Radical Ultralight Idea

“While on a recent hike, a friend mentioned to me that his dog had recently gotten Giardia, and what a mess it was. When I asked him if he was going to treat his dog's water from now on, he said "no, because she drinks out of puddles all over the place". This got me to thinking...
Is it possible, if you caught giardia enough times your body would build up natural defenses? I mean, they had extrememly unsanitary water in the middle ages, when everyone just dumped their waste directly into the streets. I haven't heard about everyone back then having the $hits all the time, so maybe it is possible to build up resistance. If so, then you could do away with having to filter water or use chemical treatments...imagine, you could be hiking along and just scoop up a cup of water and drink it, with no repercussions.
However, it would be rough to get to that point. Anyone willing to test out my theory has the chance to become a legend in the ultralight community! Any takers?”

“#&%!$IN aint my game brother!”

“Most of the world drinks unfiltered water. Most of the world has the runs. The mortality rate is higher in areas with unsanitary water, but the locals have built up an immune system that weak Americans do not possess.”

“Yeah, I think I'll stick to treated water. I have heard of people being on iv's for a week in the hospital over this stuff. I also like to keep control of my bodily funtions. Nimlbewil Nomad hiked from the Florida Keys to Canada with no water treatment.”

“Diarrheal illness is one of the greatest killers worldwide. Don't count on immunity.

Anybody know about rehydration formulas? Could be a saver in the backcountry. Basically gatorade. I'll track down a home recipe if anybody is interested.”

“I talked to an ultra lighter who was making the arguement that it was impossible to die from dehydration if you had access to and continued to drink contaminated water. I am not a medical expert, but I know that the body is not just a bucket that can be rehydrated by drinking more contaminated water. Maybe this guy will survive, maybe not.”

“Drinking the contaminated water might be better than nothing, but you can lose a lot of sodium, potassium and cloride. Eventually, muscles (including heart), nerves and brain don't work right.”

“The other day I ran across this link to a fairly good article on Giardia. It looks like proper hygiene is about the most important issue when it comes to prevention.

I know some people who drink unfiltered water in the Sierras and haven't had Giardia yet. However, there are no guarantees.”

“I got a good laugh out that!!!!!

8O”

“The largest killer of children under 5 globally is diarhea. Folks in the middle ages may not have talked about #&%!$ting themselves dead but cholera aint no joke!”

“What about tapeworm and other parasites? Do you really want to find something like that hanging outta yer @ss? Drink up!”

“No doubt!!!!!

Good luck with that!!!!

8|”

“I bought a Pur Hiker. I'm going to use it.”

“Bacpac..You say weak Americans...I say smart Americans...sounds like you take for granted what we have worked so hard to build...”

“I am not weak!!!!!

Nor is my body!!!!!

8|”

“All you doubters, wait a few years...once people have cut packweight as much as possible, getting rid of that 2oz bottle of polar pure via this method is going to start looking attractive...and just remember, you heard it here first...the future of ultralight packing! Haha!”

“wsdavies, it is called sarcasm. Look it up.”

“I read something about a guy who was contemplating fasting during a hike so he didn't have to take along food. That's taking ultralighting a little too far for me, and so is going with no water treatment.”

“I think you've cut the weight you have to carry as much as possible when you start squirting from both ends and have to be carried out.”

“LMAO!!!!!

8)”

“Think about it skully, you don't have to carry any weight at when you're being medevac'd!!!

Eliminates that annoying return trip.”

“Yeah, exactly what I'm thinking. And they will appreciate the lighter load of both your pack and your emaciated body.”

“Of course, the downside is if you can't manage to be medevac'd, the bears won't get a full meal out of you. Nothing's perfect.”

“This is too much!!!!!

8o”

“I posted that link that Phil mensioned here, and I've also had no problems not filtering Sierra Water. When in doubt I use iodine and neutralizer like when my water source is a lake or in the lower elevations.

I don't think carrying a couple ounces of iodine/neutralizer treatement is too much weight. It's the convienience of not having to do anything but dip and drink.

I will never carry a filter again though. Iodine takes care of my worries when I'm in doubt. I'd rather be fishing or relaxing than spending 15 minutes by the lake pumping water while being eaten by mosquitos.

I've done it both ways and at least in the Sierras it's safe to drink directly from the streams and leave that pound of filter at home.”

“I've heard of people intentionally getting parasitic worms at the start of their trips. The idea being that the parasite cops all the nasties and sorts 'em out for you. Then at the end of the trip you take the drugs which knock off the worms.

Anybody willing to give it a shot.

(Theme from X-Files comes on in background. In corner something slithers across the floor. I turn to see what the noise is and...................

I AM FLUKE MAN, TAKE ME TO YOUR AMEOBA!”

“I wouldn't try it, Bunyip, antiparasitic drugs are not candy.”

“I've heard of people ingesting parasites to help fight autoimmune diseases. The theory being that our immune systems are overdeveloped for the reduced parasite load humans in developed countries carry, and the immune system turns on its own body out of boredom, I guess.

