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  1. #21
    Senior Member Vanhalo's Avatar
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    My first hike with my 11 year old son we went north when we should have went south. I was trusting the trail names.
    Finally I decided to break out my compass 3 miles later and turn around.

    Also:

    Noroviruses are shed in the feces (stools) and vomit of infected people and animals.
    The infection can be transmitted by:

    • consuming contaminated foods
    • drinking contaminated water
    • touching an infected person with your hand and then touching your mouth
    • touching a contaminated surface with your hand and then touching your mouth

    It is not easy to eliminate noroviruses because they can survive in both hot and cold temperatures, and are resistant to many disinfectants.
    Are you attributing your water source to the Norovirus?

    The water I'd heard was melt water dripping into big pools under the bluffs. I used my new Sawyer Squeeze water filter, and it lived up to the hype. It didn't take long to filter three liters of water. Though, as with the Sawyer mini, the dirty water bags were very difficult to fill. I ended up using a Ziploc bag to pour water into the dirty water bag. It's early days yet, but the Sawyer Squeeze is looking promising.

    Filled up with water, I started my hike up the Mary Hollow Trail
    Interesting timing of this as I just watched a You Tuber "Fight For Together" explaining why he and his family never filtered water.



    On the Sawyer Squeeze

    So, what does the Sawyer Squeeze not filter out?
    The short answer is: viruses and some heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides. Viruses, which include the AT nemesis, Norovirus, are rarely found in North America wilderness waters. That being said, only purifiers (not filters) or sufficiently boiling affected water can eradicate the virus. And, because the Squeeze is not a charcoal filter, it will not filter out all heavy metal, chemicals, or pesticides.
    Last edited by Vanhalo; 03-03-2019 at 07:40.
    "...in Florida, she felt air conditioning for the first time, and it was cold and unnatural upon her skin."


  2. #22
    New Member Ozarks Walkabout's Avatar
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    Spot on! On getting back I did some research, found Gaia GPS app, and installed it. I'm most impressed with Gaia and used it to create my paper maps and record my track for my next trip. It worked like a charm and the interface is so much better than my Garmin's. As I always carry my phone plus a battery pack it was a no-brainer, and I even saved some pack weight and space by not carrying the Garmin + spare batteries!

  3. #23
    New Member Ozarks Walkabout's Avatar
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    ... we went north when we should have went south ...
    I'm definitely going to be a lot more understanding of people going the wrong way after this episode!

    Are you attributing your water source to the Norovirus?
    No. My research suggests an incubation period of 24-36 hours, which means that lunch out with family or a store visit was the probable pick-up point. No one else got infected at that time, so I'm putting it down to my being careless/unlucky.

    On the Sawyer Squeeze
    I always chemically treat my water (bleach - two drops per liter - the EPA recommended amount), and I should have realized that the water was not likely to be the source -- but then again, you don't always join all the dots at the time in these situations. I have an in-line carbon filter for use in areas where heavy metal contamination might be present. There are some spots in Missouri where lead mining was prevelent in the past, but I've not visted them, so I've not taken it with me on a trip yet.

    I'm going to have to check out the video, and find out the thinking behind not filtering. The wildernesses here are small and surrounded by farmland with stock and homes with septic tanks, so opportunities for contamination are possibly higher than in large remote wildernesses. Finding the carcass of a deer in a creek can influence one's thinking on that too!

  4. #24
    New Member Ozarks Walkabout's Avatar
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    Thank you. A popular past campfire activity has been playing out scenarios, and having an idea of what to do should something happen. We also became aware that instantly jumping on a pre-made plan, essential when time is of the essence, can also get you into more trouble if you don't spend some time trying to spot the obvious alternative plans.

    I'm fairly new to solo backpacking and hiking, so I'm having to re-think some of the strategies that are fine when I backpack with my wife. Being in my sixties (how the heck did that happen?) adds potential issues, that I need to keep in mind. I'm much more careful 'rock hopping' now, as recovering from a fall could be a lot more problematic.

    That said, I'd like to say that I consciously set out to review my options, but for a short while there I was too ill to move, so I used the time to weigh things up. I really didn't want to give up on the trip, as time out is limited. But I'm still sure it was the right decision, and it was lucky, or I'd probably have ended up in some farmer's field wondering how the heck I'd managed to exit the wilderness when I was following the trail!

  5. #25
    New Member Ozarks Walkabout's Avatar
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    Excellent information.

    If you boil water, and just let it sit for a few hours or overnight, eventually air redissolves, and the taste returns to what you are used to.
    So leaving plenty of air-space will help when the water is in sealed containers? I wonder if a vigorous shaking it up would accelerate it too?

  6. #26
    alifeoutdoors's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vanhalo View Post

    Interesting timing of this as I just watched a You Tuber "Fight For Together" explaining why he and his family never filtered water.



    On the Sawyer Squeeze
    I absolutely loathe this youtuber. They share their private lives on youtube like an open wound and spread misinformation like it was the plague. They are the most irresponsible group of idiots I have ever run across.
    Once you're lost in twilight's blue, you don't find your way, the way finds you.

  7. #27
    Senior Member TrailSlug's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ozarks Walkabout View Post
    Spot on! On getting back I did some research, found Gaia GPS app, and installed it. I'm most impressed with Gaia and used it to create my paper maps and record my track for my next trip. It worked like a charm and the interface is so much better than my Garmin's. As I always carry my phone plus a battery pack it was a no-brainer, and I even saved some pack weight and space by not carrying the Garmin + spare batteries!
    Nice move. I don't leave home without my phone so it only makes sense to load some kind of app just in case. I love the GaiaGPS app as well.

  8. #28
    Senior Member TrailSlug's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by alifeoutdoors View Post
    I absolutely loathe this youtuber. They share their private lives on youtube like an open wound and spread misinformation like it was the plague. They are the most irresponsible group of idiots I have ever run across.
    Amen brother but you know the saying "if it's on the web it has to be true" I feel sorry for the people that this guy has mislead.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ozarks Walkabout View Post
    Excellent information.



    So leaving plenty of air-space will help when the water is in sealed containers? I wonder if a vigorous shaking it up would accelerate it too?
    Shaking may speed things up a little; I have never timed this exactly. This simplest thing is probably just to leave the cap on loose and let the bottle sit overnight. Obviously not ideal if you are in a hurry. But degassed water isn't harmful, it just tastes flat. If you are dehydrated, just drink it, flat or not.

    It would be easy to try a few experiments at home to estimate the "recovery" time.

  10. #30
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    There is no one quite as lost as the person who is mistakenly convinced that they know exactly where they are...

    You had me with the first line, and the beautiful picture below. I really enjoyed your narrative of your trip. Your story is a good reminder for all of us that hike solo from time to time. It is very easy to get overconfident in our navigation skills. It is also very easy to forget how quickly things can go from bad to worse when we are lost and/or make poor decisions. Thanks for sharing!!

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