Drinking Water on the NFCT

Water is one of the key things our bodies need and when canoeing the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT), it is no different. A question we were asked by many on the return was “Where did you get your water?” We thought the answer to this question was probably worth its own article, as it is not just as simple as “well from the river or lakes” and this is why.

Ironically, for a trail that winds its way through the wilderness, and is largely water based, there very little of it you can just drink without treatment. With Giardia and other water-borne parasites present all along the trail, it is not advisable that you drink any of the water from the rivers or lakes without first treating it, no matter how clear and clean it may seem. There are also some quite long sections that have industrial or agricultural runoff where it is not advisable to drink the water, even after filtering! We can well believe this, as in some sections we could not even see our paddles in the water as there was that much agricultural runoff, and that section also had a strong smell of cows.

The stretches of water where it is inadvisable to drink even after filtering include, but are not limited, to the lower Saranac and the Missisquoi rivers. Now, some of these are not short sections and will require a bit of planning, as you may be on them for a couple of days. We would advise consulting the maps and google to see which businesses you can call in on along the way and get some water. We are not going to give advice as to specifically which ones as businesses come and go and we plan to leave this article up for some time, so it’s best to do your research before heading out.

Us taking a little paddling break on the Missisquoi River by a railroad bridge.

For some of the longer sections where we could not drink the water, we made prolific use of Gas stations, Walgreens, and Country Stores. We became fans of fridge-cold Poland Spring. I think we can now say that some of the most refreshing water we have ever had was out of a fridge-cold Poland Spring bottle. These bottles, after a quick modification, can also make excellent bailers.

A Gallon Bottle of Poland Spring, our Water of choice when we needed it.

Due to the importance of having potable (suitable for human consumption) water, we took a layered approach. Each boat had a MSR Guardian High-volume Water Purifier, pans, stoves and means of starting natural fires. Each person then also carried in their buoyancy aid (or about their person) a Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System, or equivalent, and purifying tablets. The intent of the personal carry filter was to mitigate the effects of water-borne illness. If one of us got separated from the group, or the boat, you could at least drink some water and be okay for a few days until you could be found. For sections where we could not filter the water, we used 6l MSR Dromedaries combined with our 1l Nalgenes, which meant we could carry a couple of days of water without issue.

When we could filter the water we prioritised the use of our MSR gravity ,or pump, Guardian Purifier, depending on whichever was easier in the given situation. These filters have some of the highest levels of filtration available on the market (at time of purchase). They remove bacteria, protozoa, sediment, microplastics, and even viruses! The systems were originally designed to protect service members in the field, and they are pretty rugged purifiers which stood up well to months of daily use. It is nice to know that the purifiers we were using were tested against, and passed, the NSF P248 military testing standard.

The Sawyer Mini Filtration System is relatively small, some would even say pocket sized. It removes bacteria, protozoa, and microplastics, but not viruses. Hence if we were unsure of the water quality then we would treat the filtered water with purification tabs as well. Some may see it as overkill, but we would rather carry a few more grams than spend days in gastric distress in the middle of nowhere.

During some of the hottest days we could easily gulp down 6l or more during paddling, and still not need to urinate. This gives you an idea as to how much we were sweating. We would often start the day with full Nalgenes and a few litres in a dromedary. Then throughout the day decant the filtered water out the dromedaries into the Nalgenes.

If you are attempting the NFCT we would highly recommend filters and some large water containers!