A good budy of mine used to pack into the Trinity Alps pre-season to scout AND to stash water . He would bury the bottles. In the area that he hunted , he said that he couldnt find any water for over 2 miles . He could not figure out why there were so many quality bucks there with little to no water . I think that they get a lot of water from their forage . Anyhow , in almost 4 years of hunting , I have gotten my water supply from high mountain creeks and stream . I have never stashed it . Occasionally I would drop a tablet into the canteen if the water was questionable ( Range cattle nearby, small mountain lake ) . I got Giardia one time back in my late 20s from a small back country creek. It was not fun . I spent most of the night laying on my side in the pine needles with stuff spewing out of my body from both main orifices. The next day I found the reason why. I found a dead fawn in the creek upstream from where I drew water . To this day I still usually drink straight from mountain springs . Its a small risk that I take . Call me stupid, I think its good for my soul and my gizzard.
PO