THERE MAY BE WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE, BUT IS IT SAFE TO DRINK?

STORY STEVEN PAUL BARLOW

PHOTOS BY STEVEN PAUL BARLOW

I don’t care if you’re in the middle of the woods or walking a city street. You’re going to get thirsty.

An e lephant can drink up to 50 gallons of water in a day. Not too far down that list of thirsty animals is yours truly. I get thirsty. Throw in the exertion of a hike or hunt over rugged terrain and I’m going to need lots of water. And there’s no way I can carry all the water I’ll need.

I refuse to spend my hard-earned money on bottled water in throwaway plastic containers. When I’m in the backcountry, that’s not an option anyway. The solution, then, is to find water during the course of my travels and then take steps to make sure it’s safe to drink.

Having clean drinking water is crucial wherever you decide to travel.

FIND IT

Sometimes you can find water easily in lots of places: that cold mountain stream, the convenience store where you stop for a bathroom break during a road trip, the resort south of the border where you’re spending your vacation. But what assurances to you have that the water in any of those places is safe to drink?

Sometimes water is harder to find. You can try to collect it. But rainwater depends on the weather, so it might not be a consistent, reliable source, and gathering dew from leaves might not yield enough for the effort. You might have to drain the water from your hot water tank if you’re stuck home unprepared during an emergency. In the spring, ditches along hillsides will often be fl owing with runoff from snow melt, but they are usually dry by summer. Several times I’ve used a topographic map I was carrying to navigate to nearby water sources.

“SEVERAL TIMES I’VE USED A TOPOGRAPHIC MAP I WAS CARRYING TO NAVIGATE TO NEARBY WATER SOURCES.”

The Roving Blue GO3 rechargeable water bottle pod uses ozone generated by oxygen in the water to purify the water. It screws onto a wide-mouth Nalgene bottle.

CARRY IT

For carrying water when I’m on the move, often I’ll have one or more containers that might include a 1-quart, wide-mouth Nalgene bottle, military-style canteen, water bladder, or water bottle with integral fi lter, such as those from Survivor Filter or Lifestraw. I’ll use the water bottles with integral fi lters even when I’m staying in a hotel.

When traveling by car, I’ll always bring several gallons of water either in a collapsible 5-gallon water jug or individual 1-gallon jugs. That ensures that I’ll water that’s clean and that tastes the way I like it. I often bring one or more of my dogs on my adventures, so I make sure I have enough water for them too, along with a collapsible bowl.