What would you have done?

I was out in the Gila this pass weekend and we camped close to a dried up stream. Well it rained hard all night and the stream started to fill back up but the water looked more like chocolate milk then it did water. It wasn't thick like mud just brown from the dirt being dissolved in the water I assume. It was actually pretty cool seeing the stream start to flow down hill in front of us. Anyhow if this was your closest water source what would you do?
This was my situation:
We were 2 miles from the middle fork river which was our plan to to hike to then eat breakfast but it rained hard and my friends tent leaked getting everything of his soaked so we had to get back to the vehicle and not risk staying another night. On the trail heading back it would be 6 miles till we would hit the west fork river and we didn't have much water to start with. So one of my friends decided to try and filter the water from the stream. Well it quickly clogged his filter. We filled a gallon zip-lock bag with the water and waited to see if the dirt would settle on the bottom but it didn't seem to happen fast enough(I think we waited like 5 minutes) and decided it wasn't going to work. I had micropur tablets but none of them wanted to drink that dark colored water or the chemical taste. I have used the tablets before on clear water on a previous trip but knew if I had to wait 4 hours to drink we could be at the river by then.

On our hike back we ran into another stream created by the rain runoff but it was a bit clearer do to it being on solid rock but the filter was already clogged so we only got a 32oz bottle filled by pumping. I finally decided hell with it and dumped my bottle in the "clearer" water and got as much filled (not very deep) and dropped in a tablet. Since it wasn't even half full the tablet left a pretty strong smell.

Anyhow when we reached the west fork river we cleaned the ceramic disk a bit and were able to pump 2 more bottles of water for the rest of the hike back to the cars. I finished filling up my bottle I had dumped in the stream with the filtered water to help with the strong smell and finally drank it.

How would more experienced hikers handle a situation like this?

Thrown out both the filter and the goofy tasting tablets and taken chlorine dioxide (aquamira /pristine) instead. And just got over your squeamishness and drank the water <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Now wait for the filter mafia to show up and expound on the wonders of their favorite, that it surely won't clog up and become useless in the field. unh hunh..

I've used my ceramic filter in pretty silty water with good success. I just had to clean it several times before the canteens were full. I chose a filter that was easy to take apart & scrub.

In the case of almost muddy water, I might have tried using a bandanna or shirt to pre-filter the water... several layers if possible, before catching the water in a pot or something. Then I'd have filtered it.

A few years ago I was on a beach hike, and the only fresh water available for miles was from a pitiful, brackish stream that wound its way through the woods. It was the color of apple juice, and no amount of filtering made it look any better. We filtered, boiled, and finally used chlorine tablets before giving in and drinking it. Later on during the same hike, the only water available was from an estuary. We hiked way up the stream to where we were sure it was fresh, but after filtering it we found that it was still a tad salty & slimy. Oh well. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Water issues add to the hiking stories I tell when I get home.

This is where a filter, even with a prefilter, will clog every time, as Phat tells us. I'd do the filtering through the bandanna bit, maybe several times through several thicknesses. Letting the dirt settle out does work, but takes several hours, which you didn't have.

Katadyn Micropur tablets are chlorine dioxide. They are also EPA approved, unlike Aqua Mira. (Although Aqua Mira's tablets, I'm told, are made in the same factory in Spain as the Katadyn so are probably identical--pick whichever one is cheaper.) I carry enough chlorine dioxide tablets so that if my filter breaks or mud happens, I can use them rather than having to abort the trip. I hate using chemicals (after a horrible experience with iodine) so normally rely on the filter.

However, make sure you use one tablet per one full quart of water. No wonder the water tasted awful if you used one tablet for only half a quart! The liquid mud, of course, slows down the action of the tablets as well as possibly not being good for your insides. The more you can filter out with the trusty bandanna, the better.

A better possibility, since you were already short of water and couldn't wait for the chlorine dioxide to do all its work, would have been first to use the bandanna and then to boil the water. Since you were cutting the trip short, you didn't have to worry about running out of fuel. Boiled water tastes awful, too, but once you aerate it by pouring it back and forth between two containers a couple of times, it tastes fine. The one time I encountered a similar situation, we bandannaed and boiled.

These sorts of experiences are how you learn! Theory can go only so far.

"Well, it rained hard all night..."

