Some people have mentioned that I haven’t posted a trip report for the Kootenay trip that Tim and I did in October over the long weekend, this is mainly because I somehow forgot to bring a camera! It’s really disappointing too since the cool air was super crisp and clear and the scenery was amazing.

As for the water purification tablets, we never ended up using them. The water in the steams was so cold that any time the water ran over a rock or a piece of wood it would freeze into a big icicle. So we figured it was probably pretty clean if it was that cold and took our chances.

I really enjoyed this hike in the shoulder season since the bugs are non-existant and hiking in cooler temperatures is much easier, especially on the uphill. The daytime high was somewhere around +10 to 15C and on the second night it went down to at least -10C. It was pretty frosty in the morning, and there was lots of condensation frozen inside the tent but my new MEC Hybrid -20C bag worked well. It was so toasty you could probably bake cookies in it.

The Rockwall trail itself was spectacular, and now I can definitely see why it’s one of the most popular trails in Canada. The huge limestone cliffs were impressive and made all that much better by the thin layer of fresh snow up high. The longest day was 21km and although it was supposed to be quite difficult it didn’t seem bad at all since there was only two of us we could keep a steady pace and the air was nice and cool. The sudden temperature changes between the sunny and shaded areas was pretty remarkable. In the sun the ground was soft and muddy but in the shade it was frozen solid and the air was easily 15 degrees cooler.

Since I forgot to bring a camera here are a couple shots from other people of the Rockwall from flickr.com: One,Two, Three

The first shot is actually of the Floe Lake part of the trail that we weren’t on, but it’s very similar to what you see later in the trail. The second shot is again nearer to Floe Lake than we were but still very similar. The last shot is exactly what we hiked, you can see Rockwall pass off in the distance and the alpine meadows that we hiked after the pass. There is also a very impressive lake hidden just below the shot.

So in preparation for a 3 day trip to Kootenay National Park this weekend I picked up some Katadyn Micropur MP 1 Drinking Water Purification Tablets. I figured they would be less of a hassel - especially in the cold - than the usual Chlorine Dioxide drops I usually take. Here is a list of some of the selling features listed on the front and back of the packaging:

• Effective against Viruses, Bacteria, Giardia and Cryptosporidium - Good, same as the drops
• Improves the taste and odor of treated water - I don’t know what could take better than a mountain stream but I guess that can’t hurt…
• Easy-to-use tablets - Excellent! The reason I’m buying these.
• Meets EPA microbiological water purifier tests - Not sure what these tests are, but it’s the EPA they must know what they’re talking about right?
• […] the safe choice for campers, hikers, […], and anyone needing to drink water of questionable microbiological quality - Hikers eh? Sounds good.

Now, apon opening the packaging there are 30 individually wrapped foil packages. They seems to be no easy way to open them other than a knife or scissors (or your teeth! but you’ll see why that might be concerning in a second).

The only information on the inside of the packaging is the times required to kill certain bacteria and viruses and a small note called “Precautionary Statements” and “First Aid”. The First Aid bit seemed a bit odd at first, but after reading the precautionary statements it seems less out of place. Here is the Precautionary Statements verbatim:

Precautionary Statements
Harards to Humans and Domestic Animals
DANGER. Corrosive. Causes irreversible eye damage and skin burns. Harmful if absorbed through the skin. Harmful if swallowed. Do not get in eyes, on skin or on clothing. Wear protective eyewear (goggles, face-shield or safety glasses) protective clothing and rubber gloves. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling. Removed contaminated clothing and wash before reuse.

WTF?! Harmful is swallowed??? Maybe I should take my chances with the giardia then! And they expect me to take protective eyewear into the mountains with me? Hah! Of course this is just the lawyers being careful, but still….