From: Allen Corzine (a_sly_fox@msn.com)
Date: Wed Dec 18 2002 - 14:27:37 CST
i'm am out of shape, overweight cub master from flat Kansas, but after
reading the lesson below, I want to go, any one got room?
Thanks John, where does the tuition check go?
allen
just a sly fox, and remember, my opinion and $ will buy coffee at the
trading post
>From: Johnlebl@aol.com
>Reply-To: philmont@troop47.com
>To: Multiple recipients of list philmont <philmont@troop47.com>
>Subject: [Philmont]: Listening To The Grass Grow
>Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 15:00:22 EST
>
>Subtitled: The Water Budget.
>
>Ladies and gentlemen, I live where it rains 64 inches per year. This year
>it
>has rained 69 inches so far, breaking the all time record. I like water!
>I
>like it wet. I like wet trails, wet campsites and wet.........no, I did
>not
>say that.
>
>I am also a canoeist and a kayaker. Canoeists and kayakers paddle their
>craft on water for good reason. They like water. They like water carrying
>them instead of them carrying the water.
>
>I get the distinct feeling of paranoia by some on this list concerning
>PhilWater. PhilWater won't kill you!
>
>Seems like I'm hearing mommys and daddys hollering their last bits of
>advise
>through closed windows and hopefully closed ears to junior as he leaves for
>Philmont on the bus, train or plane as it rolls down the highway, rails or
>tarmac headed to New Mexico...........DON'T DRINK THE WATER BILLY OR YOU'LL
>GET SICK!!!!!!
>
>Pholks, this is NEW Mexico not south of the border in OLD Mexico! You can
>drink the water and NOT get sick!
>
>This paranoia is the absolutely most WRONG message to be sending your
>Scouts.
> I hope this stays on this list and NOT in your crew training discussions.
>
><<But as John states, if you plan properly, you'll have the water you need
>when
>you get to camp, and can wait for the PolarPure to work. It depends on
>whether you want to carry the pump, extra filter, spare parts and spend
>probably 10-15min pumping, or carry the extra water weight on the trail
>so you don't have to pump when you get there.>>
>
>
>
>It is adaptable to PolarPure OR filter pumps.
>
>Here is a typical day on the trail.......waterwise.
>
>You wake up and somehow decide you need breakfast. That's not a hard
>decision after hiking some 35 miles on the trail so far. It's a hot cereal
>day and a good thing too because the temp is hovering just above freezing.
>Or so it seems. And something hot to drink would be good too.
>
>Water gathered last night from the stream is in the pot just waiting to be
>put on the stove. The stove is lit and while gear is packed the water
>comes
>to a boil......or almost. And that is fine because all you need to do is
>get
>it to 180 degrees F to kill anything that grows in water anyway. Water
>boils
>at 212 F, so boiling it is overkill.
>
>The water comes to a boil anyway.......just to make sure someone says, and
>each person takes their turn dunking bowl, cup and spoon in the hot water
>leaving behind any bacteria to be destroyed by the heat and a few bits of
>pine needles, dirt and rocks they did not see on the bottom of the cup. It
>all gets sterilized together.
>
>Anyway, you take your plastic or lexan bowl and dump in Quaker Instant
>maple
>and brown sugar oatmeal from the food bag. You take your stainless steel
>cup
>and dump in some Swiss Miss with marshmallows in it. One of the crew
>ladles
>some hot water into your cup and bowl and you are in bidness.
>
>You saunter over to a rock overlooking the stream and sit to eat with your
>back to the cooking fire ring just to relieve the view and reduce it to
>more
>simple things so you can relax during your meal.
>
>It's good, warm and filling. You lick the bowl clean.........literally!
>Not
>a drop is left in the cup either. Human sumping they call it. You have
>been
>doing it for years whenever you mother did not catch you doing it.
>
>You saunter over to "your tree" which has your pack propped up against it
>and
>your 3L Camelback Unbottle hanging from a branch stub and rotate the 90
>degree block valve to the on position. You squirt an ounce or two into the
>bowl, swirl it around and drink it down. Some call this human sumping.
>Some
>don't even call it, but just do it. Same for the cup into which you swish
>around the spoon. Bottoms up the cup. You fill the cup with cool, clear
>iodinated water from the Unbottle bite valve and get out your "morning
>pills". Every adult on trek has their "morning pills" simply because they
>are getting older. Even if you don't do drugs, you pop three Advil just
>for
>good measure! Vitamin I Cooper Wright calls them.
>
>Chase them down with the whole cup of water. Tastes so good, you draw
>another and drink that too.
>
>You put away your cup, bowl and spoon in their proper place.
>
>Finally your slow tent partner is out of the tent with his stuff, so while
>he
>packs (you already have) you take the tent down divide it up and pack away
>your share. You then take his part of the bargain to him to pack up. He
>thanks you.