Even in the East, where water is rarely more than a half hour or hour away, I've collected rain water in empty water bottles and pots. Often, you can find a spot where the water is running off your tent or tarp, and put a container under it. After half an hour or so, it's full, and you can transfer the water to a bottle or storage bladder. If you can't find a spot where it's running off the shelter, just set the container out in the rain; it will take longer, but all night might have given you enough water to get to the next source.

However, if I knew our plan was to continue on to the next river, and had no idea beforehand that a leaky tent would abort the trip, I might not have tried to collect rain, either. (If I had pretty much used up all my water, I probably would have anyhow, just to have the luxury of extra water. Of course, as we give you this advice, we all have the advantage of 20-20 hindsight.)

I'd simply chalk this up as a lesson learned, and set the pots out next time you're in a similar situation. I'm not sure you did anything wrong, or any different than anyone else would have done in that situation. (I know I've aborted trips unexpectedly, and for good reasons. Since you had wet gear and a tent you couldn't rely on if it rained again, I've got to say you made the right call and then made the best of a difficult situation.)

Like others said, the only decision that you should revisit is your choice of water filter. I'm not sure what you were using, but you may want to consider the MSR Miniworks. I've found it to be easily field-cleanable (and I've clogged it a couple of times pumping murky water) because you just scrub and rinse the filter element - you don't even need clean water for the rinse. It's a little heavy, but I've never had any problems with it, nor have any of the folks I know who also use it. (This trouble-free use has all taken place in the East, but includes one fellow's AT thru-hike.) I've also had decent luck with the Katadyn Mini-filter, which weighs half a pound and is essentially the same idea, on a much smaller scale, as the Miniworks. It also cleans easily in the field, again by scrubbing and rinsing the ceramic element. However, due to the much smaller size, it clogs much more frequently and is slower to use.

I have had similar experiences here in Arizona and in particular in the Grand Canyon. If you get a heavy rain, the creeks will get really muddy. Most pre-filtering techniques like using a bandana or a coffee filter will only get part of the mud out. Even using a filter such as the MSR Sweetwater I use won't clean the water completely.

Pumping water to clean and purify it will quickly clog the filter so you need a filter that is field cleanable (this is why I use the MSR Sweetwater). Even with a field cleanable filter, you can only get so much water before the filter is rendered pretty much unusable.

When you are forced to get water in conditions like this, you don't have too many choices. You can look around for water pockets where clear water has collected and use that, you can boil your muddy water , you can filter as best you can with a bandana or its like and then add chemicals or you can pre-filter and then use a pump filter. Personally, I try to preserve the function of my pump filter. For this reason, I typically use the bandana and chemicals routine.

If you do a lot of desert hiking, this is something you have to deal with on occasion. Once you get used to it, muddy water can taste good, especially if you are thirsty. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I once had no choice but to pump water out of a water pocket that had a dead coyote floating in it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> I survived but don't want a repeat unless necessary.

I think that collecting the rain water is what I would have done. Even if I thought I was only a few miles from a water source I would still fill up with the rainwater. After all rainwater is always sanitary and and tastes good.

I realize you didn't know that you would have to abort the trip. But I still would have done it because I'm paranoid about having enough water. In fact (true confessions time here) I'm not a true ultralighter because I carry too much water. I start getting nervous when I have only 2 liters in my pack. I read these stories about ultralight backpackers who drink up in the morning so they don't have to carry much water until the next source. Not me. I don't have enough faith that the next source will work. Silly perhaps but that's me.

Pretty much what everyone else has said: bandana and then filter or chemicals. For me it would be bandana and Aquamira drops. I carry a lot of bandanas, usually one for every day on the trail (one never knows what they'll be used for <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />) so I could strain the water a couple of times before treating it.

I've got to remember to catch rain water!

Caesar - with a sheet of plastic - no holes in it thank you, you could have collected rain water. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Or even dug a hole and poured in a bunch of icky <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> water and then covered with the plastic tarp so that its lowest point drips collected distilled water into your pan. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Were you in a place where you had access to course sand? You could prefilter your water through sand. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Right, Jimshaw,
1. catching rainwater runoff from a tarp or just a groundsheet layed out on the ground. I put catchments under each corner of my tarp. A catchment can be the pack cover, a garbage bag, a Ziploc held upright by putting a stone in the bottom, a cooking pot, a well sealed stuff sack... whatever.

