Maintain your water treatment equipment!

Perfect! Everything set to go for a 50-mile hike through the back of Yosemite National Park. Yes, the journey proves grueling for the 14 moms who join the 9 dads with the 26 energetic Boy Scouts. Walking sticks help. An experienced mom created terrific meal packs. One dad made enough turkey jerkey for each hiker had a 7-day supply for breakfast. Water was plentiful along the trail. Each group of 6 had one or two water filters.

Then it happened. One of the water filters had apparently missed its rotation time for a replacement cartridge. The dad that made the turkey jerkey happened to be in that group and faced...you guessed it...the unspeakable, gut wrenching results that require medical treatment and weeks of debilitation. He's able to return to work after a week, but cautiously.

All of this could have been avoided with extra care given to the water filter's maintenance plan. Following manufacturers' maintenance directions with a water filter will provide clean tasting water while eliminating protozoa, parasites, and bacteria. A water purifier will provide the same, but also eliminate viruses (another blog will cover the differences in more detail).