my pack unless the pack was emptied first. The one time I did use it, I knew a long stretch was coming up without known water sources. So, I filled my 2 liter bladder and had both my liter bottles full before taking off.In the later weeks of my hiking, I tended to more often not have a prearranged site to camp at night. I learned in those situations to make sure I had both liter bottles nearly full later in the afternoons. Then I could stop anywhere for the evening and know I had adequate water. Generally it takes a full liter for the evening meal and teeth brushing. That would leave the 2nd liter for breakfast and the next days hike until resupply could be acquired.On only one occasion did I have an unfortunate water experience. The day I hiked I into Erwin, TN was one of the first warm afternoons. I made the mistake of passing up water sources thinking I had plenty only to find out that was not true. I got dehydrated and was tired, hot and grouchy by the time I reached the hostel. I remember just missing the shuttle into town for dinner. Instead I drank about 6 cans of soft drinks, a Yoohoo and couple bottles of Gatorade. Then ordered a pizza be delivered.I did have one funny/embarrassing event with my SteriPen. I bought it long before my AT hike and used it a few times on practice hikes. Then it was put away and unused for awhile. The first few days on the trail I used it and it seemed to work fine (i.e. a little smiley face shows on the screen indicating all is well). Then one day it came up with a frown face indicating something was wrong. I did not know what the problem was; so I used my back up pills to treat the water. Same thing the next day. About that time we arrived at Neels Gap where the local outfitter performs a service for hikers and goes through their packs to help them decide on what to keep and what is not necessary. Quite often several pounds are shed and hikers are very thankful. So, I'm going thru that process with all my gear spread out on the floor to be reviewed. At one point I put my SteriPen in the pile to be sent home. The outfitter asks why I did that and I reply that it is not working so it's going home. He asks what is a matter with it as he picks it up and pulls the plastic cover off of it. Wish I had a picture of my facial expression at that moment. I'm sure my mouth and eyes were wide open in astonishment. I had totally forgotten that the plastic cover was supposed to be removed before placing it in the water during treatment. So, my SteriPen was fine.....just stupid user error. Still, I do not know why the smiley face came up for the first few days instead of the frowny one. And, was my water properly treated or not?