Water Treatment

One of the most important things during your mountaineering and trekking trips is to keep well hydrated. Safe drinking water is therefore essential. In remote or undeveloped areas, safe drinking water could be hard to get. The only water you might be able to get, could contain bacteria (such as e-coli, salmonella and cholera), viruses (which cause diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, meningitis, and polio) and protozoa (such as Giardia). All this stuff needs to be removed or destroyed to ensure that suspect water is safe to drink.

Water Purication Methods

Buying Bottled Water

Nowadays, you can buy almost everywhere in undeveloped countries bottled water. With buying water in bottles you will stimulate the local economy. Bottled water is compared to the water purication methods here mentioned below quite expensive.

NOTE:Always check the seal of the bottles you have bought - sometimes the bottles are filled with water from the local tap.

Boiling Water

Boiling water to kill all the germs etc. is a simple and very effective way to purify your drinking water. When you boil the water, boil it for at least 1 minute and an additional 1 minute for every 1000 feet you are above sea level. Boiling water is a time consuming and costly solution to clean your water. In addition it is not always practical (if you are away from camp) and the water could taste a bit flat.

Using Chlorine or Iodine Tablets/Droplets

Using chlorine or iodine tablets/droplets is a cheap and convenient method. Convenient because it is light and you only need 1 tablet/droplet for a liter of water. Note that using chlorine or iodine in cold or cloudy water, you might want to make the standing time longer or increase the dosage. Be aware that chlorine will not kill viruses and iodine does. After treating the water, it will taste after chlorine or iodine, but you can neutralize this by using special tablets. Note that you cannot use iodine for a longer period of time as it is a poison.This method is useful for travellers who only need to treat water occasionally. Trekkers on short treks. Iodine/Chlorine tablets or droplets always come in handy as a back-up to other methods.

Using a Bottle Purifier

A bottle purifier is very effective to purify your water. This method is very economical for long term use, quick and convenient. It is as bulky as a normal cycle-type drinking bottle. The carbon element designs remove chemicals and tastes (inc. iodine). An disadvantage is that a bottle purifier does have high initial costs.A bottle purifier is practical for travellers and trekkers on longer trips, when bottled water is unobtainable, and boiling is impractical.

Microfilter

This method has similar advantage as the bottle purifier. However it is not 100% effective against viruses. So if you suspect viruses, then it should be used in conjunction with iodine. In addition it is heavier and bulkier than the bottle purifier because it contains a ceramic element that can break.A microfilter purifier is suitable for trekkers and backpackers on long expeditions or travels who want a long term method of water purification.

Below are some samples:

Trekking Poles

Part of the standard equipment of a mountaineer, trekker or a backpacker are trekking poles. Especially when you are in the hills or the mountains trekking poles are essential.

Benefits of using Trekking Poles

You might wonder why you need them...That is why we have put the benefits here below for you:

• Trekking poles improve your balance and stability, especially on uneven terrain or when carrying heavy loads.
• Trekking poles reduce stress on your lower body by letting your arms take some of the strain. This means that using trekking poles could save you a lot of energy. It has been calculated that during an 8 hour day, a pair of poles can relieve the strain on your knees by 250 tonnes!.
• Trekking poles help you to improve your breathing and walking rhythm, thus helping make better use of energy.

What you need to know before buying Trekking Poles

Most poles are very similar in terms of basic design and features. Some common features are listed here below:

• All trekking poles are lightweight and made of strong aluminium alloy.
• Most of the trekking poles have 3 telescoping sections. This in order for the users to make them customized to their own height and/or different types of terrain. Another advantage is that the trekking poles can be packed down quite short for transportation.
• The trekking poles have a straight ski-pole type grip. These are usually made of durable, grippy, and shock absorbing rubber.
• Look for an adjustable wrist loop. These come in very handy as it will safe you a lot of energy because it transfers the load off your hands onto the wrists.
• All trekking poles have a replaceable tungsten carbide tip, for durability and grip on rock.
• A small basket goes together when you buy your trekking poles. These are designed to stop the pole sinking into soft ground or mud. If these pole baskets wear out - then you can easily buy replacements for them.

Very fancy trekking poles are designed to be anatomic and anti-shock. Anatomic models feature grips that are bent forward by about 15 degrees, reducing stress on the wrist by keeping it in a more neutral position during use. The disadvantage of this design is that it does not pack down as small as the regular trekking poles.

Anti-shock models feature built-in shock absorbers to increase user comfort. These trekking poles are heavier and more expensive.

Below are some examples:

Mt. Halfcon ( Unfinished Climb in Mt. Halcon)

Hanging Bridge over Carayrayan River

Ang simula at katapusan ng iyong paghihirap sa Mt. Halcon.

Kailan lang ay nagtungo ang aming grupo sa Mt. Halcon, ang ikatlo o ika-apat na mataas at pinakamahirap daw akyatin na bundok dito sa 'pinas. Pero sadya yatang namimili ito ng mga taong paaakyatin sa summit, dahil sa masamang panahon at ilang mga pangyayari ay di namin nagawang marating ang tuktok ng Halcon. Napilitan kaming magpalipas ng dalawang gabi sa Aplaya campsite, malapit sa Dulangan river, walang humpay na buhos ng ulan ang aming ininda.

Mt. Halcon Summit as seen in Balugbog Baboy

Ang pinakamimithi ng lahat

Ito sana ang aming pupuntahan kung kami ay pinahintulutan lang ng pagkakataon at ng inang kalikasan. Bagama't di namin ito narating ay naging masaya pa rin ang bawat isa, kahit paano. Nariyan ang sandamakmak na river crossing, flood crossing, mud slide, land slide, halos walang tigil na ulan at syempre pa, ang paborito ng lahat: LIMATIK. Tunay na masasabing ang mountaineering ay " the art of suffering" pagkatapos mong akyatin hanggang summit. Tulad ng napagkasunduan ng mga sumama dito, muli tayong babalik upang muli ay subukang akyatin ang Mt. Halcon.

Para sa kabuuan ng kwento.... Our short story