From: Johnlebl@aol.com
Date: Fri Aug 02 2002 - 02:15:44 CDT
In a message dated 08/01/2002 3:39:43 PM Central Daylight Time,
mbingley@telusplanet.net writes:
> E)Wash your hands. Then, wash them again - this might not do anything for
> giardia, but it will pretty much eliminate the chances of you spreading
> other viruses, like the Norwalk virus....make sure your crew does the same
> thing - they too can get you sick.
>
> There's my $3.50Canadian ($0.02 US)
>
> Mike
>
I was appalled at the lack of enforcing hand washing prior to meal
preparation by the cooks. The other advisors on our crew did not see a
problem. As one told me" everyone's hands are dirty" to which I said "then
that's a good reason to wash them before cooking my supper". I was not
amused at his stupidity. I put my foot down on 'em hard on this one.
As a Limnologist, that is a biologist trained in fresh water ecology, which
means the study of all things living in the water column both good and bad
for humans, believe Mike, believe me, believe anyone that tells you that
having one of the waterborne illnesses will usually not kill you, it will
just make you WISH you would die to get relief.
And yes, it probably will wait until you return home from Philmont to strike.
The incubation period practically insures that, but don't let that false
sense of security make you do stupid things.
Most of us would not think of defecating in a stream at Philmont so why is it
OK to use the hand that wiped the excrement from the body to stir the pot of
chili mac without washing the excrement off it?
Personal hygiene, water purification and water management of purified water
is really so simple.
Now on to water purification management.
My personal policy is this. I use a hydration bladder. More specifically a
100oz Camelback Unbottle. Only purified or treated water ready to drink
(meaning time has been waited for it to be ready) is put into the bladder.
Water needing treatment goes into the 1L Nalgene. That pretty well
simplifies it. My PolarPure bottle rides in the same mesh pocket as the
Nalgene.
That 100 oz Unbottle bladder and half of the Nalgene 1 L bottle carried me
from Clarks Fork to CHQ with a side hike to the tooth. A 1 L Platy backup
"extra liter" for that day went untouched. IN fact, I poured that Clark's
Fork water into my green Nalgene Dan it stis atop my dresser waiting to "I
wanna go back to Philmont". Yeah, I know! I'll wash it out soon, but for
right now it is there reminding me of better things.
Speaking of which. One advisor on our crew, not known for his intelligent
decisions, took great pride in the fact he drank 3 gallons of water from
Clarks Fork to CHQ.
Here's a did you know question.
Did you know it is possible to drink too much water? Two Army recruits have
died this summer from drinking too much water. Died of brain swelling from
drinking water too fast for the body to assimilate it. Causes severe brain
swelling from just drinking 3 to 3-1/2 gallons in one day. Almost always
fatal.
So be careful what you do or tell your crew about "you can't drink too much
water".
You can and some do.
That is why I prefer a bladder with a bite valve and to sip a lot of small
sips rather than to gulp from a water bottle.
Back to water treatment management.
I scoop water from the stream with my metal cup, pour it into the Nalgene
through a clean handkerchief strainer thereby never getting any floaties in
the water I drink.
Floating sticks and twigs are host to literally millions of single celled
animals, many of which will do you harm, so why put them in the bottle when
straining through cloth will filter them out in the first place? That way I
don't use up my chemicals treating trash I don't want to swallow at all.
Duh!
My water bladder and bottle are always in the pockets on my pack. They are
always under my control, they never can be mixed up by someone accidentally
kicking them from one pile to another.
I have been treating water from streams for over fifty years and never had a
mishap. I pay attention to what is going on. It is just the way I do it and
it works for me. I have drank some pretty nasty water in my time but always
treated properly. Do however you want to, but as far as I am concerned if I
am going to drink it, I'm going to be responsible for it. Plain and simple.
John LeBlanc
Eagle Class of 1959
Phirst Phil Ptrek 1959
PhilTrek 2002 630H2 Trek 16
My latest adventure was yesterday,
Today is not over yet!
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