Water Filter for Denali NP

AQUATABS WATER TREATMENT or MSR GUARDIAN PURIFIER when you are not in a snow environment.

steripen

Does anyone have any experience with the MSR Sweetwater Siltstopper?  Would it work inline with a Sawyer filter in a gravity set up?  MSR says it is a 25 micron Filter size.  Is that sufficient for taking out the silt before it hits the filter?  Are there other prefilters that others are using and recommend? Thanks,

Matt

I’d do UV with a SteriPen after letting it settle a bit.  If you have the water capacity overnight, add a small pinch of alum (available at some grocery stores in the spice or canning section and certainly at Fred Meyers in ANC or FAI) for quicker, more complete settling.

And I’d have Aquamira or iodine tablets as back-up, although the wait times are quite long with our cold water up here.

You know you’ll be off trail and often getting your feet wet?  I’d suggest Crocs for camp and an extra pair of dry socks to sleep in.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

David, I had read that advice before.  I think it was from you on an old thread.  What do you use for a lightweight vessel to hold water overnight to settle?  My concern with this strategy is that I’ve read that UV isn’t particularly effective if you don’t settle it before hand because the particulates in the water can block prevent complete UV exposure to all of the water and contaminates.  That would mean that each night you would have to collect all of the water that you will need for the next day and then carry it with you.  I do plan to carry aquamira tabs as a backup but prefer not to use chemicals unless necessary.

I think footwear could be a whole other thread, but yes I’m aware that we’ll be off trail and getting wet.  I’ve been considering/debating camp shoes, hiking socks, sleeping socks, liner socks, goretex socks, neoprene socks, or all of the above.

If I have marginally cloudy water (I can still see through it), then I’ll use the SteriPen but zap it one more time.  Versus, say, Colorado River water which, yes, you absolutely need to let settle prior to UV treatment (and are taking some chances to use chemical treatment on very turbid water).

The lightest, largest overnight water containers are a tarp or trash bag lining a pit in a gravel bank.  That can easily hold several gallons of water.   The deeper you make it, the easier it is to scoop clear water (slowly!) from the top without distributing the sediments at the bottom.  Smaller would be a gallon freezer bag, stored vertically overnight prior to gently decanting the clear water from the top.

Also, if you look at side streams or puddles out of the main stream flow, you can often find sources of clear water, even when you’re in glacial areas.

For water collection, I have been using the 10 liter Sea to Summit bucket. It’s light, collapsible when empty, and very sturdy. It can tip over if you don’t find a level place to set it down, but with a little practice it’s easy to use. I then let it sit overnight and then scoop from the top with a cut plastic bottle, which fits around my Steripen. For tundra ponds I scoop, then pour through a bandana, then Steripen.

I just avoid glacial water, and use a steripen, and bring aqua mira as a backup  – I think most of the areas in Denali are going to have silt free water if you look around and select your campsites well.  I haven’t had any issues with “teakish” tundra pond water using the steripen (knock on wood) though some times it is a bit disturbing to see mosquito larva  (or other “big”-ish water bugs) swimming around in my water bottle after zapping it.

Have a great trip, Denali is a wonderful place!

Water filter is one thing I do not skimp on, go big with the Guardian by MSR

Thanks everyone for the recommendations.  The MSR Guardian is both heavier and more expensive than I was hoping for.  I am considering getting a Steripen for the trip if it seems like that will be safest option.

I’ve also been looking into building a prefilter for the Sawyer squeeze.  Has anyone done this successfully?  And does anyone know what pore size would be needed to filter out most silt particles to protect the Sawyer filter?

I have lived and backpacked in Alaska now for 13 years. I’m currently using a Katadyn BeFree but had used a Sawyer prior. The glacial silt will clog filters but that’s over some time, not 5 days. I think you’ll be fine with any of the lightweight filters. Have fun!