Dozens of hikers became ill during trips to waterfalls near the Grand Canyon

Yeah, that does not sound like fun.  And your water filter will remove bacteria, but not viruses.

I thought you don’t have to worry about viruses in the U.S.

A steripen would have worked

A steripen would have worked

Maybe not… if transmission was by hand contact. Norovirus is extremely contagous… person to person… it does not have to be in the water…

good point

re-reading that article – they tested some of the water and found no virus and they speculated it was from not washing hands

I have a solution – stay away from other people : )

Not worrying about viruses in the backcountry pretty much assumes an otherwise low population of fellow humans who are hopefully disposing of Easter properly.  In the US for backpacking that tends to be higher ground which historically wasn’t developed much.  If bike touring or bikepacking (often lower elevations) I’d probably consider a water purifier for viruses, bacteria, and many chemicals if not boiling.

Along the PCT track to the east of I-5, there’s Deep Creek that sees city visitors coming into that valley from either side via informal pay parking lots.  Many splash and lounge in the pools staying overnight (even though illegal), along with backcountry users.   There’s no privy and who knows what often intoxicated users are leaving behind.

I try to filter on springs upstream to be on the safe side.

That said hand-washing is a must.  Think many believe that hand sanitizer will do the trick.  (file under nope)

Not washing your hands is another way to get sick. Hot spots of Noro on the PCT and AT are common. Hand sanitizer does nothing for that. Small dropper of soap goes a long way.

GI disorders among rafting groups who are on the River for 2 to 3 weeks improved a lot when the NPS required certain steps (“groovers” to haul out all solid human waste and wash stations placed where you return from the groover to the main camp with a water supply and foot-operated water pump so you can do no-touch soap & water handwashing and then use a hand sanitizer.  And, rafters becoming aware of the importance of those steps police each other, “Everyone wash their hands before meal prep / dinner.”