When going from a modern day living to outdoors, one of the most important things to understand is just how important and sometimes difficult clean water is to get.

When looking at outdoor activities for a full day the body usually needs somewhere between 3-4 litres a day. On top of this weather and activity might increase the need even further.

Our largest source of water in a day is generally not what we drink but the food we eat. The body is also only able to absorb roughly one litre of pure water per hour or 2,5 decilitre every quarter. The rest is flushed out of the body so it is better to moderate your water intake and be mindful of its absorption rate.

A good thumb of rule is to take two mouthfuls of water every quarter if you are physically active.

When going outdoors you should always bring a supply of clean water with you, roughly three litres per day. One litre is estimated as just drinking water and the two other is for cooking and hygiene.

With three litres per day, just the weight for the water is starting to be an issue. And so it quickly becomes a valid question to find more water in nature if you don’t wish to carry a weeks worth of water (21 kilos).

When looking for water in nature you should start by looking for gatherings of leaf trees and scrubs as they grow best where there is a lot of water.

The best choice for gathering water is natural small streams of water and not man made to avoid pollutions. If there is signs of animals stopping to drink at the stream go a bit upstream to avoid contaminated water.

If gathering from a lake there is three things things to check before drawing water. First is that the lake got a natural outlet of water which ensures the water is clear, the second is that it is not overgrown by algae and third that it is not a nesting lake for birds.

• The outlet ensures the water is constantly replaced and do not go bad.
• The second ensures there is no algae which are poisons to humans.
• The third is that nesting lakes for birds are usually murky water that is filled with parasites and algae.

Once you have gathered clear water you can not consume it right away but instead it needs to be boiled. When boiling the water put it in a large pot and boil it heavily; Big Bubbles, No Troubles.

If the water is contaminated you can distil the water while boiling it by using a lid on the pot, leaving a small gap that is covered above with large leafs or a plastic bag leading to a small tube. The tube is then put into another pot that is lower than the boiling pot which will let the vapour to cool and condense back into water and collect in the lower pot.