Day 5: A Tough Decision
After a blissfully restful fifth day, I set about the evening's chores of making dinner and purifying water.
After fetching fresh water from the river, I pulled out my trusty steripen and went to work. 2 liters later my pen turned off after 15 seconds. I had previously timed the pen so I knew how long it took to purify a liter of water (as of this writing I can't remember exactly, but, I assure you, 15 seconds was too short), so I was able to purify one more liter by turning it on, using it until it died and going again.
I wasn't so lucky with the last liter of water. I tried boiling water to purify it but there wasn't a whole lot of dry wood to be found in the camp ground, and at the elevation I was camping it would take a while for the water to hit purification temperature.
I analyzed my situation. Boiling water was not exactly a good time nor terribly efficient. I toyed with building a carbon filter—it's not like I lack the knowledge.
In the end, decided I'd conserve as much water as possible for the rest of the day, and hike out first thing the next morning. Getting an early start would be key in order to beat the heat of the day. It was also a 14 mile hike out. A grueling day under the best of circumstances. My plan was to hike out and carry a spare liter of non-purified water to use in case of an emergency. Absolute worst case scenario: I would drink contaminated water and head straight home. If I did contract Giardia it would take a few days before I showed symptoms, and if I didn't dilly-dally, I'd be home before I needed to see a doctor. Honestly, I can think of nearly nothing worse than experiencing giardia while driving 1000 miles from Yosemite to Seattle.
After fetching fresh water from the river, I pulled out my trusty steripen and went to work. 2 liters later my pen turned off after 15 seconds. I had previously timed the pen so I knew how long it took to purify a liter of water (as of this writing I can't remember exactly, but, I assure you, 15 seconds was too short), so I was able to purify one more liter by turning it on, using it until it died and going again.
I wasn't so lucky with the last liter of water. I tried boiling water to purify it but there wasn't a whole lot of dry wood to be found in the camp ground, and at the elevation I was camping it would take a while for the water to hit purification temperature.
I analyzed my situation. Boiling water was not exactly a good time nor terribly efficient. I toyed with building a carbon filter—it's not like I lack the knowledge.
In the end, decided I'd conserve as much water as possible for the rest of the day, and hike out first thing the next morning. Getting an early start would be key in order to beat the heat of the day. It was also a 14 mile hike out. A grueling day under the best of circumstances. My plan was to hike out and carry a spare liter of non-purified water to use in case of an emergency. Absolute worst case scenario: I would drink contaminated water and head straight home. If I did contract Giardia it would take a few days before I showed symptoms, and if I didn't dilly-dally, I'd be home before I needed to see a doctor. Honestly, I can think of nearly nothing worse than experiencing giardia while driving 1000 miles from Yosemite to Seattle.
posted by granola girl at 11:14 PM
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