Any of you drink out of a mountain stream?

Gaer

Gaer

"Angel whisperer"
Location
New Mexico U.S.A.
Have you ever drank out of a wild mountain stream? Would you?
I did Dyea, Alaska at the base of the Chilkoot Pass. . ( the Klondike gold rush?) and again near Twin Falls, Idaho. (best water,ever!)
Do you think it would be too unhealthy to do that?
 

As kids we used to go out with dad on hikes and things, and having a drink out of a fresh-water stream or creek was par for the course. Never once got sick, and the water was better than any that I ever tasted.

Care does need to be taken, especially come springtime, when runoff is high and where the chance of getting sick is more acute, and having a good understanding as to where the water source originates is key.

No nearby pastures containing farm livestock, etc.

My dad was an experienced hunter and outdoorsman, and not once did he ever pack water on his outings, he drank from every fresh-water brook and creek along the way.
 
I have and continue to do so. As a child we had a spring that started on our farm and continued down to a creek. In summer we would drink the best ice cold water from that spring.
I've drank from many springs in my life and have yet to get sick from them.
I still drink ice cold spring water daily as there is a mountain spring about 1 mile from my home. My son regularly fills jugs with it.
 
As a child in the 50's my family always took day trips and stopped for a picnic. Many times there were streams along the way. My grandpa usually was the one who decided if the water was safe to drink. I have no idea how he decided that but none of us ever got sick.
We don't live far from a mountain stream just before crossing the border into PA. They have a pipe going into the rock and people come from all over with jugs to fill.
They say it is tested but these days I'm not sure I would trust it.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
As a child in the 50's my family always took day trips and stopped for a picnic. Many times there were streams along the way. My grandpa usually was the one who decided if the water was safe to drink. I have no idea how he decided that but none of us ever got sick.
We don't live far from a mountain stream just before crossing the border into PA. They have a pipe going into the rock and people come from all over with jugs to fill.
They say it is tested but these days I'm not sure I would trust it.
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Your grandpa sounds just like my dad, for it was my dad that decided where the best and safest water was.
 
Our golf course had a spring with an aluminum dipper. Never thought anything about it drinking from that spring and the community dipper. Now I would hesitate. I would take the water home and boil it. But boy did that water taste good. They later closed that spring down claiming it was contaminated. I think it was because they could sell more beer. :)
 
Absolutely have; both mountain stream and underwater stream water. Years ago when our well was out of commission for 6 months, that’s the only water we had. It’s my understanding that the different elements of the ground, like sand, pebbles, water plants etc., filter the water . People from the city travel all the way just to drink this water. It’s the coldest, most delicious water ever.
 
I've done this a couple of times in my life, the first time as a teenager and my mother warned me of the parasite I might have exposed myself to.

The second time was when as an adult, I chose to drink from the water issuing from one of the field drains I'd just dug on my fathers place, and freshly dug, the water permeating through clay and smelling absolutely clean as you like. It tasted like water from the finest stream you'd find anywhere, but as I say, I knew exactly where the water was coming from, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. :) .
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Never drink out of mountain stream. Yeah, it looks clean, but you don't know what's upstream. Just over the hill could be a rotting deer carcass.. And the further you get into the wilderness, the further you get away from safe waste disposal practices. Again, you don't know what's getting dumped into the stream just over the hill.
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Definitely a chance one takes (for sure).
 
Back in the 60's I remember going to Yosemite and drinking from the stream not too far from the base of Yosemite Falls. I wouldn't do it now because the beaver population has increased since then and the threat of giardia in Sierra Nevada is much higher these days. I haven't considered it since the mid 70's when I was backpacking there and the giardia threat was publicized in outdoor stores.
 
Once, in the early 50's a friend and I were fishing in our favorite creek. We were walking upstream (against the current) and it was a really hot day so we regularly took nice satisfying gulps of icy creek water as we went along. At one point, we broke around a sharp bend only to find a bloated and badly decomposed Hereford cow laying in the middle of the creek.

Kid wisdom back then was that if the water ran over rocks and sand for more than 100 feet it would be safe to drink so we made our way around the body and kept fishing and drinking. Neither of us got sick.
 
Llynn said:
Once, in the early 50's a friend and I were fishing in our favorite creek. We were walking upstream (against the current) and it was a really hot day so we regularly took nice satisfying gulps of icy creek water as we went along. At one point, we broke around a sharp bend only to find a bloated and badly decomposed Hereford cow laying in the middle of the creek.

Kid wisdom back then was that if the water ran over rocks and sand for more than 100 feet it would be safe to drink so we made our way around the body and kept fishing and drinking. Neither of us got sick.
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Now that's the spirit! LOL!

A snippet right out of a Daniel Boone classic! :)
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Never drink out of mountain stream. Yeah, it looks clean, but you don't know what's upstream. Just over the hill could be a rotting deer carcass.. And the further you get into the wilderness, the further you get away from safe waste disposal practices. Again, you don't know what's getting dumped into the stream just over the hill.
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The one a mile from me is at the base of a mountain and flows from between rocks. It looks like a mini waterfall. Its coming out of the mountain its safe.
 

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