PURE HYDRATION
Water is one of the fundamental elements required for human life. If you’re completely cut offfrom any form of drinking water, you could die in as little as three days, depending on environmental factors and your level of physical exertion. However, a total absence of water usually isn’t the problem — it’s much more likely that you’ll be able to find a lake, pond, creek, or a puddle somewhere in the vicinity. Even if these natural water sources look clean, they can be teeming with dangerous bacteria (such as Cholera and E. coli) that would only be visible through a microscope. Even if they smell clean, they can contain dormant parasites (such as cryptosporidium and giardia) and viruses (such as hepatitis A and norovirus). Even if they’re not shallow or stagnant, they might be carrying the remnants of a rotting animal corpse or raw sewage from further upstream. Instead of rolling the dice and hoping you don’t end up puking your guts out in a few hours, you should always have a plan to purify water in the field.
Narrowing Down the Options
Boiling is a
