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It is nearly impossible to carry enough water for long trips, or you may find yourself running out of water, even on daytrips, depending on the temperature and difficulty. There are a few easy ways to avoid complications with drinking water when traveling in the outdoors. All bodies of water should be considered unsafe to drink, mainly do to the presence of the Giardia parasite. Below are four steps you can take to be safe.

• Boil stream water for at least 10 minutes before ingesting.
• Instead of boiling, you can treat your water with iodine tablets.
• There are companies that manufacture water filters allowing you to draft water from a creek and filter out Giardia and other bacteria and parasites.
• On a final note, keep you water bottles and canteens clean. Water left inside a container, if exposed to even a little light, can produce microbes. Sanitize with a mixture of water and baking soda or vinegar, allowing to soak for several minutes. This can be done at home before leaving on your trip.

There are two articles you may be interested in, which are "Purification vs. Filtration - Filtering Fact From Fiction" and Cold Sweat - How Winter Conspires to Dehydrate You."

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