I'm tentatively carrying a Frontier Pro on the CDT, but I wouldn't on the AT --- apart from tannens now and then, lots of good looking water on the AT, much of it from springs. And I took over two weeks off on the AT last year due to something Giardia-like (not certain how that came about, due to lag between "getting it" and symptoms, always hard to know).

If going with chlorine dioxide (I do), I suggest Aqua Mira liquid instead, it's a lot less expensive.

Cooking: an alternative is to KISS. Lots and lots of places to go off trail and get a restaurant meal on the AT, so IMO that's the ideal place to go simple, just stick with dinners that require only hot water to hydrate, and no-cook breakfasts. I was happy that way last year, but of course we're all different on this stuff.