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The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/bustedp on 2025-06-19 16:30:12+00:00.


Recently hiked the Paria River (Whitehouse trail -> Lee’s Ferry, mid-June). This hike, especially in the summertime, typically requires long and heavy water carries between springs. However, for the entirety of the hike you have access to the Paria River. This is largely considered unfilterable due to heavy silt and virus contamination. Even the usage of flocculants and iodine is discouraged, though we did bring them as a last resort.

However, in order to save us heavy water carries, we opted to use an MSR Guardian (self-cleaning per-pump and virus removal) with an inline carbon filter for taste. We then filtered it through a sawyer for extra precaution. While this is a 1lb weight penalty and is typically against UL principles, it did save us several pounds throughout the hike. We found the water to be potable, even tasty. Ultimately, it greatly reduced our pack weight for the duration of the hike, and could therefore prove useful as ultralight gear if the conditions are right.

This is not medical advice, just our experience. Four people drank several liters over several days and had no issues. Do your own research and your mileage may vary.

Our setup w/ pics:

https://www.reddit.com/r/backpacking/comments/1jcq5zz/comment/mynm0ri/

p.s. if anyone wants to design a male-nalgene to female-28mm adapter with room for a carbon filter puck, I would pay you money!