Pump Filtering Muddy Water
Some of my readers may remember a couple months ago, I published an article about my backpacking trip to the Copperhead Shelter on the Neusiok Trail in Croatan National Forest. One of the problems was the allegedly potable water reported to me by a Forest Ranger was actually a swamp. The water was so full of muddy sediment that it clogged the filter of my MSR Guardian pump within less than a minute after obtaining less than a cup of water.
I called the Mountain Safety Research service department and complained that their $400 pump, advertised to be the best on the market, should be able to handle muddy water, which is prevalent all over the world. But it does not do so. The nice technician on the phone referred me the Millbank water pre-filtration bag website at https://www.millbankbagsusa.com/. The technician reported that many other MSR customers found it to be a good product. I tried it and it worked.
It is a simple cotton canvas bag with an open top and a pointed bottom. There are two sizes, five quarts for $26 and 1.5 quarts for $20. Scoop or pour muddy water into the bag, hang the bag on something with the attached cord, set a catch bowl underneath, clearer water [NOT yet disinfected] drips out into the catch bowl. Sediment stays in the bag.
Then use a filter pump, chemical tablets, boiling or other purification method on the water in the catch bowl to make it potable.
For backpacking, the catch bowl needs to be light and fold down small. The best product I found is a dog travel water bowl from the Wilderdog web site at https://www.wilderdog.com/products/backpacking-bowl. I got the Backpacking Bowl for $18. See the attached photographs.
