It seems like the streams are drying up and good tasting water is hard to find. You get discriminating. First choice is to get wage out of a spring. Most are just trickles but the water is clear and cold. Second choice is a moving stream with a rock or sandy bed. Usually there's critters like fish and frogs. Third choice is a pond. The bottom is usually smokey ( not always) there's definite critters. It tastes kind of pondy. There's always exceptions. You always look at the color when it's in a clear bottle or in my platypus bladder. I usually treat the water with aquimira drops. A two part system of some kind of chlorine and an activator. I have two 20 oz moxie soda bottles. They are thin enough to fit into my packs side pockets with out getting squished. So the aqua it's comes in two little dropper bottles one with a little cap. Into the cap goes four drops of each. Let it react for five minutes then dump it into the unpurified water and wait 20 minutes. The other day I noticed a kind of bleach stain on the side pocket where I keep my drops. I did not pay it much attention until today when I tried to squeeze 4 drops of chlorine out and the bottle was empty. Nice I thought but I knew I had some backup iodine tablets in my first aid kit. Ever since i got caught in Virginia in freezing weather I have tried to stay away from filters that could freeze up. You could sleep with it I suppose but that would be like going to bed with a cold water bottle. So I went looking for the iodine tablets and they weren't there.
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Then I remembered that I took them out I favor of a new little sawyer filter that I tried and subsequently sent home because I didn't like the set up. I allowed myself the luxury of the filter because I decided really I would not have to worry about freezing filters-I hope. Anyway that means I will have to boil my water for the next couple days. That means no more long cold drinks of water. That means fuel will become an issue. A filter really does give good tasting water. I use the aquamira because it's light and convenient. I'll have to practice with the sawyer filter more. The other problem with using a filter is that when you do get to civilization the town water tastes terrible. We are spoiled at home with such good tasting water coming right out of the ground
61° Mostly Cloudy
Bondville, VT, United States
Stratton Pond
Can't seem to get the colors to show up very well after the sun goes down behind the ridge. Day light hiking hours are getting shorter. Have to plan on getting to a campsite before 4 pm if want to do all the peeved stuff before dark.
58° Mostly Cloudy
West Wardsboro, VT, United States
Judd was SURPRISED!!! He thought he'd take the bus from Williamston, MASS to Augusta, MAINE and would walk or taxi to wait for me at Jonathan's--a small biker bar 1/2 mile from the Concord Trailways station. BUT, Phil and Omer picked Judd up and took him to Jonathan's at 7:30pm Thursday where a sign and crowd of neighbors, family and strangers were waiting to buy him drinks. 
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