 If anyone should know the answer to my question it will be you OM-ers.
Firstly, I'll restrict the question from 'Lakeland' generally to the Langdale Pikes and nearby ridges because that's the area I'll be walking next. There are a fair few sheep and, often, quite a lot of people up there.
In the past I've always carried drinking water but my trips are getting longer and I'm also constantly seeking to reduce the weight I carry.
I've read conflicting advice online (and also been given conflicting advice on the ground) about the safety and/or danger of drinking water straight from natural sources on the fells. Opinions have ranged from "Oh you can drink as much as you like from any tarn or gill" to "Drinking untreated water will give you Weils Disease, liver flukes, and E-coli - you'll be ill within hours". I suspect the truth is somewhere between the two.
There does, however, seem to be a widespread view that it's not advisable to drink untreated water from the lower tarns (Easedale Tarn, Stickle Tarn etc) or their outflows. But what about springs, gills and tarns above, say, 1600-1700 feet?
I am not worried about hot drinks or cooking waterbecause I carry a pocket rocket and kettle and can give the water a prolonged boil. I am more concerned about cold water to drink in the day. When I'm walking I drink little-and-often and get through a 500ml bottle hourly if it's warm weather. Obviously, even for a single overnight camp that would be too much weight to lug up from the valley and if I were to boil that quantity while on the hill I'd soon run out of gas.
Two other points. I'm not keen on using purifying tablets - I've never found any that didn't leave a distinctly unpleasant taste. And, on the plus side, I'm not prone to 'tummy upsets'.
So what are the dangers? What is the risk? Where are the safest sources and which sources are best avoided? What is your experience - what do you do for water on the Cumbrian fells?
|
 |
|
|
|
 I'd normall recommend a Travel Tap (I use one) but whilst walking the ridge mile (Crinkle Craggs to Bowfell) I stopped and drunk straight from the source below the Great Slab, purely because I had seen Julia Bradbury doing it 
|
|
I wouldn't drink untreated water from any tarn or pool in the Lake District these days, however high up it was. Drinking from streams should be ok, but, tbh, the Travel Tap is so easy to carry I normally use that just to be on the safe side.
|
|
ive always drank from the streams(20+years) and had no problem. however i was gill scrambling the other day and about to take a slurp when i looked up and saw a nicely bloated up ram face down in it! now, where did i put that tooth pick?
|
|
TBH, I hadn't really considered micro-filters, mainly because I'd imagined they were too bulky and too expensive. I was wrong! After perusing the recommendations above, I reckon a Drinksafe Travel Tap or Water Straw is the way to go. and that is reinforced by this thread As you've probably gathered, I'm a novice at backpacking and wild camping (though I've done a lot of car-camping and a fair bit of day walking) so I'm really grateful for all the help and information here on OM. I've picked up a lot of hints and tips and advice from these forums but, of course, the only real way to learn is to get out on the hill and do it.
|
|
 I've always drunk straight from streams with no problems at all, I do a visual check on the stream and drink from moving water above habitation. At the end of the day water treatment mostly consists of Filtration, aeration and UV treatment, all of which occur on the fells. I am sure I have told this story before but many years ago I had an OB group on wild camp for several days, I carefully checked the stream for 100m or so and declared it safe to drink. At the end of the camp we had some time left over before meeting the bus, as it was hot we did a bit of a gill walk only to find a dead sheep hiding behind a rock 110m up stream. Fortunately the group didn't associate the dead sheep with their drinking water and none of us suffered any ill effects. I stopped worrying about it after that Steve D
|
|
 I think a lot of people drink the water as it is and are fine but for me personally I would probably make myself feel ill even if I wasn't so as a precaution I use a drink safe thingy.I got the three in one filter, it comes with a tap adapter which will fit to most bottle necks so you can take a 500ml drink bottle and filter the water in to whatever you want. It can be used as an inline filter on a bladder too but I find the resistance a bit of a faff, when I'm thirsty I just want to quaff as much as much as possible. I'd normall recommend a Travel Tap (I use one) but whilst walking the ridge mile (Crinkle Craggs to Bowfell) I stopped and drunk straight from the source below the Great Slab, purely because I had seen Julia Bradbury doing it
Watch it you might end up pregnant like her
|
|
 I do on occasion amuse myself by trying to locate a spring or the sources of a small stream, that way you can drink quite safely without any filtration.
|
|
 Grandad used to say, fast flowing, over rock safe to drink. But I nearly always filter it and only take from high springs and inlets
|
|
My friend and I got caught out a few years back around the Langdale Pikes. It was hot and we were both carrying around 1.5 litres plus of water. In fact I think I was carrying nearly 2 litres. Despite that the heat was intense and we ran out of water and were very thirsty.
We were still high up, I'd say around 550 metres from memory so I found a small trickle running over rock and we filled up from that. We didn't have any ill effects but I wouldn't have taken and water from lower down.
Normally I try and carry enough water for the day. I used to be able to manage on say a litre for a day's walk but these days it's usually nearer 2 litres, once the temperature climbs above 70F.
|
|
_(165_x_185)aa.jpg) I live in lakes and often use the springs to drink from, as mentioned above I would not recommend drinking from pools, lakes and especially tarns. I always do a quick visual assessment and I always try to drink from where the spring exits the rock face.
You just need to have common sense but to be honest a filter system is best practice always.
If in doubt or doesn't feel right. Do do it.
There is nothing much worse than the "cooties"
|
| Edited: 09/07/11 13:30 |
If in doubt or doesn't feel right. Do do it.
|
|
