How Do You Bring Water on a Backpacking Trip?

By Anna Duncan

Bringing water on backpacking trips is essential, as it is impossible to survive without water. It is important to plan ahead and be prepared when it comes to bringing adequate amounts of clean water for the duration of your trip.

Choosing Water Containers: The first step in bringing water on a backpacking trip is to choose the right containers for storing and transporting the water. The best option for backpacking trips are lightweight, collapsible containers such as soft-sided hydration bladders or plastic bottles.

These containers are easy to carry and don’t take up much space in your backpack. It is also important to make sure your container has a wide-mouth opening so that it can easily be filled with water from streams or other sources.

Treating Water: Even if you are collecting your water from a stream, lake, or other natural source, it is essential that you treat any water before drinking it. This can be done through boiling the water for at least one minute or by using a chemical treatment like chlorine or iodine tablets. If you choose to use chemical treatments, make sure you follow the directions on the package closely.

Carrying Enough Water: When planning how much water to bring on your trip, consider how long you will be out and what type of activities you will be doing. Generally speaking, each person should plan on carrying one liter (34 ounces) of drinking water per hour of activity at minimum. Therefore, if you’re planning a four hour hike then each person should have at least four liters (136 ounces) of drinking water with them.

Storing Extra Water: If you’re going out on an extended backpacking trip and need to store extra supplies of clean drinking water then consider carrying some lightweight collapsible jugs with additional spouts for filling up bottles and bladders along the way. These jugs are great because they take up very little room in your pack when empty but can hold large amounts of liquid when full!

Conclusion: Bringing enough clean drinking water on a backpacking trip is essential for staying healthy and safe while out in the wilderness. Choosing lightweight containers such as soft-sided hydration bladders or plastic bottles makes transporting the necessary amount of liquid easier and more efficient.

It is also important to treat all collected sources of water before drinking it either by boiling for one minute or using chemical treatments like chlorine or iodine tablets. Lastly, plan ahead by calculating how much liquid each person needs per hour depending on their activity level and consider storing extra supplies in collapsible jugs if necessary!