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I never carry or purify my water, where I hike it's totally clean, so that's not a consideration for me, but probably for other hikers finding this it will be I guess :D
– victoriah
Commented Jan 31, 2012 at 23:34
15

@victoriah -- That would be awesome and I wish I could. Last I read there is no place in the US that does not have a potential for Giardia. Domesticated animals, including the increased popularity of hiking with dogs, over the entire US has spread this protozoa to virtually every stream in the continental US. Now that's not to say that you can't get lucky in the US drinking untreated water, just that it's not a good idea here.
– Russell Steen
Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 17:07
15

Dehydrated dinners are extremely expensive for what you get. Consider buying or making your own dehydrated veggies/meats and pairing with couscous.
– Corey D
Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 13:25
2

@CoreyD -- It's just my experience, I'm not assuming anything. I do high mileage hiking and this works for me and I eat 4k to 5k cals/day when hiking. Different people are going to have different calorie needs, which is a separate issue entirely. We buy our food on a compromise of cost+time compared to calories, weight, and required preparation at camp. Freeze dried meals for dinner make a good compromise for me and are not in my experience, "extremely" expensive, even less so when I factor in my own time spent trying to do dehydration at home.
– Russell Steen
Commented Jul 10, 2012 at 15:43
5

@BenCrowell - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10737847 The risk is minimal, which is why I said 'potential', but the risk is there and to call my claim "totally" false is hyperbole. There have been confirmed cases of Giardia in the back country. Also, Giardia is not the only parasite out there. As someone who has personally had amoebic dysentery from contaminated back country water... it's not something I'm willing to take chances with even if the odds ARE small. Using a filter is far less hassle than another bout of that.
– Russell Steen
Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 20:49

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