You came home on a sunny hot day, feeling extreme thirst that you had just crossed the Sahara and a pack of desert wolves was behind you. Opening the faucet and getting fresh water quenches your thirst, and there is nothing else to do it. But how can you get clean water in the forest? If you are into camping and spending time in the forest, staying hydrated and getting clean water is essential. Tahoe Springs Water brings you all the tips and points you need to know to get clean water in the forest and ensure your hydration.
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What are the ways to get clean water in the forest?
Staying hydrated is essential, and it doesn’t matter where you are. Whether you are at the peak of the mountain Everest, in the hottest deserts of Africa, or just behind your desk in the office makes no difference. You have to drink enough water every day and stay hydrated.
However, staying hydrated in the wild or a forest is a bit difficult as it’s hard to get clean water. You may not access a clean source of water, so you’d better know the ways to get clean, healthy water.
Bring your source of water.
You’d better not try Bear Grylls’s survival skills unless you really have to. Staying alive in nature without resources is a skill that not everyone has it. Also, it depends on various factors. Not everyone can stand hunger and dehydration. Such people are trained and have spent a lot of time in nature. They are used to such conditions. It’s not it’s impossible to implement them and stay alive in nature. But, better to be safe than sorry. If you are determined, do your homework and learn the required skills.
If you are going to spend some time in nature, you’d better bring your water. Depending on the period you will stay in the area, you can bring clean, healthy bottled water to ensure your hydration.
This is particularly important if you want to explore an area you have never visited or do not know anything about. You do not know whether there are water resources in this region or not. And if yes, are they healthy and clean to drink?
You would better do research about the area you want to visit. Determine the available rives and whether they are safe to drink or not. Also, ask the people who have visited the area that weather water has caused allergies for people or not. Safety measures are necessary.
Moreover, a river or lake could become polluted, and you are not aware. If an animal dies in the flow of the water, its corpse can contaminate the water. This is the case when you want to go hiking in an area you know well or have already spent time there.
You can distribute the bottles of water between people, and they ensure hydration regularly. Also, you can put the extra bottles in your camp side and reach them when you run out of them.
If you want to spend one-day mountain climbing or hiking in nature, you can bring your water sources with 2-3 bottles. But they must be enough to ensure your hydration throughout the day.
Hydration is essential before, during, and after walking.
Springs from under the ground.
If you can find a spring mountain water that water comes from the under the ground, it’s often clean and healthy. But you should always be safe than sorry, ask the local rangers or hikers whether it’s safe or not and try to find the water sources they recommend.
One thing you can do is to hide for a few minutes in a palace and see if the animals drink this water or not. If yes, then the water could be safe for you to drink.
Boil water in nature.
If you do not access clean, healthy water in nature or are not sure about its safety, the one simple way is to boil it. It’s useful, and boiling water can kill “almost everything.”
You should know about gastrointestinal infection (gastroenteritis). It’s a type of infection that is caused by a virus, bacteria, or parasite and causes stomach pain or watery diarrhea. It’s common in nature if you drink contaminated water.
If there are gastrointestinal pathogens in water, they are highly sensitive to heat. They can be killed by boiling water.
How long do you have to boil water?
According to EPA, you would better boil water at “212 F and then keep it boiling for at least one full minute.” this is enough to kill bacteria, viruses, or any other contaminants.
If you go mountain climbing and it is 5,000 feet (1,000 meters), you should boil water for at least 3 minutes.
After you boil water, remember that you have to store it in a clean bottle. Make sure the bottle you use is safe and clean.
Disinfecting water.
In case there is no access to clean water and boiling is not an option, you can disinfect water with “chemical disinfectant,” according to CDC. the things you can use to do so are unscented
- household chlorine bleach,
- iodine,
- or chlorine dioxide tablets.
Using these disinfectants is helpful in getting the water you need for the short term. It can kill the diseases caused by bacteria and viruses and most disinfectants. But CDC indicates that it’s not as effective as boiling water.
The essential point to remember is that if the water is contaminated with harmful chemicals or radioactive material, adding disinfectants is not helpful and will not make water drinkable.
Disinfecting Tablets.
There are some tablets you can purchase and keep in your backpack to make disinfect water. They can work well and be effective, but they have limits and features.
They have a different shelf life, and you must be careful when using them. If you keep them for the long-term in your pack-back, ensure the shelf life is not expired. You should check your backpack regularly.
If you are allergic or suffer from a particular health condition, you should consult with your doctor before using these tablets. For instance, if you are expecting, or suffer from thyroid issues or shellfish allergies, ask your doctor whether it’s safe to use disinfecting tablets or not.
The taste of disinfecting tablets might not be that good, and this is a feature you should be careful about. The flavor might prevent or discourage you from drinking enough water, and it could lead to dehydration. It’s dangerous and can end in serious health issues. It is particularly important to drink enough water in nature and ensure your hydration. You lose more water as you work out and sweat a lot.
Making your own filter.
If none of the above ways is available, you can build your own filter, but this must be your last option. The filter you make can not kill any harmful bacteria or viruses and just purifies the items you see. So it is not that reliable. You java seen some of these filters or gears made in documentaries, but they are for emergencies.
You might have seen making these filters with charcoal-filled pants or flexible hose, glue, and a chunk of pine sapwood, but they are the last option in highly sensitive emergencies. You would better consult with your doctor about trying them if you hike a lot or spend a lot of time in nature.
Filtration or purification pumps.
You might have seen this option in your camp. These instruments provide you with filtered water through their mechanism.
They squeeze water through ceramic or charcoal filters and treat it with chemicals. If the head of the camp or a ranger approves using them, you can get water from them and drink. But you would better rely on clean, healthy water for the long term.
The diseases are caused by drinking contaminated water.
If you drink contaminated water, you can get some diseases, and it is faster than eating contaminated food. This is because water is digested and absorbed by the body faster than food. The following diseases are common if you drink contaminated water;
- Dehydration.
- Nausea.
- Diarrhea.
- Gastrointestinal problems.
- Intestinal or stomach aches and pains.
- Intestinal or stomach cramping.
- In severe cases, death.
Signs of dehydration in nature.
How to know you are dehydrated? Well, look at the signs of dehydration. Recognizing the signs of dehydration in nature is essential. When you get dehydrated behind your desk, the first bottle of clean water is a few seconds away. But in nature, you might have to walk for a few hours to get clean, healthy water, and your water source runs out.
As there is no access to healthy water and medical care, you have to be more careful of the signs of dehydration in nature;
- Feeling thirsty more than usual.
- Not visiting the bathroom on a regular basis.
- Very dark urine.
- Feeling tired and fatigued.
- A dry mouth
- Rapid heartbeat and breathing
- Feeling dizzy or light.
- Fever and Chills.
- Confusion.
- Sunken eyes or dry eyes.
The bottom line on getting clean drinking water in the wild.
Staying hydrated is essential, and it becomes more important when you are in nature. You have to drink enough water every day, and the palace you are in doesn’t matter. But as you might lose more water in nature and the work out is intense, you have to keep a close eye on your hydration.
The article brought you ways to ensure you access clean, healthy water in the wild.
As explained, the best way to ensure hydration in the wild is to bring your water. Now that you are looking for a water source to fill your bottle, Tahoe Springs Water provides you with the best options; alkaline water, spring water, and purified drinking water. We have provided the best water options to local residents since 1994.
Give us a call at +702-903-1433 and order your water option now. Ensure your hydration and health with us.