Water Filter: the Sawyer Mini

The Wisdom of Age: until recently I did not know that (either Gideon was left-handed or) he did not have the arthritis I have which has (by now) so twisted some of the fingers particularly on my right hand that I find it difficult to hold water in my cupped hand to drink (so you can see I would not have been given ‘The Jericho Demolition Job’!) Annoyingly I am forever spilling moisturiser, heel balm etc on the floor as it slips between my fingers, then I have the arduous job (with my stiff back) of getting WAY down there to clean it up! They should make such cosmetics more appetising to dogs so they would clean it up, and I would have nothing to complain about! Having lived 65 years (over 50% more than the average human being who has ever lived), I have little to complain about, really.

Many young hikers I have met would not know the Gideon story (cultural education is getting very sloppy!) and would be afraid to drink from a stream anyway. There is this excellent lightweight water filter (if you worry about such things or go paces where lots of folks have shit in the streams): https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-mini-filter/ which weighs under 60 grams (probably worthwhile to have in your pack). If you are walking ‘The Wilderness Coast’ (19 days along the beaches of East Gippsland) or a month or so along the Tasmanian West Coast South of Strachan, you might consider this Katadyn desalinatorhttp://www.katadyn.com/usen/katadyn-products/products/katadynshopconnect/katadyn-desalinators-manual-survivors/katadyn-survivor-06/ though it weighs 1130 grams (OK split between two people – and preferable to dying of thirst!

See also:

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/water-filter/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/survival-still/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/rivers-in-the-sky-never-die-of-thirst/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/dehydrated-water/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/sawyer-water-filter/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/water-hiking-desalinator/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/collecting-water/