Last weekend I drank over 10 liters of unfiltered and untreated water from a variety of locations on the Shepherd Pass Trail (the Pothole, the creek crossing at Anvil Camp, etc.) en route to Mt. Williamson. My hiking partners all spent hours filtering water and telling me to enjoy my giardia, except it has now been a week since my last sip and I have had exactly zero issues. From here on out I am going to be leaving the pump at home and carrying tablets as a last resort (Cut that weight!) As Ed Abbey once said, "In any case, when a man must be afraid to drink freely from his own country's rivers and streams that country is no longer fit to live in."
That is the benefit that I most enjoy -- no more time and energy wasted hunched over a filter pumping away. It definitely enhances my experience on a trip.
