I'm taking a short trip (two nights) to T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula Park on the Florida panhandle in a few months (when the weather gets warmer). The peninsula is maybe a mile at it's widest point, and surrounded by salt water with a marsh on the interior. I have no idea how stagnant the marsh is, but it does support large mammals; there are dear running around the wilderness preserve.
Will the Katadyn Hiker that I use be safe to use on what could be a very stagnant, boggy marsh? Or will I have to pack in several pounds of water?
You cannot filter salt out of water with any backpacking filter. You'll need to take fresh water if the marsh is connected to the ocean.
The only thing water filters of the portable kind will address are microscopic organisms - if there are chemicals or minerals that make the water undrinkable, it will still be undrinkable when filtered.
You would need a reverse osmosis setup to get chemicals out, and those are only portable and practical if you have a pack critter or three to carry the stuff and the expertise to put it together....
From what you would describe, I would expect the water to be too salty to drink. The presence of animals isn't enough for me. Water can be salty to the taste and be drinkable without getting sick, just not palatable.
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