I went to the Sawyer site and looked at the "Squeeze" and that is awesome. It's definitely a step up from the LifeStraw/Britta charcoal system I mentioned, and not that much more in initial cost.

OM, it's pretty easy to read a topo map and get a very good idea of the watershed feeding your source. If everything above you is wilderness for the watershed you're in you're not likely to find any bugs in a clear running spring.

Again, we have very good water here in the Ozarks, and where I'm at, we have lots of public and private forest land and a low density of population, so I'm at a pretty low risk here if I'm aware of my source. The same is true out west. You have some mining issues there you want to be aware of, but there are lots of places there you can drink right from the source and never have to worry about it. If you look at a population density map of the US you'll see why the AT has issues with water, it's not just people, but all the livestock and pets you have to account for as well.

Great water is like fine wine, but it never gets any better than a natural pristine source, and each has it's own unique character.

I search for natural springs here, and waypoint them when I find them. They're are one of the most precious things I find when I'm out bushwhacking and one of the main draws that gets me out there. So, the idea that I would filter and sanitize every source is not something I buy into. I'd rather not filter any of them, but I do if I'm taking from one that is not pristine.

I'll readily concede that if you're not comfortable with your ability to judge a source you should sanitize your water every time, but I think it's worth learning about the risks and how to evaluate them. There are springs in Texas that have some great water and I'd drink right from them and be thrilled and thankful to have the chance. I wouldn't think of filtering that water, that'd be just wrong to miss out on that opportunity.