The popular call before putting on our packs at Philmont was "Camel up!" Same idea but it captures the young men's imagination better.

Regarding dipping the bag: my son and I both experienced a intestinal ailment because of poor technique when doing this. Our bladders have a big ziplock type opening at the top for easy filling. We scooped up water in a river and used polar pure in the bladder. A few days later we both came down with the intestinal ailment. I figure we must have come into contact with contaminated water somehow. My best guess is that we didn't leak the treated water properly at the threads where the hose and bite valve connect. I think I should have waited a while longer for the PolarPur to distribute through the entire bag. But were were in a hurry to make the next camp, which is why we used the PolerPur instead of taking the time to use the filter.

I won't make that mistake again. My son was fortunate/unfortunate that he came down with altitude sickness and was transported back down to base camp when the ailment hit him. I was on the trail on a steep, rock up hill climb when it hit me. I was miserable to say the least. I also twisted my anklenear the end the day's hike. Not totally related but I suspect that the distraction and general weakness from being sick made me more vulnerable to injury.

BTW, for those familiar with Philmont, I was hiking up to Sawmill from Ute Gulch. Tough trail to be sick on. Not a lot of "red roof inns" or "pilot/bombadier" opportunities. And it wasn't easy to locate a safe, suitable rock-free site away from the stream to dig cat holes. The best part was the hotest shower on the trail as the tobassco boiler had been stoked all day long. And thank goodness for Gatorade!

Like I said, I won't make that mistake again.



The Nalgene was for crew meals so that is always filled as it's part of youer responsibility to the crew. And the Gatorade bottle is always filled since I like having Gatorade or similar mix on a hike. But what most folks seem to forget is that just because it's a 3-liter bladder doesn't mean you need to fill it all the way up if your next water source is nearby.

Likewise, different folks consume different amounts of water. My son was draining his bladder while mine was still half full. And my urine was "clear and copious" so I know I was propely hydrated.



Agreed!!!