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What interesting gear have you found on the trail?


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Viewing 25 posts - 26 through 50 (of 76 total)
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  • #2005267
    Jeff M.
    BPL Member

    @catalyst

    "You took it? How could you know it was forgotten? A pitched cuben shelter was unlikely to be forgotten. If you are not joking and trying to bait a reaction here you have questionable ethics in my book."

    Come on now…sarcasm – hence the emoticon. I would hope no one on this forum would steal someone's gear. Besides, if someone lost a cuben duomid I'm sure the entire forum would know about it. :)

    #2005269
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Innumerable plastic bags of dog poo left on the side of the trail. I'd rather they flipped it into the bushes with a stick than render it a permanent part of the trail side. My dog has his own pack to avoid such things. He makes a good trash hauler with that rig.

    Toby with luggage

    #2005271
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    What a beautiful dog!

    What breed?

    #2005279
    James DeGraaf
    BPL Member

    @jdegraaf

    Locale: Bay Area

    On a day hike with the family, my daughter in a child carrier, dropped her ruffed monkey without us knowing. We didn't realize did we had everyone back in the car. I was about to go hike the whole 7 miles again to look for it (yeah it's that important) but found resting on a fence post near the trail head, much to the relief of my daughter , and wife! Thanks to whoever found it and brought it back!

    #2005290
    TJ W
    BPL Member

    @thadjw

    If it was in large cavern by a pool… Mine

    #2005293
    Scott Bentz
    BPL Member

    @scottbentz

    Locale: Southern California

    Hiking in the desert I found a whole bunch of water stashed under a bush. I drank it all and left the empties behind…

    #2005297
    Stephen M
    BPL Member

    @stephen-m

    Locale: Way up North

    Scott,

    I hope it was not so somomes stash.

    #2005302
    Richard Fischel
    BPL Member

    @ricko

    #2005311
    Hiking Malto
    BPL Member

    @gg-man

    If collecting gear is your thing then hike the AT approach trail in the spring during peak thru season. I have found tents, cook sets, bear canisters, axes, food bags, sleeping bag and countless articles of clothes plus hordes of smaller items. Local Boy Scout tripos could be completely geared up if they hiked that trail on a regular basis.

    #2005367
    Charles Grier
    BPL Member

    @rincon

    Locale: Desert Southwest

    A case of gelatin dynamite, 200' of primer cord, 24 blasting caps and 50' of 1 ft/min fuse. I'm not sure this counts as gear but it does count as a find. BTW, I left it where it was and reported it to the USFS. A trail crew had left it there by mistake. I wouldn't have wanted to be the crew foreman on Monday.

    #2005371
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    >"I hope it was not someone's stash."

    I had a regular route with the dog and I'd leave a gallon jug of water and a water dish tucked under a tree to give her a drink mid-hike (there was road access to the mid-way point).

    I'll cache food and drink in advance of a very long (40-60 mile) day hike. It wouldn't be a survival situation if someone took it, but it would bum me out to do 10 miles without the food and water I'd planned on.

    In a SW desert, taking a few gallons of water from someone's cache of water could result in a few dead undocumented immigrants.

    #2005385
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Sarcasm. It's hard for some to fathom.

    Found $2 today in the woods with the dog.

    A liter Nalgene bottle filled to the very brim with some excellent tequila. Found amongst a bear ravaged campsite on the Lost Coast. Improper food storage. 1 Lara Bar also there untouched.

    #2005401
    Jennifer Mitol
    Spectator

    @jenmitol

    Locale: In my dreams....

    CharlieDog found a yellow tennis ball at a totally off-trail lake in the Winds. He was thrilled.

    #2005431
    Gerald L
    Spectator

    @mtngeronimo

    Locale: SoCal

    Garcia Bear Canister on JMT. First thought was some unwitting traveller dropped his food. Further inspection of the water logged contents revealed the ugly truth. Misc. trash including a pair of soiled tighty whities and possibly the remains of a WAG bag. Though tempting to score on a canister, I could never bring myself to store and eat from the soiled container as such would be a constant reminder at mealtime.

    #2005447
    Don A.
    BPL Member

    @amrowinc

    Locale: Southern California

    I found a hat once on the trail. It took me awhile to realize it was mine. I'd lost it the year before.
    I have a theory that if you look hard enough you'll find a tent stake at every camp and I've found some and lost some.
    I really feel guilty on the trail when I realize I dropped something out of my pocket, mostly trash. I double up on my trash pickup on the way out when that happens.
    And by the way, if anyone found a long handle titanium spoon about halfway between Muir Pass and Le Conte canyon a few years back just keep it. I learned to carve spoons out of sticks and ended up switching to plastic spoons as a result of that loss. I haven't lost a spoon since.
    Over the years I've continued to renew my rights to my trail name.

