<html><body style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p>This is what has evolved for me over the years:</p><p>I use Thorlo 84N socks from the local running store. They are made for marathon runners and have padded heels and balls of the foot and are very thin everywhere else. They are synthetic. I have evolved from using wool socks and liners to just one pair of these socks, because they are so padded. I tried Wrightsocks (which are advertised as guaranteed not to cause blisters) and although I didn't get blisters, the double layer bunched up and threatened to cause blisters on my feet. Wearing larger shoes cured all my blister problems, and now I never get them.<br /><br />I hiked the Grand Enchantment trail last spring from Phoenix to Albuquerque. Part of it was on the CDT in New Mexico. I had aqua mira, but never used it. I use a Sawyer Squeeze water filter--you don't have to pump the water, just fill up the pouch, screw the filter on the end and squeeze the water out. It is a lot lighter than ceramic filters and mine lasted without replacement for 730 miles, and also lasted for a month on the PCT as well. I couldn't imagine drinking the cow trough water that you have to drink in New Mexico without it. I prefiltered with a bandanna when I had to. I loved the convenience of being able to drink the water right away with the Sawyer Squeeze filter and not have to wait for Aqua Mira to work. I carried the back filter syringe and back washed the filter every few days. There is an even lighter Sawyer Squeeze Mini that I will use this spring. <br /></p><p>Several years ago I used a water bladder and a sipping tube, but stopped because I never knew how much water I had left in my pack and the Platypus hydration bladder busted at the seam in the middle of the desert on the PCT inside my pack and I lost all my water. So I don't trust the hydration bladders. I carry a Platypus 1 liter (made of a lot sturdier plastic than the hydration bladders) in my side pocket, an MSR Dromedary 3 liter pouch for big carries that stays rolled up in my pack until I have to use it and also a 2 liter Sawyer Squeeze pouch that comes with the filter for extra water capacity. I do not drink a lot of water while hiking on the trail--I budget about 1 liter for every 3-5 miles. I do most of my hydrating at night. But that's just me--I seem to drink a lot less than other people on the trail.</p><p>Good Luck.</p><p>--Fireweed<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /><br /></p></body></html>