Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Do people treat their water

Hi: On the Whitney Zone forum, when I asked about water treatment, the replies indicated that people drank the water straight, except from one of the camping areas.

We'll be going up MR and down the regular trail in early September. What do people on this forum do with respect to water? I presume we can fill up at Iceberg Lake. Anywhere reliable on the way down?

Thanks,

K

Over the years this question comes up , We drink the water but know many that feel it is unsafe and will treat all the water, we also know people that say that have had problems. So we always say it is your choice.

Research says it might be child care centers, public swimming pools,and hand washing. I recall a young man saying he was sick from drinking the water, he was doing the PCT I ask when he last showered his reply 700 miles ago.

Hi K,

A detailed answer to your question with both photos and a map of water source locations for both the Main Trail and the North Fork is found on the Whitney Portal Store website as follows:

Go to the link on the Message Board called WPSMB Members Photo Album Link. Select the entry for Bob R. Near the end of Bob Rockwell's many photo albums are the two you need to study (relating to water sources on the Main Trail and North Fork).

Sometimes in September the question is not the location of the water, but rather how to I get out from under it (rain/hail/snow)!

Also, by then the spring on the 23rd switchback might be finished for the season. Follow Trip and weather reports in September to see how things are playing out.

Personally, when I do the loop you are planning to do, I fill up with a quart in Clyde Meadow and make it last until I can either get water at the spring on the 23rd switchback or the spring in Bighorn Park.

Jim

Thanks for the replies. I've bookmarked the map that you mention. We have 2 liter Camelbaks. I was thinking that Iceberg Lake would be a good place to fill up. I'll take a copy of the water source map with us. Usually I use tincture of iodine when I treat water, so I'll think about it over the summer. Hoping to be having to get the water, and get out from under it. I long way to travel for rain/hail or snow.

K

Hi; new member to this forum and 1st hike up the main trail in 25 years. My family is climbing on Aug. 1. From reading this thread, it seems like we should be safe enough if we use water sources on the main trail and include "Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets with PA Plus" to supplement our 100oz hydration backpacks? I'll check out the map link for the sources along the trail also.

I am from WV and have been out five or six times over the last 10 years and only treated the water the first time. I have never had a problem. To Doug's point, I recall once reading a post by a guy who had gotten sick after a trip to the mountains in CO. He claimed it was from the water and surmised that even though he filtered it, he failed to wipe the lip of the bottle completely!

Anyway, people have different tolerance levels. Most people I know believe it is clean but treat the water anyway because the ramifications of being wrong are greater than the effort it takes to do so.

By the way, I got giardia once. It had nothing to do with drinking water from a lake or stream. In fact, I had not had water from any source but treated city water for the year before, during and after the episode. It is an unsolved mystery.

Thank you HillyBilly.
DougSr, do you have any opinion about "Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets" re: treating water found along the Whitney main trail? Is that adequate, in your opinion?

Always treat your water with kindness---and the three-step approach.

I fill a couple of Nalgenes then add purification tablets so they can dissolve while I hike. Once at a break spot, I will then boil the water to help get rid of the chlorine/iodine taste. By the time I get to camp, it's cooled down enough to run through my Sweetwater (now MSR) filter.

Some say that's overkill, but I've only gotten sick a few times. (I say it's giardia, but Doug says it's 'cuz I don't ever wash my hands before I eat---what does he know...?!)

On our 5 Whitney summits, I always treated the water with Potable Aqua tablets. Was it necessary? The trail is very busy and we were not always in a position to take from a safe source like a spring from a rock face.

Like Jeff I will take a tablet out of the bottle make overt signs of unscrewing the lid on the Nalgene that I washed in 02-03, I lost the one with the bee stinger in the BPH loaded bottle some year ago, cup my hand and hold the pill so it never reaches the bottle , Then fill in the creek, pond where ever and take a drink.


For the PC'S out there try just a few drops of bleach , wash your hands often always never share food or water! Throw the bladders away and wash your water bottle every time before you go on a trip.


Now if you missed moving the moss out of the horse tank and you know THAT other stuff off the surface before you sunk your head into the tank and cooled off and got a drink life may seem sheltered somewhat but that was the best tasting water ever. Every kid that grew up on a farm will agree!