Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Water on the Main Trail

Hello everyone! I have yet another question for you. I plan to take a Steripen with me on the main trail this summer. I will be camping either at Outpost or Trail Camp for 2 nights on my way (hopefully) to the top. Is the water from the streams and ponds at each of these campgrounds fairly clear? I expect that it is. But I don't want to find out the hard way that my Steripen won't purify the water because it is too cloudy.

Just for reference, here is a post from last year answering similar questions. In that post, check the links near the end.

Re: How Much Water

Note to Bob R: Have you re-posted your pictures for the water sites? If so, I'll change the broken club photo link.

Steve, I think I have everything cleaned up and reported in a separate thread. The narratives for the main trail and the North Fork, along with pictures. Please let me know if I have missed something.

By the way, I am not in the mode of trying to convince anyone to do as I do. If I have a mission, it is only to get good information out there. I will say one thing, however: This entire wilderness water scare was started by a single paper in the medical literature--over 30 years ago--that has recently been proven fallacious. That the government has not gone back to retract all the resulting hyperbole is regrettable but understandable. And we are all the worse off for it.

The steripen won't remove cloudy sediment it will sterilize the water. There are pre-filters and what I use is a paper coffee filter. Many or most regulars think that there is no reason to filter or sterize the water at all.That is most likely true. I suffer from the scare the Forest Service put into me 30+ years ago as BobR makes reference to.I choose to error on the side of safety and love my steripen.Next time up Whitney I am going to carry my sierra cup and dip it into the running streams and drink what BobR refers to as the purest water on the face of the earth unfiltered.Ahh the freedom of the wild..

Bob R, even if they never admitted the fallacious report, a bunch of us on this board have been savoring the Sierra water--unfiltered--for a long, long time. Over the years, you've helped us enjoy our drinks even more. I guess I'm bad, because I drank water out of rivers on the Sierra's west side right next to the National Park's dire water-warning signs (with, of course, no ill effects on me.) Thanks for letting us know about the proven fallaciousness after all these years.

As you well know, everyone has their sensitivities, and should drink accordingly.

Thanks, guys. I will take several coffee filters since they are so light.

I haven't filtered in about 3 years in the Sierra...haven't gotten sick once. I do use a Steripen in the Whitney area during the summer months but not the winter.

BobR and an article in the Los Angeles Times convinced me to save a pound of pack weight.

The water is crystal

Special thanks to Ken for actually answering my question!