From: Dewey Hemphill (dewrayh@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Dec 18 2002 - 15:14:54 CST
Great advice, John, and not acerbic in the least.
Thanks,
Dewey Hemphill, ASM
Troop 276, Memphis, TN
Philmont 2003 (First Timer)
--- Johnlebl@aol.com wrote:
> 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!
>
>
>
=====
DH
mailto:dewrayh@yahoo.com
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