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Filtering Water on a Thru Hike

I have met many hikers who do not choose to filter water on their thru hikes.  For me, I don't want to take the chance of some intestinal bacteria that will send my hike to a screeching halt.  On both the PCT and the CDT there were long stretches where we filtered from cattle troughs and seeps, not to mention the streams that had a lot of cattle contamination...yum!

There are many options for filters that are compact and lightweight.  My choice on both the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail was the Katadyn Hiker Pro.  It weighs 11 ounces and you will get about 200 gallons of water (depending on the quality of the water you filter).  It has quick release valves which are pretty handy and the output is about 1 liter per minute.

There are many options out there.  Would love to hear some input.

Lucky Bandana

I don't know about you but no thru-hike is complete without a lucky bandana.  You know, the kind that has been washed so many times it feels like silk.  I was hiking on the PCT and somehow lost my red bandana after a stop for lunch.  I was devastated!  It had been with me since my very first long hike in Montana years before.  We went to the town of Big Bear City to resupply and were standing at the bus stop talking to a couple hikers we had just met.  The man pulls my bandana out of his pocket (snot and all) and says, "You didn't happen to lose this did you?"  I couldn't believe it!  I don't know what it is but sometimes you just need that familiar little piece of soft cloth when you're out there exposed among all the elements.  That bandana made it halfway through a second thru-hike and was nearly falling apart.  It had to be retired to my "hiker hall of fame" gear box but still makes me smile when I see it!

Easy on the Vitamin I

I know it's tempting to pop a couple Ibuprofen (what I like to refer as Vitamin I) to mask the aches and pains after a long day of hiking.  On the PCT, we would take a multi vitamin, Glucosomine and Ibuprofen almost daily.  I think it became more of a habit than anything and it helped us push out some extra miles at the end of the day.  After returning home after the trail my husband started having an allergic reaction to something and it took us a long time to figure out what in the world it was. Turns out, his body had developed a severe reaction to NSAID's (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).  He would get bad hives all over his body, swelling, etc.  Keep in mind, this is not common as only 1% (how lucky is he) of the population is affected by an NSAID reaction.  It made me stop and think about my body and the importance of taking care of it.  On the CDT I didn't touch the stuff and guess what, I felt great!  My point, just be mindful of what you take and the dose as it can have some serious affects.