by Travis King

Created on: April 15, 2009   Last Updated: April 18, 2009

You're backpacking deep in the wilderness, far from civilization, and awake one morning to realize that you have no water left. What can you do? Situations like that won't be traumatic if you're prepared to purify water in the wilderness.

Of course, first you should find a water source, such as a stream or lake. Moving water is generally better because when water sits stagnant it grows more bacteria and all sorts of things you don't want to drink. If you can't find water, there are ways to "make" your own. You can dig a large hole, fill the bottom with leaves and other hydrated plants and place a bucket or other container in the center of the hole. Cover the hole with a sheet of plastic or other waterproof material, placing stones around the edges to keep the material from falling. In the center, place a stone so that the material is dented over the container in the hole. As the water evaporates from the leaves, it will collect on the plastic material and drip down into the container.

If you are in an area full of snow, an obvious way to collect water is to melt the snow. Never eat snow, because your body will have to expend extra energy to melt it, but you can melt the snow in a pot over a fire.

Once you have water, you should strain it. Even if it looks clear to you, you'll probably miss some dirt. You can strain through a clean sock, a piece of cloth or a shirt. After you have strained the water, you can boil it (for at least one minute) if you are able, which will kill bacteria and other microbes you don't want in your body. If you aren't able to boil it, there are other ways you can kill bacteria. Most camping stores sell water purifying tablets. Just place the correct number of tablets in your container of water and let it set for the amount of time indicated on the bottle, and then the water should be safe to drink. Most of these tablets have iodine or chlorine.

Other ways to purify water include filling a plastic PET bottle with water, putting on the cap, and letting it sit in the sun for 6 hours (this has been shown to kill bacteria, but to be safe, you should probably use another method if you can); you can also use special filters that can clean contaminated water and eliminate bacteria. You can find these in many camping stores and online.

You should never have to worry about running out of clean water when you're in the wilderness. That's why it's good to be prepared and always make sure that you have all the items you need before you leave. You can buy water purifiers and other supplies I listed above at stores like Cabela's, Amazon, or other camping stores in your area.

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