Isle Royale Forums

On page 5 of the 2009 Greenstone there is a recommendation to either boil water for 4 minuters OR filter AND use chemical treatment. From what I gathered most of you here just filter. I am correct in my assumption? Which of you filter vs. boil vs. etc...

Thanks for your feedback!

I've been through TWO orientations this year and no mention of filtering AND chemical treatment was made by the ranger. In fact, it was specifically mentioned that chemical treatments were not effective against the critters in the IR water.

Boil, then filter, then chemically treat, then toss, then drink bottled water

Sounds like a disclaimer to avoid lawsuits. I have always filtered. Filtration will not generally take out viruses, so if you are in an urban, poor hygiene area you would want to treat after filtering.

Years ago I remember a ranger saying that he just drank the water out of Superior directly, but recommended filtering. Filtering will take out giardia and tapeworm eggs, which are the main pests to avoid.

Bob

Thanks guys, it did seem like more of a CYA statement than anything...

Well looks like I'm going to order the MSR Sweetwater and Siltstopper combo soon!

During the orientation this year, the ranger said that chemical treatment is not recommended because it does not remove the tapeworm eggs. They recommend either filtering or boiling.

I heard a ranger say the same thing about drinking water directly from Lake Superior but the official advise was to use a filter.

We have always used a filter and have never had any issues. We even filtered water from a nasty-looking swamp because we ran out of water on a particularly hot day. We brushed aside the rotting leaves and green slimy algae on the surface and threw in the filter. The water had a slight brown tint and a barely noticeable aftertaste but, considering where the water just came from, the aftertaste was almost not even worth mentioning.

Last year (maybe Lake Ritchie) I was filtering water and looked around and noticed a dead duck floating nearby...we were fine!!!

upnorthjeeper wrote:Thanks guys, it did seem like more of a CYA statement than anything...

Well looks like I'm going to order the MSR Sweetwater and Siltstopper combo soon!

Our scout troop filtered with a Sweetwater Filter and used the Sweetwater Purifier Solution. It was a little CYA for us scout leaders. We would have hated to bring a kid back sick and have to admit to a parent that we didn't do everything to keep their child healthy!

zentater wrote:Last year (maybe Lake Ritchie) I was filtering water and looked around and noticed a dead duck floating nearby...we were fine!!!

Most likely due to the fact that there weren't any quacks in your water filter.

No quacks! A cracked filter would not be good...

FYI people REI is having a summer clearance sale and I just got the MSR Sweetwater System for only $59.99, very few other stores offer a price this low. The also had the MSR Hyperflow on sale but I passed on that as it is more expensive and also is prone to breaking from what I've read...

Hello! My first post/question. I've planned my first trip to IR for the end of this month. I had planned to go last August and had been in training for four months. A few weeks before departure I had emergency bowel surgery and was in the ICU for over a week. I jokingly asked the surgeon, "I'm planning a week-long backpacking trip at the end of the month. Is it OK if I go?" She just smiled. Oh well, "Maybe next year," I thought (I'm used to it, I'm a Cub's fan).

Well, it's next year already. This time I've been in training since February, alternating bicycling one day (my primary activity, as you probably can tell) with practicing with a fully loaded pack the alternate day, doing things like making 180 round trips up and down the stairs in my house (I figure it's equivalent to a 1500 ft elevation gain and loss). I know, I know, walking up nice, evenly spaced carpeted stairs is nothing like being on a trail, but what are you gonna do - I live in northern Illinois and there's not much topography around here, at least not within 40 miles.

I've read almost everything in all of these forum topics, and have found it most helpful in answering questions I've had (most importantly, how to pronounce the park's name!), and with tidying up my final planning.

My question is this: All the posts appear address water treatment by filtering, boiling, or chemicals. What about UV treatment, e.g. a Steripen? It kills protozoa, bacteria and viruses. From a post above it appears that it doesn't take care of tapeworm eggs, but the Steripen has an accessory 4 micron prefilter, and a post above indicates that tapeworms eggs are considerably larger. Does anybody have experience with a Steripen on IR? It seems that people either love it or hate it (see REI's website). Other than the issue of its voracious appetite for expensive batteries, assuming a user follows the directions, does anybody see a problem relying on a Steripen?

Thanks for any input.

(Note: You may see I've posted this same question with other topics, as it seems water treatment is covered in more than one area).

We filter and treat. Don't want to bring home any internal souvenirs. Plus if something happens to the filter then we always have the treatment which can be used on its own.

From Steripen's website FAQ's:

Is SteriPEN effective against worm eggs?

We have tested SteriPEN only against bacteria, viruses and the protozoa Cryptosporidium and Giardia. We have never tested against worm eggs, so unfortunately we cannot give a definitive answer with regards to UV treatment in this case.


Personally, having no experience with steriPEN, I cannot say. I have been using a MSR Miniworks for years with no problems.

At orientation, NPS specifically pointed out that the SteriPen is not effective against tapeworms, and did not suggest using Pens on the island at all.

Keweenaw wrote:
Years ago I remember a ranger saying that he just drank the water out of Superior directly, but recommended filtering.

Bob

A few years back, I was out on the mile & a quarter breakwall to photograph the Ashtubla Lighthouse on Lake Erie. It started easy, but soon enough I had to climb over some tough rip-rap to get out there, which took about 2 hours, and it was rough going. I used up my bottle of water on the way out, and after getting my photos and heading back, I was becoming very thirsty, as it was a very hot day. About half-way back, I began to get dehydrated and my head was spinning. I knew I had to get some water quick or else....So I drank from Lake Erie. I knew all the horror stories about how polluted the lake had been in the 70s, and as I was drinking it, I was thinking that I would probably get sick...

I recovered after awhile and finally made my way back to the car, and traveled on....But didn't get sick at all. So, while I certainly wouldn't recommend it, I got away with it, at least that time. I still have ghastly memories of doing a similar thing when I was wilderness camping back at the age of 15, and that time I wasn't so lucky. Out on the trail for hours, had used up my water, and took a drink out of stream, not thinking anything of it....Until I got violently ill later that night.

Like I said, not something I would ever recommend.....