My experience with a Sierra Club trip

“OK, I'm gonna pack with some Chicago area Sierra Club people at the friendly Yellow River State Forest in April. A "beginner's" trip.

Friday night will be camping in the car campground. Saturday night at the location where I met Crazy Mike and Evergreen.

Sharing food, which will be provided, as will stoves.

OK, so last night I had an "initial interview" with the trip leader. Making sure I had adequate equipment, etc.

Here is what blew my mind. I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT OF THIS... He said how there was no water near the camp the second night. I said, well there's a stream pretty close. (Mind you, it's a trout stream).

He said, Oh we wouldn't filter water from that, because it would include runoff from farm fields, which would include insecticides, herbicides, etc. And he said, filters work for bacteria, but not for that.

He said he will use a filter elsewhere, no problem, but not where there are farm fields with this kind of runoff.

I dunno, I guess this just threw me. I'd never thought of such a thing. I mean, sheeyat, this is probably in our water aquifer around here anyway... lol. j/k

Do you guys worry about this? I mean, by the same token, isn't this stuff in the corn and soybeans we eventually end up using in products? Of course, water is a more direct route.

I guess I also didn't like what it implied about our area farmers. Most that I know use conservation practices, like buffer strips of alfalfa, which stops the run of water.”

“Nitrates, lizs. Most water is OK, but nitrates cause problems, mainly in the long term. In the short term, I'd say "screw it" and drink up!”

“Yet another argument for organic farming.”

“Oh, however, he did say there was a nice swimming hole on this stream. So apparently he had no fear of being in what he otherwise considered baaaaaaaaad water.

(You can see I'm gonna be causing trouble on this trip, can't you?? LOL! When he said he uses this area near a bridge to teach people how to cross a stream, I said, "Oh yeah, I've mountain biked through the stream there. It's fun." LMAO!! Yep, I'll be big trouble!!)”

“I don't buy the pestiscides/herbicides fear this time of year. Most of that stuff degrades with time (outside). The nitrates from fertilizer and animal waste mess with your electrolites as it acccumulates in your body. but for a weekend it shouldn't hurt.”

“muckraker! rabblerouser!

Rouse That Rable, I say!”

“(or that Rabble, even...)”

“actually a filter with activated carbon would easily filter out such things as insectacides. nitrates are not filterable but won't hurt you. some fish can live indefinately in water high in nitrates.


just tell um charlton heston is your uncle and hero liz, they'll love ya!”

“There's usually more of it in the water runoff than on the food but Aero's right, most of that stuff degrades with time. It also degrades in the presence of sunlight. Plus most filters have carbon elements that trap many organic compounds such as pesticides anyway. I wouldn't worry about drinking it.”

“The trip is in early April. That could be when farmers are at the height of planting. Then again, it seems like those things aren't put on crops till at least May. They have to come up first.

I just didn't know I had so much to worry about other than factory hog farms!! **GASP** lizs<<”

“Juat more we are killing the environment and polluting the water anti farmer slander BS.

American farmers are the best in the world and maintain their land better than anyone else either.

However, he would have a valid point if the crops had just been sprayed with a pesticide........that day.”

“GO HOGS!”

“lol... lost part of that.

lizs< Just doesn't know the science behind the pollution.

I suppose I'm sounding like I'm not an environmentalist. I am. Hmmm... I am trying to think of all the tests the gov. runs on the Upper Iowa River. I know it's getting up here for coliform bacteria and e coli. But I guess I can't recall anything on nitrates. One would think trout fishing would be outlawed on Paint Creek (the stream in question) if there's such a problem.

Yes, there are steep hills along it, so there could be runoff. But many farmers practice the buffer strips method to help stop or slow runoff.

stratdewd..LOL! Yep, I'm sure they'll love me if I tell'em I love Heston. Hmmmm, wonder what they'll think of that NRA sticker on the Jeep. (which came with the Jeep. lol)”

“LOL!!

They'll think I'm a gun loving, mountain biking radical, showing up under the guise of caring for the environment just like Sierra Clubbers do. LOL! I'll have it covered from one end of the spectrum to the other!!!! LMAO!”

“Whoa now, I'm all in favor of conservation. I hink we all are her (or better be LOL) Don't take me wrong on that. It's just many things are made out to be much worse than they really are.”

“her = here”

“NE Ioway = backcountry farming practices in cleared rain forests near the Amazon.

NOT!

lol... exactly, humanpackmule!”

“I think it's horrible that the great Iowa rain forests are being clearcut!

LOL!”

“Here's a fun trick to do when you're with people you don't know, but who you know are very sensitive about the environment. Peel off a wrapper from a powerbar or whatever, and just toss it over your shoulder onto the ground like it's the natural thing to do. Guaranteed to get big laughs!”

“Old Chucky Heston sure cracks me up. Did you see the interview where he blamed the large number of gun-related deaths in this country on there being "so many people with different ethnic backgrounds"?

