What about small tarns.
Would people still risk those when theres no other water about?
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What about small tarns.
Would people still risk those when theres no other water about?
Fellfarer, general rule of thumb is to pick up fast flowing water from streams; where it is tumbling (bubbling) over/down rocks. Thus the water is well aereated/oxygenated, which should kill most bacteria.
A chemist friend tells the tale of when he was teaching at a special needs school in central Scotland and had taken a group of kids wild camping in the Highlands. One night they camped at the foot of a waterfall, from which they drew their drinking water. The next morning they struck camp and walked upstream. 100 yards above the waterfall was the putrifying carcass of an old stag. No-one took any harm!
I would certainly be dubious about drinking from the peaty/brackish becks in Bowland. Although some mighty be fast flowing, not may 'tumble' over any significant falls or rocks. Plus around the 'gullery' on Ward's Stone you have the droppings from the gulls (at night) which spend the day feeding on the council tip at Salt Ayre. Also, Brennand Tarn is a staging point for migrating geese. A late friend ( RIP Pete ) who was a member of Bowland Pennine MRT, once drank from Brennand Tarn - vommitting and the trots and bed-ridden for 3 weeks - the bed of the tarn is reputedly solid goose droppings!!!
You should be able to find plenty of running water on the Cumbrian Traverse.
I have always drunk from streams, ideally fast flowing over rocks as mentioned, and never had any trouble.
I've always happily drunk from the becks, though I try to use those that flow from remote ground (i.e. no one goes there so little chance of any contamination), or that issue from a marsh or such (moss is a great filter).
A small gentle flow from a marsh is fine in my book. ( I used one such on the descent from Grey Knotts to Honister the other day)
I've Never drunk from a tarn, wouldn't risk it.
I would say that just now the fells are very dry, with many small streams dried up.
So there may be long sections of the CT that have little to offer, those long ridge runs.
One source I've used in the past is just the Eskdale side of Esk Hause, where a couple of streams issue straigh out of the marsh ground, you need to stay left of the path and drop a little. Can't say whether there is anything there at the moment though....
If I were you I'd take a good few bottles with you, ones that you can refill when you get the chance. They don't all need to be full at the start. As you run you'll get a sense of how much you need and you can judge how many to fill when the opportunity arises.
The long ridge sections will be dry and your opportunities will be the climb out of Wrynose, Esk Hause south, probably off Great End also. dropping in to Honister (if needed), across to High Spy.
I think we were chatting on the green in Elterwater on Saturday over our beers.
Good luck on Sunday.
I'd agree with WD, pretty much spot on. Avoid any Tarn that has regular campers by it, The BMC used to have a page on it's site with warnings about the water quality(health hazard) of some of the Lakeland Tarns. Water flowing in should be ok and avoid any water course that has livestock grazing regularly(mainly Valleys).
The spring by the Start of Billys Rake was only just dribbling last week and we eventually filled about 5 bottles from it with no consequences. I've drunk water direct from various streams and springs for 20+ years with no effect.
My team-mate for this years Rab MM, takes medication which reduces his immune system. Any recommendations for water purification.
I used this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-TRAVEL-TAP...item4ce9ba646e
The travel tap purifier. The flow rate is VERY slow however, so it took me about 10 minutes to squeeze out a litre for drinking. My mate, who is not so fussed use Chlorine tabs.
As I was on stomach tablets, I really didn't want a stomach problem and this didn't add any taste
Steripen, expensive though.
Chlorine are of only limited value. for best results use iondine tablets but the water must be clear. they are in effective in cloudy water. also check with doctor first as they can can problems with people with some medical conditions. Make sure you only use in measured dose.
1 tab per litre bottle.
tks all
Katadyn bottle... I used it in the Himalayas... you can put any water into it AND use immediately!!!
I used to sell these. certainly the best pence per litre of most micro filters but they are not light or cheap and need looking after, it is possible to break the ceramic filter if it is dropped heavilyQuote:
Originally Posted by Hanneke
Loads of people do this, and it's talked about on here quite a lot. I just wondered if anyone ever got sick from doing it? My father in law has always told me to be careful doing it in case there's a dead sheep or something upstream, that's always stuck with me and made me less likely to do it. I'm just curious if anybody else has similar thoughts or if it's just me.
Anyone?
Some say drink higher up the stream, guess it's just pot luck, drunk from many a stream round Calderdale and never been sick. Lakeland streams are the nicest tasting ones. And any stream first thing in a morning is an excellent hangover cure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Furness
I suppose statistically it can happen. I once heard of someone who picked up version of Scrapie by drinking from a stream. I don't think that would stop me.
I've no problem with it at all. Just make sure you are upstream of any human habitation and do a quick check for animal corpses upstream.
Our domestic water supply is direct from a ground spring and we don't bother treating it. Also the farm where I grew up had its own private, untreated, water supply. Never had any illness. I think many people are becoming too alienated from their environment see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis , the problem is balancing exposure to bacteria etc and the risks they undoubtedly present with being able to develop resistance.
