Count yourself lucky. I know more than one person that has contracted giardia from surface water sources.
2 Likes
Random factoid: if you have to drink untreated water in the wild, you’re better off taking water from the top of a pond than from a stream even though the stream is likely to look cleaner and more inviting – thanks to solar UV. Or so I’ve read.
Giardia in mountain streams in the Rockies is definitely an issue.
1 Like
I don’t make it a particular habit and I’m not advocating that everyone refuse to drink tap water and instead go spend $20-60 a gallon on “ raw water” or even just going out and drinking out of a river. 99.999% of water I drink nowdays is outfield water out of a machine. I don’t like tap water regardless if it’s psychological or if it’s bad tasting or a combination of both. I drink about 1 1/2 gallons of water a day and about 1 1/4 of it is plain purified water and the other 1/4 is mineral water or sparkling water. I no longer go on 250 mile hikes or camp for a month. So it’s easy for me to bring the water I need now. There are also tablets that you can bring and filtering water bottles.
This topic was automatically closed 6 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.