    Still Lookin'

    #2005461
    Tanner M
    Member

    @tan68

    Well, this has been fun and I have literally laughed aloud.

    3 red tent poles. Person came by the next day hunting them.

    2 times, small piles of human waste. 1 on the trail, 1 with some little effort to conceal it. Bears don't use tissue…

    1 hunting dog that missed the ride home. He staid with us until we had to go home…

    Countless piles of stone. Some large some small. All mysterious…

    #2005532
    Max Dilthey
    Spectator

    @mdilthey

    Locale: MaxTheCyclist.com

    I was wondering where I'd left all my stone. Thanks Tanner!

    #2005581
    Nick Gatel
    BPL Member

    @ngatel

    Locale: Southern California

    "I hope I'm not the only one, but I have never left the woods without somebody else's trash in my pack."

    You will rarely see me packing out other people's trash.

    differential

    I did find this, but someone grabbed the gear(s) before I got to it. Too heavy for me to pack out.

    magazine

    We left this magazine where we found it.

    #2005595
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    Sleeping bag (cheap)
    Tents (2 or 3) (cheap)
    Packs up trees and contents everywhere (probably lost during flood)
    Cigarette lighters (plural)
    Sunglasses (plural)
    Shoes (usually one at a time)
    Trekking pole (Makalu Titanium)
    Camera lens covers
    Food (including 1 kg block of cheese in good condition)
    Fuel bottles
    Ancient rifle (not historic, just rather old)
    Ancient ammo for rifle
    Ancient saddlery – possibly even 'historic'
    Ancient waterbottle – probably historic
    Ancient cannon – definitely historic
    Ancient gold stamping battery, definitely historic
    Antique cars, rusting
    Remains of (many) pot (grass) plantations, with tools, pots, chicken wire etc etc

    I could go on …

    Cheers

    #2005710
    Max Dilthey
    Spectator

    @mdilthey

    Locale: MaxTheCyclist.com

    I encourage everyone to pack out other people's trash, when reasonable.

    Leaving it better than you found it is a courtesy that more than makes up for the disregard of others, and seeing a pristine wilderness might keep would-be litterbugs from justifying their actions.

    #2005729
    Nick Gatel
    BPL Member

    @ngatel

    Locale: Southern California

    "I encourage everyone to pack out other people's trash, when reasonable."

    When contradictions exist, check your premise.

    #2005742
    Ian
    BPL Member

    @10-7

    Max,

    I'm with you on this topic. I guess I've been a professional babysitter for enough years and have been on enough police calls in the military that it doesn't bother me to pack out the occasional water bottle or whatever.

    That is with the exception of this "artifact" that I found in the Juniper Dunes Wilderness. I figure he's been sitting there since the '70s or early '80s without hurting anyone so I left him alone.

    .Pepsi

    #2005773
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    +1, Max.

    Personally, when I've hiked 20 miles without seeing any trash and then there is a piece, (1) it typically is a little scrap that most likely got dropped accidentally as someone pulled out a bandana or some such, and (2) it is jarring enough to see it and more upsetting to know if it remained there after I passed. Sure, it "belongs" in someone else's pocket. But I'd rather it was in my pocket than on the trail.

    We are social creatures. Most people comply with most societal norms. If the norm (as evidenced along the trail) is "some people litter" then lo and behold, some people will litter. Whereas in places where "essentially no one litters", then almost no one litters. So I skew the results. I try to make hikers, collectively, look better than they actually are. A small fraction of people doing a little more than their share can change the mindset of the masses. I've seen behaviors improve over the decades (not perfect, but improved) about litter, cutting live trees, fire circles, not cutting switchbacks, etc despite there being many more people on the trail now.

    #2005778
    Marko Botsaris
    BPL Member

    @millonas

    Locale: Santa Cruz Mountains, CA

    Ian, at what point does an old pepsi can turn from garbage to a relic of archaeological significance that needs to be left in situ so that future generations will be able to study them?

    Given enough time even the contents of feces can become an object for study by the professional archaeologist, but I'm not sure where the demarcation point is for a can.

    #2005780
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    I've been to a couple places where I could not pack out the trash. I would need a pack animal to pack out the trash, and even then it might be a couple trips. It's really depressing.
    Maybe I should burn it all? It would be better than just leaving it there.

    Yes, I've left a few items in the wilderness. A couple water bottles, a pair of synthetic socks, a few tent stakes. I do feel bad about that.

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