Water, Protozoa, and something called Cryptosporidium

Frank here. Really coming along with my gear. I want to thank my roommates for putting up with the stockpile of food I have in our dining room right now as I begin preparing some of my mail drops for the trail.

One of the remaining items I need to make a decision on is what I will be doing for my water treatment. Some people swear to the fact that they haven't treated their water in the back country for 20 years and have never gotten sick...I say they are one bout of explosive diarrhea away from changing their tune. Call me a sissy, but I am doing EVERYTHING in my power to prevent water-borne illness on the trail. I already have to deal with sore knees, blisters, exhaustion, bears, and lyme disease. I am not taking a chance on parasites making a home in my intestinal track. Click here to read about Cryptospordium...you will never not wash your hands after using the bathroom again.

With that said, I am having a difficult choice on what to use for my water treatment, mainly because there isn't a truly perfect option out there. The phrase "you can't have your cake and eat it too" comes to mind.

First, you have your run of the mill water filters. This would be my ideal choice. They filter the water of both the microscopic organisms (to an extent) as well as any and all of the larger items that might make the water unappealing (i.e dirt, bugs, twigs, etc). Here is the "can't eat your cake" part. They don't protect you from water viruses (think Hepatitis A), they are the heaviest treatment option, and are notorious for breaking down in the field. Also, if the temp drops below freezing (legitimate chance early on the trail), the tubes and filter freeze and are at risk of no longer working properly. Damn.

Second, there are chemicals. Options range from iodine tablets to bleach and chlorine solutions. These are the lightest treatment choices and except for the iodine tablets, they kill everything in the water. They are the nukes of water treatment. Unfortunately, they don't clean the water (from sediments, etc), they take up to 4 hours to clear out everything that could be in the water, and being in "the wild", I was hoping to taste that delicious, pure stream water, untreated of chemicals. I already get the treated stuff at home. I want pure.

Third option is to go with this new technology called the Steri-pen. This fancy little gizmo is the new wave of water treatment. Essentially it looks like an electric thermometer and you stick it into your water source where it will flash ultra-violet light, which is supposed to kill anything and everything in there. Essentially it causes all the protozoa and micro-organisms to have seizures and keel over. Its also very light. Sounds great. I'm in. Crap, I forgot about the can't eat my cake part again. It's expensive (some of these are over $100 each), it runs on batteries, which could die (no big deal, I'll bring some chemicals as back up), but it also doesn't filter the water. So if I am out of water and the only option is a stagnant pond...uggghhh. The other negative is that technically, if I dip my nalgene into the stream for water and then use the Steri-pen to treat it, the water which remains on the rim of my nalgene is untreated. "Big freakin deal" you may say, but remember, if the water is contaminated, a drop of water (an amount which can and does remain on the rim of a nalgene) can contain thousands of organisms.

Everything we do in life has a risk involved. When my friends in Boston are crossing the street, they risk getting run over by the countless swarm of insane drivers. When my friends in Denver venture to the mountains, they risk being struck by lightning (in the summer) or eaten by a snow monster (in the winter). I guess the thing I need to accept/realize is there is no way to "have it all." I need to make an informed decision based on what I believe/know and stick with it. If it turns out wrong, I change direction and go from there.

I'm stumped. I was hoping that writing this all out would reveal a clear winner. Anyone have any tips??