Finding and traveling with water

The most important thing you can bring on a trek is what will keep you alive: water. The ways to find water on the trail are well numbered as well as methods of carrying it. Questions arise such as how much do I take, how should I carry it, how do I make sure it's pure, and so on. In my opinion, you can't overdo water. However, it does get heavy and adds most of the weight to your pack. If your on a long trek, your not going to carry all the water you need, your going to collect water along the way. 

Methods of carrying it

The methods of carrying water vary greatly depending on how long your trip is, personal preference, climate, etc. If I'm only going on an overnight trek, I may bring a camelback and 2 Nalgene bottles and not even have to worry about finding water. 

I swear by camelbacks and water bladders. They take up very little room in your pack, they hold high volumes of water, and not to mention they are convenient. Most packs have a sleeve on the inside to put a water bladder in with some kind of hook to hold it in place and an access port for the tubing. I almost always use a camelback, even on day hikes. What I really like about them is I can have one in my pack for a long trek and after setting up camp, I can take the bladder out of the pack and put it in its own carrier for a day hike. If you get a brand like Camelback or Colman, you can find ones that have a fairly large carrier that work great for day hikes. 

The downside to water bladders is their susceptibility to freeze. When your bladder is in the pack, you can wrap some sort of insulation around it to keep it warm. There are also insulated sleeves that slide over the tubing. You can really insulate a water bladder for winter, but you always still have the risk of freezing. When temperatures drop below 0, it gets even harder to keep the water from freezing. The tubing is hard to insulate, even with an insulator. You can always blow the water back into he bladder after drinking, but still have some water in there that can freeze. I personally forgo the water bladder altogether in winter, but won't leave home without it in 3 seasons. 

When I hike, I like to also carry 2 Nalgene bottles and an aluminum bottle. When it comes to water bottles, there are several options to choose from. Camelback, Coleman, and Nalgene are some great brands to go with. You can also get collapsible water bottles like a Platypus. These are great; they are lightweight, roll up to small, packable size, and are great to carry when you plan to collect your own water. I am biased to Nalgene because they are durable and hold a lot of water. However, they are bulky and weighty. If you want to go on an ultralight trip or want to lighten your load, take Gatorade or Fiji bottles. They are light and more durable than a standard disposable water bottle. 

When you're hiking in winter, you want to make sure the water doesn't freeze. If it freezes, you obviously can't drink it and when it's cold, it takes more energy for your body to warm it when you drink it. When I trek in winter, I carry 2 Nalgene bottles only. I have a Nalgene bottle insulator that I have one bottle in and I wrap the other bottle in my pillow and stuff it in my pack to keep it warm. I also carry the bottles upside down. This is a nice little trick for when it's really cold out. If your water does begin to freeze, it will do so on the surface first then work it's way down. When the bottle is upside down, the ice will start to accumulate in the bottom of the bottle and you don't have to worry about messing with the ice when you go to take a drink. 

The reason I use Nalgene, especially for winter, is because of its durability. When pressure drops inside the bottle because of the cold temperature change, the bottle naturally collapses. Try putting some water in a disposable bottle and put it in the freezer. You will see what I mean. Even a Gatorade bottle will collapse. Aluminum bottles are great and lightweight, but in winter, they have the risk of collapsing and the cold metal has potential to freeze to your lips in sub-zero weather. You don't have to use Nalgene, but will want something thick and durable. 

Finding your water

Water is very important, especially in winter and summer. Winter months are dry and when you breath, you exhale water droplets that will eventually dehydrate you, not to mention if you sweat while hiking. In hot months, you will sweat a whole lot more and will require gallons of water. The amount that you initially carry largely depends on how much you regularly drink and how many water sources there are along the trail. You aren't going to carry all your water, adding 7-10 pounds to your pack, if there will be plenty of water sources on the trail. You may carry a couple empty bottles and a full, 2 liter water bladder. Likewise, you are going to carry more water if there are few water sources. For example: Yellow River State Forest. It's a 25 mile backpacking trail and if you decide to span it out 2-3 days, you will want plenty of water being how there's very few small water sources. It's vitals that you preplan your trip so you know how much to carry. 