>
>While watching the crew get their act together, you draw and drink another
>couple of cups of water from the bite valve. Danged this mountain water
>tastes good! You don't even notice the iodine taste simply because you
>aren't trying to. Your thoughts are on what a beautiful place the campsite
>was and not about what iodine tastes like anyway.
>
>Finally you are ready to "saddle up" and hit the trail. Before cinching
>down
>your pack top flap, you decide to "camel up" and take one more long draw of
>water from the bite valve.
>
>You take your 1 L Nalgene bottle out of the side pocket and dump it into
>the
>Unbottle hydration bladder. You had filled the 1 L bottle last night and
>added the proper amount of Polar Pure. It sat all night so you aren't
>worried about how long since it was treated.
>
>You go to the creek and find the spot that the crew member assigned as
>"water
>bearer" designated or improved to get water from and fill your bottle to
>1/2
>inch below the rim. Back at "your tree", you add the right amount of Polar
>Pure to the water bottle according to what your Ranger taught you and place
>both in the pack pocket after refilling the Polar Pure bottle and turning
>the
>water bottle upside down and "bleeding the threads".
>
>All secured, you are ready to hit the trail.
>
>You are carrying three liters of ready to drink water in the hydration
>bladder. It's cold from hanging in the cold night mountain air overnight
>and
>will stay that way all day because of the 1/8" neoprene insulation of the
>Unbottle and the fact it is packed INSIDE your pack out of the sun.
>
>The 1 L Lexan bottle has to wait 30 minutes before it is ready to drink.
>You
>notice the time and make mental note. It resides in the side pocket of the
>pack. You more than likely won't even use it today because it is just a 10
>mile hike to the next camp and you are high where it is cool and in a
>valley
>in the shade. And it is raining.
>
>Along the way you sip water constantly from the bite valve, not worrying at
>all about running out of water in the hydration bladder because you are
>carrying that 3 liters plus another liter backup in the lexan bottle.
>
>When the crew stops for lunch, you decide Gatorade would go good with the
>PBJ
>on crackers, so you dump a little powder into the stainless steel cup and
>squeeze the bite valve to fill the cup.
>
>After lunch you wash down the sides of the cup with the fine stream
>produced
>by the bite valve and human sump your cup and put it away.
>
>Each meal you want Gatorade you do the same thing and therefore you don't
>have any water containers besides your cup that have had drink mix in them
>so
>none need go up in the bear bag.
>
>When you get to camp, the "water bearer" takes off to find "clean water"
>and
>returns with two buckets full for the evening meal.
>
>It was a long trail today so you examine your 3L Unbottle and find that it
>only contains about a half cup of water. Your 1L bottle is still not been
>touched, so you still have a good reserve. You ask where the "water
>faucet"
>is and he tells you up around the bend in the creek and over off the edge
>of
>the big gray flat rock. With those directions, you take the 3L Unbottle
>and
>your 1L Nalgene and go to fill them up. Away from the stream you pour the
>1L
>bottle into the 3L Unbottle because you know that to spill iodine treated
>water into the stream would harm some of the biota living in the stream and
>as a good land steward you don't want to do that.
>
>After pouring the 1L into the 3L, you dip the 1L full and use it to fill
>the
>3L and then fill the 1L also.
>
>You return to "your tree" where you get out the PolarPure and add the
>requisite amount to the 3L Unbottle and the 1L Nalgene, you "bleed the
>threads" and refil the PolarPure bottle.
>
>After waiting the required thirty minutes, all your water is drinkable.
>
>You repeat this daily for each day on the trail. You are never without 4L
>of
>water starting out each day. You never are drinking your last water from
>the
>bladder and not knowing how much water you have left.
>
>You are budgeting your water but that does not mean skimping on it. You
>drink freely from the bite valve and when others holler "water stop" you
>simply stand there enjoying the view knowing full well that they are
>getting
>dehydrated and you are not because you continuously sip water as you walk.
>
>And that is all there is to it.
>
>The only addendum is on extra long trail days, I fill a 1L Platypus roll up
>bottle fore a total of 5 liters of available water.
>
>If you have a dry camp.roper food and meal planning should not require
>anything but each person filling their extra 1L Platy roll bottle.
>
>If a crew chooses to carry on of those "water buffalo bladders" then
>somebody
>had to be the mule. Better it be your crew than mine, but so be it if you
>got to do that. I just know that it isn't necessary.
>
>If one chooses to use a filter pump, then they can do the same thing only
>pumping their water.
>
>From observation and practical application, it takes about 30 minutes to
>get
>out the pump, set it up, pump the days supply of water and put the pump
>away
>again.
>
>The decision to pump or not is yours and yours alone.
>
>Personally I got more to do in those ten days on the trail at Philmont than
>spend 5 hours plus pumping water.
>
>Sometimes I just want to sit there and listen to the grass grow.
>
>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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