Camping Water

Keep in mind that everything you leave behind in the woods will eventually get into the water system. So, hey, leave as little as possible and make it as difficult as possible for it to get into the water. The ground is the best filter available so use it by following these basic guidelines.

 

Campsite Selection

Selection of your campsite is critical. Real outdoors dudes don't just hike in, plop down their packs, and toss up a tent on the easiest spot they see. You should drop your pack and take 15 or 20 minutes to hike around the area looking for the best available spot. Here's some guidelines to remember for minimizing water pollution:

There is a lot more involved in choosing a good campsite. See the perfect campsite selection page at CampingDude.com for the long list.

 

Toilet

Since human fecal waste is packed full of just the thing we don't want in our water or our bodies, disposing of it is extremely important for camping sanitation. Use these backcountry guidelines and you should be ok:

 

Cooking

Some folks rely on the boiling of cooking water to make it potable. Smart dudes still filter all the water they use to actually remove stuff instead of just kill stuff. But, as long as you boil it long enough and add enough salt, it should be ok. Just make sure you are actually boiling it and not just heating dried food.
Wash your hands before doing anything around food. Use a hand sanitizer after washing off the dirt. Hand sanitizers by themselves don't clean your hands, they just kill germs.
After your meal (mmmmm, that was good!) you need to clean up which probably means using water to wash. Keep these things in mind to minimize your pollution and hassle:

It would be way cool if you minimize the impact you have in the wilderness and these steps should help you do that. I'll sure appreciate your efforts the next time I hike through the same wilderness and I promise that I'll be doing what I can to make it nice for the dudes that come through after me.

Wilderness Water Supply


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