Water Filtration! Trail Testimonials From Tina Currin

Like lots of people, my very first thru-hike was also my very first extended backpacking trip. Sure, I had gone on weekend trips and car camped like a boss, but I never went anywhere for long enough that I couldn’t haul in water. Water’s one of those things that’s somehow free and everywhere, but also so routinely pumped and packaged that it almost seems untouchable. Like, surely you can’t just scoop it up from the ground, right? What’s the point of all of those brands and bottles, then? Isn’t drinking from some random stream just asking for literal Liquid Death?

I started the Appalachian Trail equipped with two trusty Smartwater bottles and, strangely, a Steri-Pen. Here’s a picture of my very first water source. “Look, we’re DRINKING from a STREAM,” I said, like this hasn’t literally been happening for millions of years. From then on, I always carried two full bottles over dozens of miles and water crossings, never once stopping to consider what was literally at my feet.

Continue reading to learn more about water filtration, written by Tina Currin.