Old buddy told me to skip the water filter on the John Muir Trail

Back in 2018, a guy named Dave I met at a gear shop swore up and down that the water sources on the JMT were so clean you'd be fine with just a few iodine tablets for emergencies. He'd hiked it twice, so I figured he knew his stuff. First few days were great, clear streams everywhere, no issues. Then about 30 miles south of Reds Meadow, I drank straight from a little creek without even treating it because it looked perfect. Next morning I was sick as a dog, throwing up behind a bush for hours, couldn't keep water down. Lost a whole day and had to slow way down for the next three days. Turns out that section had some beaver activity upstream nobody mentioned. I still think about Dave sometimes when I'm pumping my filter. Anyone else trust bad advice from a confident hiker and regret it?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin14d ago

Yeah I once took a buddy's word that you could just drink straight from alpine lakes in the Sierras, spent two days cramped in my tent near Bishop.

corah7514d ago

Sorry you had to learn that lesson the hard way, nothing ruins a trip like getting sick from bad water.

smith.elliot14d ago

I used to think that altitude made water safe to drink straight from the source, but @corah75, your story definitely changed my mind on that. Hard to argue with first hand experience like that, especially when it puts you out of commission for days.