Ok, everybody knows this: don't drink unfiltered water, especially when you're in the backcountry and you can't get help if you become sick. Alisha and I were on our second day of backpacking in the Grand Canyon when we passed this little waterfall in Cottonwood Canyon. Pretty, right? Cottonwood is one of the few permanent water sources inside the canyon. Anyway, as we were passing this place by two girls, who had also backpacked in the area the night before, came up to the waterfall. I assumed they were taking in the view as well, until I watched one of them dip her toothbrush into the trickle of water, put it in her mouth, and begin to brush her teeth. I'm pretty sure I gasped out loud. Now, a tiny bit of water on a toothbrush that you're most likely not going to swallow probably isn't going to make you sick, but why risk it? All it takes is one pathogen, one virus or bacteria, to make a trip miserable. Maybe I'm being overly critical or whatever, but I couldn't believe she had done that. Alisha and I always made sure we only drank filtered water, used filtered water for person hygiene, and we even filtered water before we used it to cook our meals, though boiling it for long enough would have served the same purpose.
Leave me a comment and tell me if I'm being harsh. Too cautious? Would you take the risk?
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