What a goober.”

“What stratdewd said. A carbon element in your filter is the ticket. I have used my Waterworks 2 everywhere with good results. Here in the Southeast, we have to put up with livestock (and people, probably) pissin' in the water supply in addition to agricultural chemicals. I have never experienced a problem. Suck it up, buttercup!!!”

“And another thing. Any water that will support trout can probably be drunk without filtering.”

“well , there's a peanut calling a legume brown”

“or, bring an orange and throw the peelings on the trail starting a raging debate as to whether it's OK to throw away biodegradable material!”

“Wish I could have met you! lol!!!”

“Go get 'em Lizs. I almost feel sorry for 'em!”

“You know if the water is heavily nitrogen ladden. There's green gunk everywhere.”

“Go Gettem Lizs, you can do it. Boy are they going to have their hands full with you.... Please post a trip report with pictures... :)”

“FÜcking sierra club, screw those tree hugging hippies. Drink up, Liz.”

“I gave the Sierra Club a $25 donation when I was in skool...they subsequently gave my name to every other moneygrubbing green organization out there, and I got trees of junk mail because of that save the tree organization. Never again will they see my ca$h.

Are there farmer fields upstream of where you'll be? Unless overland flow directly discharges water and fertilizers into the stream, the water from those sources most likely infiltrates into the ground and become somewhat filtered before it enters the stream. Ask him..."Does anybody eat the trout from that stream?"???”

“I think that fresh trout was on the menu for the second night! :-)”

“Camp Wendel campsite in the southwest corner of Yellow River State Forest is by a small pond that gets no agricultural run off.

Camp Schultz sraight south of the parking area is dry, but is still about a mile from the water at the trailhead.

Brown's Hollow Camp in the southeast corner is within a mile of Paint Creek a little over a couple miles from the trailhead water. Same with Hefferns Hill Camp due east of the trailhead parking.

Save the filtered water from Paint Creek for washing. Use the trailhead water for drinking. Its April, and you will not need excessive amounts of water like you would during the summer.

If the tree huggers get on your nerves, just burn your plastic trash in the campfire and watch the fun you stir up.”

“Yes, there are fields upstream, some situated on very steep hillsides. Heck, they're all upstream... Paint Creek enters the Mississippi probably within 2 miles.”

“BTW, nitrates won't kill you...yet. But long term exposure causes liver cancer. You're at more of a risk from eating barbequed foods than from agricultural runoff. You're also at more of a risk from nitrates when you fertilize your lawn.

I definitely wouldn't drink the water from a stream that flows through or near a housing subdivision.”

“This sounds like a hike that will be including a lot of newbies since they will be teaching you how to ford streams. With this in mind, there decision not to filter water from the creek probably has less to do with fears of contamination and more to do with the brainwashing and indoctrination of new recruits.”

“Crazy Mike car camping?”

“Hey prosecutor, next time you're around, let me know, will ya?? We'll be staying at Heffern... and yea, I've stayed in all the backpacking campsites you mentioned.

UH OH! Mentioning Crazy Mike and car camping in the same sentence. You're dead meat!! lol”

“Simple solution, use a purifier instead of a filter. First Need Deluxe fits the bill.”

“If the tree huggers piss you off, stay on the concrete.”

“Thats the plan, we're trying to push the concrete right into the wilderness. Does this mean we can count on you sending us concrete pavers a contribution?”

“No, that's more of a Republican thing: development and "growth" at all costs.”

“We only want development and growth where the return is greater than the cost. So the "at all cost" statement is not correct.”

“As long as someone else pays the price....”

“many good republicans leave acres and acres of parklike land in their developments without any houses on them. Places of fields and forest, ponds and sandy spaces where you can walk and ponder on the beauty of the environment around you.”

“you are so mixed up. They pay the price not only for themelves, but for the money grubbers around them seeking handouts but not willing to do the work.”

“Noooooooooo... Republicans aren't the champion moneygrubbers of modern times, LOL. Whatever they have they want MORE, and they don't care who pays for it. Return On Investment is GOD.

You can always email your representatives and tell them to stop subsidizing corporations.... especially the ones in which you own stock.”

“hey, that would be fine with me. But as long as our government is going to being hand out free money I don't see why the people making it and paying into the coffers shouldn't get some of it back.

My position is that the government should have less money to give away period.”

“I personnally love tree huggers :)
Of course that may be just me, since I am one myself. Or maybe its not the trees but the protesting and trouble we cause that I like so much.....”

“The difference between a developer and an environmentalist is that a developer wants to build a house in the woods and an environmentalist already has one.”

“We're giving away more money to the defense industry than will be taken in though taxation for a very long time.

Will your grandkids be ready to Pony Up? Or will they rescind their citizenship and haul ass to the Caribbean, LOL”