Just realized my water filter failed halfway up Mount Whitney

I was about 8 miles in on the Mount Whitney trail, at around 12,000 feet, when I tried to pump water from a stream and got nothing but air. My Katadyn filter had frozen overnight in my pack because I forgot to sleep with it. I ended up having to boil water using my camp stove for the next 3 hours, which slowed me down so much I almost had to turn back. Has anyone else dealt with a frozen filter at high altitude and found a quick fix on the trail?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanrodriguez8d ago

My buddy Tom had this exact thing happen to him on the JMT a couple years back. He forgot his Sawyer inside his tent pocket and it was solid ice by morning (classic mistake, honestly). He ended up stuffing the filter inside his jacket against his armpit for like 45 minutes while he made breakfast, and that was just enough to thaw it out enough to get a slow trickle going. Took forever though, and his arm pit was soaked the rest of the day.

olivias888d ago

Wait, did Tom's armpit smell like a wet filter for the rest of the day? Because mine definitely would have, haha. @ryanrodriguez I've done the "forgot my filter outside" thing too, except I woke up and tried to drink from it while it was still a solid ice cube. That was a rough morning. I guess the armpit trick is better than nothing, but idk, I'd probably just boil all my water for that day and call it a loss.