The way you find your water will vary with climate. Obviously, if you're hiking in snow, you will be melting and boiling snow for your water. But what about the dry seasons? How do I find water? Most trails will have some form of water source such as a stream, lake, or pond. If that is the case, you want some way to filter the water. I have a Cohglan water filter that I take. Lifestraw is a great, small, lightweight brand that I highly recommend. The way your filter works largely depends on the type of filter so make sure you read the directions and know how it works. I even keep instructions for my filter in the stuff sack that the filter is stored in. The downside is most filters will freeze, so I leave it at home for my winter trips. 

You can also carry water furification tablets. However, these tablets add that awful iodine taste. You can get tablets that you use after purifying it to take away the taste, but it does get pricey, so I only have tablets as a backup. The most efficient way to purify water is boiling for about 10 minutes. Even if you filter it, you may want to boil it. I even boil snow after I melt it. However, boiling water without filtering it will leave moss and bugs that you will have to sift out. 

If you are in worst case scenario and need a homemade filter, it can be done relatively easy. Take a CLEAN sock and fill it about 1/3 full with sand. If it's available, put ground charcoal in to about 2/3 full. Lastly, fill the rest with dirt. You can then hang it in a tree and pour water in it (just make sure to have a water bottle underneat). This will effectively filter the water even though it won't taste the best. 

In desert and in hot climates, it can become hard to find water. The trick is to find an oasis or area with healthy plants and dig near a tree, cactus, etc. You can also dig into the trunk or cactus and get water from there, however, some liquids that come from cactus can be harmful. Your best bet is to set up to collect water overnight. That's why I carry zip lock bags and trash bags. Zip lock bags work great for carrying additional water to camp from the water source.

Here's a great way to collect water. You can dig a hole in the ground (In a grassy or silty area) and put your water bottle in the center and the rim should be a little lower than the ground level. Put the trash bag over the hole and anchor it down all the way around the hole. It's best to weigh it down with dirt. Poke a small hole in the middle of the bag over the bottle and put a small rock there to weigh down the center of the bag. As dew and moisture collects around the outside of the bag, it will drain to the center and into the bottle. If you're in an area with tall grass, you can wrap towels or bandannas around your ankles and walk through the grass early in the morning and dew will collect in the cloth. You can then wring it out into the bottle.

There's always the option of collecting rain (and it doesn't work to just hold your bottle up, hoping to fill it). It's uncomfortable to hike in rain and best to plan a trip when it's not going to rain. But if a spontaneous rain comes, you can have an abundance of water. If you have a spare poncho, tarp, or ground cloth, you can set it up multiple ways. You can make it parallel to the ground and let the water collect in the center. You can angle it a little and let the rain drain into a bottle. Ideally, use the method of digging a hole in the ground as I mentioned earlier. The rain will collect in the bottle and additional water in the dirt will make its way out and onto the trash bag. There are unlimited ways to collect rain and you can experiment with it to find what works for you. If it had just recently rained, many leaves and branches retain rain that you can collect. 

A great way of finding water is the power of...wait for it...condensation. This will work best in hotter, humid climates. If you carry a zip lock bag or clear tarp, stake it down over healthy plants or grass early in the morning after the dew has settled. You can also pull up live, healthy plants and put them in the zip lock bag in the sun. When it warms up, the plastic will trap heat, causing the greenhouse effect. The dew and moisture will evaporate and collect on the plastic. If you can weigh the center of the plastic down a little, you can put a water bottle under it and the water that accumulates on the plastic will drain into the bottle. If you are in a pinch, try to follow animal tracks or animals and birds themselves. If there's animals, there's water and they will eventually lead you to water. 

There are dozens of methods for finding and collecting water. The methods I presented are what I have found work best in my area. If you have some genius, innovative ways for finding water, please share.