If you’ve ever wondered why you should bother filtering your water while backpacking in the great outdoors, here’s one: Research by a University of Montana graduate student in a portion of the Beartooth Mountains showed that half of the waters he tested had some level of contamination from human poop. Yuck! Dan Pendergraph took samples from waters in popular areas including Froze to Death Plateau, the East Rosebud and Lake Fork areas for the sampling. The study is a reminder to properly bury your human waste, or to pack it out. Yep, some popular areas require hikers to pack out their poop.
For more on the story, log on to the Billings Gazette at https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/why-the-water-tastes-funny-poop-taints-beartooth-lakes-streams/article_8c837e99-5c04-531a-88e1-cada6fcb0381.html
(written by Brett French – Outdoors Editor for the Billings Gazette/Montana Untamed)