Scrapie? That's the sheep version of BSE and hasn't been known to be transmitted to humans. Sounds like an urban myth to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark L
I drink from steams lots- although must admit to only using ones with more than a trickle of what looks like fairly clean and moving water. Got very desperate last weekend on H Fling but waited until found something I was happy with. No matter how careful you never know- drank my fill once and then founf dead sheep 50m upstream- promptly threw up, so perhaps that saved me! Must admit to prefering Scotland and empty places compared to some parts of the Lakes.
A friend did get ill- doctor said if he worked with food he would have had to sign him off for a fortnight so suspect an ecoli related problem.
We've drunk some great water in the Lakes this spring on recces. I was always very cautious in the past but the good streams and springs taste better than council pop!
I drink from streams all the time, and to date have never been ill. Even once on Blubberhouses moor I drunk some slightly muddy water, but still was fine. Best way is to drink from a fast moving part.
I rarely carry water these days for runs on Dartmoor, preferring to drink and have a head-dunk in streams. Tastes awesome, and no sign of scrapie yet.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjMqMTUzmf0
No problems drinking from this Beauty:w00t:
I'm sure theres another thread with this same topic, but I've never any problems drinking water on the fells as long as it's flowing freely, avoid drinking water where farm animals are grazing, eg an enclosed field full of cattle with a stream flowing through it or close to outlet of a small tarn/lake where campers regular pitch up, some in the Lakes are full of nasty bacteria like Angle Tarn.
Likewise I've been drinking from streams for years and have never been ill. Obviously, use your common sense, but if you choose a fast flowing stream high up in the hills then you're unlikely to go wrong!
I think there is a thread elsewhere, I've been at the wrong end of getting water from the wrong part of a stream. If you do drink from a stream try and get good fast flowing water, which is preferably bubbly so you've got good oxygen content which can kill off a lot of the bacteria. And I would say if you can don't drink from the outlet of a tarn. When I was ill it was from water near the outlet of Griesdale Tarn, so there's another one to avoid, I would have thought Styhead would be another one to avoid, that seems popular with campers too.
We also have untreated spring water at home. However I think that the problem is that most people don't have much resistance because tap water is so pure these days. You can get poorly from drinking water contaminated by grazing animals but again you build up a resistance. I always drink fast flowing water on open fell and a tarn inlet rather than outlet. If you are camping its always worth walking up stream for a few hundred metres to have a look.
I drink from streams now and again, but I often carry a drink in case I don't come across a stream that looks ok. I usually go for water that's flowing out of that mossy stuff. I'm hoping it acts as a filter for bits of floaty crap, but I'm probably wrong.
I will say this though; real, uncontaminated/untreated water tastes much nicer than tap water.
For one moment I thought there might was going to be a suggestion that this wasn't appropriate on the lines of the "Passing Water" thread. ;)
I drink from streams all the time when I'm out. Ilkley Moor, Dales, Lakes, Scotland and the Alps.
Never had any problems and hope I never do. :D
I've been drinking from streams all my life & there's nowt wrong wi'me........wi'me......wi'me........wi'me........ ..wi'me
I think you're right. Like I said, such hearsay would never stop me, I drink from streams all the time and hav never been ill.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob
I had a bit of a dodgy tummy about 20 years ago (nothing too serious) after drinking from the stream at the back of Kirk Fell, just down from Black Sail pass. Since then I've always been a bit cautious about drinking from streams in the Lakes, and will do so only as a last resort. I have no such qualms in the Scottish Highlands though.
I drink from streams in Lancashire but wouldn't think of drinking from streams in Yorkshire.
More for us two-headed Yorkshireman then:thumbup:
I've often thought that the water in Lancashire is a bit cloudy, Boddingtons isn't it ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Grouse
If I'm in Lancashire (not often!) I always have a slash in a stream...:sneaky:
As others have already said, the water you choose to drink is probably key. Few things more off putting than drinking from a stream to spot a sheep relieving itself 20 yards upstream.
Personal hygiene is also worth considering on this subject, no good the water being beutifully clean if you've had a toilet stop and the bacteria are already on you. There is also the issue of scrabbling up a steep climb and grabbing a handful of animal toilet in the process.
All this said, I've never experienced any problems. Although if I go somewhere where there is more human/animal activity (the Lakes being a good example) I'll sometimes take a mini water filter (straw type) if it seems like a good idea!
In moments of thirst-induced delerium I've drunk from the South Forty Foot Drain in Lincolnshire, and also the river Wharfe near Ilkley (not in the same run!). Now there must have been some nasty stuff in there, but despite that I didn't have any trouble, and I haven't from drinking from anywhere else either. I wouldn't recommend the Forty Foot Drain though - tastes a bit funny. In fact the worst gut I've ever had came from eating a dodgy pie from a well known Keswick fish n' chip shop, but the rest of the Lakes seems fine.
Seconded. I'm happy to drink from streams rather than carry water in longer races but I'm always careful to rinse my hands off before using them as a cup to drink out of. Not had a problem yet but it may just be a matter of time. I drink from streams on Pendle as and when needed in training so maybe I'm used to them, although I've used streams in the Lakes and the Peaks also. I hate having to carry waterpacks as i find them very irritating to wear, esp in summer when I'm often down to shorts only. Our predecessors managed ok without chlorine, probably by knowing when and where to drink from and by having to do it every day.Quote:
Originally Posted by shaunaneto