I don't know if I would have brought myself to drinking that water or not. Most likely the answer would have been yes, if my life depended on it.
The bottom line is: those two hikers were unfortunately not prepared for desert travel.

It's been over a year I think since I read that article. But I still remember something mentioned like "A doctor can fix Giardia, but he can't fix dead." was stated in it. That was one line to remember, provided the distance to medical care is reasonable.

Just speculating, but I'll bet had their canteens been empty they would have filled them. But they still had half their water left. Sounds like they might have been hesitant to "pollute" their remaining water. Squeemishness combined with a lack of knowing what lay ahead is what got him killed. I wonder why they did not simply pour their remaining water into one canteen and fill the other from the pool?

Water you find in rock pools, in the desert, is very nasty looking. I would have a very hard time making myself drink any of it. You have got to carry something to filter the water, not just purify it. You also need to take what you have and find a stream or lake and get some water and filter it and drink it so you have confidence in it.

It reminds me of when we had to go in the building with teargas in the army. Everyone went in and put on their gas mask. Then the Drill Instructor popped a CS canister. You could see some smoke but you did not feel anything bad. Then we all had to exit the door one at a time. We had to take off our gas mask and talk to the DI before we could exit. We then got a full exposure to the CS gas. It was to give us confidence in our gas mask and to realize its value. When I left the building I has mucus flowing from every opening in my head. Gross stuff!

So take your filter system and get some confidence in it so you will not hesitate to drink the water you have filtered.

I currently carry a Platypus 2 liter water bag and a Sawer in-line filter in my Camelbak. The bag rolls up and the filter and adapter are small and light.

Your ranting is well-warranted NightHiker. As someone mentioned to me once in the late 1970's, just take legal prostitutes in Germany as an example: Routine antibiotic shots by the government....but the men still screamed from VD at the urinals. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

I guess DR would drink it. Isnt that why he suggests the thin tubing in his personal kits? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

link

The comment about the doctor is a good one. BTW, when I went through the gas chamber (USMC), we did the reverse. You went in without the mask, then had to put it on & clear it. I think I went through the gas chamber 5 times total.

I was wondering how long it would take before we got to tadpole soup. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yes, I would have drank from the tadpole water.

"...You went in without the mask, then had to put it on & clear it..."

Air Force made me do it that way too. Not sure why, I joined the AF to fly over the gas at 40,000 ft!!!

> the couple carried 6 quarts of water apiece.

So two containers, and with half their water gone, they could have transferred the rest to a single container and filled up the empty one with tadpoles. Then they could discard it if they found a better source before they needed to drink it.

I agree fauna in the water don't mean it is safe (Terry Pratchett used to wonder if newts got out to go to the lavatory), but even dirty water may keep you going long enough to get to medical care before illness kicks in.