An intriguing theory, but also possibly a load of crap, so to speak.”

“When i was in Africa I did not take medication when I got the runs, because the misionaries i lived with said it would be better for me to let it run its course and become imune to the parisite i picked up. Of course we were very care ful to keep me hyrdrated. It lasted a week, but i did not get sick again. Incidently now that i am back in the states, i have not gotten sick near as much as i used too. Africa made my imune system very tough. You imune system is capible of alot, its just that Americans take to many drugs and dont give the imune system a chance. Yes many children die overseas of diareah, but those are children. Their imune systems have not beeen built up.
I would not recomend drinking contaminated water though, unless you know how to keep yourself healthy. There are some things that one should not try, just for the adventure of trying it.”

“Well, people who suffer from intestinal worms don't have allergy problems. The immune mechanisms for both are the same. Personally, I'd rather have the allergies.”

“If 4 out of five people suffer from diarrhea, does that mean the other one enjoys it?

Here is a quiz on the water issue. What is the one development that has contributed the most to the longer life spans in the western world?

Answer: Plumbing. Ya, they used to through their sewage into the street and they died at the old age of 35 or so. Clean water is a big deal. I get plenty of exposure to “bugs” without doing it intentionally.”

“I don't think you can become immune to Giardia, especially since it's a parasite. I have heard though that the rates of colon cancer in developing countries are much lower then in developed nations because the intestinal parasites keep the intestinal tract at livable conditions for themselves and kind of scrub it out.”

“It is perhaps more likely that people in developing countries die long before they have a chance to get colon cancer.”

“You go ahead and drink untreated water. We'll call it 'population control'.”

“The latest Wilderness research shows that the biggest source of giardia in backcountry water supplies is not wildlife.

It is not cattle.

It is not packhorses.

It is human backpackers.”

“Yeah, right!”

“I just got done reading Jardine's book, Beyond Backpacking. In it he touts how he built up an immunity to all the nasties that can be found in natural water supplies prior to treatment from drinking small amounts of water and then increasing consumption. He says he now he doesn't have to treat water anymore. I just find that really hard to swallow. The guy has done a lot of trail miles and appear to have a good amount of experience but I'm thinking he was just lucky. I've had drinks from mountain streams before when it was an area the showed all signs of being pristine but I wouldn't make it a regular habit. I almost always filter or boil my water.”

“As is Ray's hypocritical way he now uses a gravity filter. What a putz.”

“Giardia is a parasite, not a bacterium or virus. Repeated exposure does not build up immunity to parasites. The body does not work that way.”

“"Several observations indicate that partially protective immunity may develop to Giardia."

Mandell, Bennet and Dolin, Principles and Practice of Infectious Disease, 5th ed., 2000, p. 2889.

The key phrase is "partial".”

“I think it's stooopid... the chemical method is light! Filters are light compared to the feeling of hiking when your bowels are complaining...

if you wanna be radically ultralight be like Marvy, drink your pee out of your foil hat”

“up north, nunavut, i drank straight from the lakes and rivers every day, back in the day i drank straight from the lakes of the bw, and yes, i'd rather drink contaminated water than go dehydrated, i'm still alive, someday it might catch up with me, but so far i'm doing great.

Maybe this fits into the survival of the fittest thread, is it really ultralight to cut off a few ounces of purification... after all of us "non-purifiers" get killed off, maybe that will teach ya, filter your water.

As for immunity, go for it, take your chances and get the bugs, mmmm, nothing like sitting in the woods... you know how the story goes.

For the questionable water, i go for a filter, otherwise, i don't like the hastle, it's them beavers that get ya every time. As long as i'm still alive...

famous last words”

“Timing is everything.

Just got back from a checkup. I asked my doctor about giardia and the notion that you can build up immunity. He laughed. He told me about twenty percent of the population in giardia endemic areas already have the bug and are asymptomatic. It's not immunity, some people are infected and just don't have the diarrhea and cramping, but they are still infected. Eventually your body will react and you will be sick for several months.”

“Hmmmm....it's starting to sound like time for me to post the Parasitology 101 Giardia Llamblia lecture once again. What say ye kids, want a bedtime story to bore you to tears?”

“In a new country I eat and drink as carefully as possible, inevitably I get the Kathmandu Quickstep. The runs aren't always because of parasites, things like a different E Coli can cause Delhi Belly. Eating local foods helps your body achieve a type of resistance. Taking broad spectrum Anti-Boitics also kills the good bugs in your system increasing the risk of illness from something else.

Giardia is a delightful little tummy bug compared to Amoebic Dysentery.”

“If I leave the filter at home, how much more toilet paper do I have to carry?”

“Try the giardia weightloss plan.

Guaranteed to drop off those pounds.”

“I can provide you with a way to cut down trail weight fast (without givign up a frame pack, water filter, food or any gear essentials), but it'll cost ya an arm and a leg.”

“Or you could just kill yourself, get cremated and have someone carry all ten pounds of you.”