Natural Water Filtering Technique

Seems that banana peels can alleviate the itch from mosquito bites, too, I just heard.

Miguel, I was told about their itch relieving properties when I had a bad case of poison ivy. Not entirely sure they work, but I did smell good for a few days.

-Will

I am not a very frequent hiker, but I get a feeling that people in the US freak out over water filtration too much. For God's sake, I have seen people refuse to drink tap water in major European countries. Major or minor country, the tap water is safe EVERYWHERE in Europe.

Got back from Patagonia recently, and some of the people I was traveling with had qualms about drinking from the streams even there. So my question is — with all the hoopla and $100 water filtration gadgets, is there real evidence that one needs to worry about water in mountain streams in the US? I will drink out of most that look clean without second thought, have not had an "incident" yet.

I don't know why, but people have very strong opinions about water treatment, for example:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=43422

"I don't know why, but people have very strong opinions about water treatment"

Part unfounded fear and part well founded caution in many areas. If you have ever had Giardia, or it's big brothers, Bacillary and Amoebic Dysentery, you will tend to error on the side of caution. Bacillary Dysentery in particular comes on pretty rapidly and will put an end to your trip in short order. Amoebic Dysentery takes a bit longer to develop but, let me tell you from personal experience, you don't want to go there. Fortunately, neither of these pathogens is a threat in US mountain areas, to my knowledge. They do need to be taken into account when travelling in certain areas overseas.

Not going to do anything for bugs though. The banana peels just act as a chelating agent for metal ions.

Cheers

Banana is a great remedy for Giardia also. Had a dog with it one time and after months of vet treatment and no results a friend of mine from Pakistan told me that they use bananas as a cure. Sure enough after two weeks of getting banana chips as treats the bus were gone never to return. Luckily I have not had to test this method on myself. Amen Aqua Mira.