Snow for Drinking?

There are circumstances that arise during camping in Bryce Canyon that may force someone to do the unexpected. One of them is lack of water. We all know how much water is important to our day to day lives and we cannot live without it. During camping, a lot of bad things can happen and you find you do not have any water. It may be hard to find an alternative source of water during the summertime as you will have to walk for some distance to find one, but during the winter, Mother Nature provides you with free water.

Photo Credit: kkmarais

We all know that snow is some sort of frozen water. Therefore, snow can be used as an alternative to water when there is none. However, there are some things that you require to know first about snow before you use it.

-Loss of minerals during purification- no matter how pure snow looks like, you still have to heat it since it is in contact with dirt from the air or soil.

When you boil the snow, some very important minerals are lost in the process. Sodium, potassium, chloride and some trace elements of magnesium are lost, thus reducing the nutrient level in the water and it becomes too dangerous if you take such water. It would cause deficiencies that would cause high blood pressure and heart attacks.

-It is not harmful to drink snow but it has other side effects. Drinking snow may damage your teeth and lips due to luck of important nutrients. Some people may also be very sensitive to snow water. This would cause certain ailments such as loose bowel movement, vomiting, stomach cramps and many more.

Snow has its benefits and disadvantages. The benefit is that it is an alternative source of water and might as well quench your thirst. The bad thing is that it may harm your body in many ways. Therefore, only drink snow water when there is no other pure source of water. If you have a stream nearby or bottled water, always go for that instead of snow water.