2. In places like the Gila Wilderness (and most places, actually), the soil is gravelly and sandy near creeks. When the water is turbid, it is an easy matter to dig a hole near the creek. It will fill quickly with water. The first fill may be turbid, but the next fills will clear up quickly. Dip the water out until it clears.

3. Gather turbid water in the evening and let it settle overnight. Pour or dip clear water off the top - carefully - because the settled material is easily disturbed.

4. Carry chemical treatments - a few Aquimira or iodine tablets - to use when the filter tanks.

Iodine - make sure you are not allergic to it BEFORE you take it on a trip.

Just my $0.02.

Like spock said, there is course sand in the dried up streams beds. We actually tried to dig a hole in the stream bed, in a section that had a bit more sand so it wasn't under water yet, but It filled with the same brown water. We didn't try and scoop out that water so cleaner water could fill it though

Thanks for your help everyone. I plan on sending a link to this thread to my friends that where with me on that trip. It was definitely a learning experience.

Thanks again.

Well a learning experience is one of the best things we can ask for! I dare say I learned quite a bit just from reading the replies to your post.

What is it my folks say? Oh, adversity builds character. So here's to Cesar-the-Character! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Another good idea for catching rainwater is to place a bottle at the guy out point of your tarp or fly with a drip string from the guy line into the bottle.

Sometimes silt will settle when you boil it. Then filter it through soft papertowel. Boiling breaks the ionic charge that suspends the smallest particles. Practice a short trip in the rain!

20 lashes (with wet noodle) for me for not thinking of catching water draining off the tent!!! It's the obvious solution to the muddy water problem. Even though you were originally planning to go on to a nearby water source the next morning, rainwater from the tent would have been a great way to top off your water supplies in a dry camp.

I would've been fine. I always carry this:

http://buydehydratedwater.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4

It's saved my life many times over!

BF <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I would have gotten up in the morning, cleaned the lake... no that's a different story.

The muddy water would have caught me by surprise also, not being from around those parts. I would have caught rainwater after that, if it rained again. I would have tried filtering the water through prefilter, like maybe sock first, then t-shirt, then coffee filter, something like that. I might have dug into sand for clearer water also, where the water table might be up enough. I think the tricky thing is how many containers you have and how fast you are consuming it and how much it slows you down to make it and how far it is between water sources. I've never hiked in a desert and don't have much worries here, but even here in the East a winter hike took me by surprise once. Water can be tricky sometimes. There can be no snow and frozen ground and fewer water sources. I also learned about frozen water bottles that trip. There are always curve balls. Even where I hike often I try to prepare to be unprepared.

i just got a hiker pro filter, and was wondering does using a couple coffee filters (i have tons of em) over the prefilter extend the life of my main filter?

i think the flow will definitely get slower, but wouldnt that mean the coffee filters are working?

also, i plan to use two coffee filters over the prefilter, and then boil for a minute to kill off any viruses, has anyone done this or something similar before and although it might take some time is the water quality/filter life improved?

Coffee filters are maybe 10 to 20 micron. The Hiker is a sub micron filter, I think they are rated about 0.3 micron. I'm not sure what the pre-filter is, but I believe it is close to what the coffee filter is. So the coffee filter will make the pre-filter last longer without a cleaning, but it won't do much to extend the life of the main filter.

If you're going to boil, don't bother with the filter. Or better yet, use a chemical treatment like Aquamira. It's overkill to filter and boil, in my opinion. And chemicals are a lot less hassle than boiling. I believe the risk of being infected by a virus in the backcountry from drinking filtered water is infinitesimally small.

Zach,
Just because the flow is slower doesn't really mean that the coffee filters are working to reduce yuckies... they would be slowing the flow of the water into the pump and eliminating silt, tiny gravel, etc from entering the pre filter. The main filter is sufficient for most anywhere in the US. I haven't heard of any US water bad enough to contain viruses.

Coffee filters are a nice item to include to use as a scrub pad, pre-filter and firestarter. There's a multiuse item for you!

The glass-fiber element will clog when used with silty water. It's happened to me with a large group and all 4 filters clogged. I say this to let you know that any type of pre-filter is a good prefilter. Yes, it may constrict the flow of water, but it will help prolong the life of the filter.

Concerning the original post:
If you are able, it may be a good idea to collect some water into a bowl/pot and filter out of that. This allows the silt to settle a bit and you can get a cleaner pump. Pumps clog, filter fail. You just have to make the best use out of what you have.