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Sick walkers rescued after drinking river water on West Highland Way

Lomond Mountain Rescue Team rescued two walkers—a German man and an American man—on the West Highland Way in separate incidents over one week after they became severely ill with vomiting from drinking stream water near Conic Hill, despite using portable filters. The team and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park are advising hikers to use bottled water or safe sources like Scottish Water fountains, noting that filtering alone may not be sufficient due to agricultural livestock and improper human waste disposal in the area, and recommending boiling or chemical treatment if collecting natural water.