Re: Pick it up or leave it alone?

We’ve found a lot of things on the trail over the years, from little bits of trash to some pretty expensive equipment. And we don’t always know what to do about it.

The trash is easy. If it is small enough and not a bio-hazard, we’ll just pick up and pack it out. And swear a small curse on the person who left it there. We always get back to the trailhead with some extra trash.

Sometimes the trash is too big to carry, so we have no choice. The curse still holds.

But what if it isn’t trash?

We once found a perfectly packed and very expensive small tent on the side of the trail, half-way up Snow Creek in Yosemite. We were on a day hike, and we left it there on our way up. And it was still there on our way down. We discussed taking back down and turning it in to the lost and found department at the visitor center. That way it might have found its way back to its owners.

But we also considered that someone had left that tent on the trail intentionally, and were planning to come back for it later. There are a lot of climbers in this area, and rock climbers don’t like carrying tent up cliffs unless they have to. So we left it there.

(If it had been us, we would have left it in a more discreet location...so that others wouldn't see it or be confused.)

And last summer we found a very nice sandal on the trail up to second recess above Edison Lake.It was just one sandal, and we once again considered taking it back to the ferry, so that whoever lost it might find it again. In the end, we decided that it was more likely that a hiker would find it by backtracking and checking the trail, rather than the resort on the other side of the lake.So we left the sandal in the middle of the trail, where it was impossible to miss.

And a fellow passenger on the ferry commiserated with us about the fact that she had lost a sandal on that trail.We were able to tell her exactly where it was---but she wasn’t going to go back.

And on the first day of our hike on that same trail, M lost her hat.(It was P’s fault, because he had wedged it into the back of her pack, and it had fallen out.)So on the way back out, we looked everywhere for it.It was a big hat, and hard to miss.But someone had clearly found it, and picked it up.

Now M needs a new hat. So if you know anyone who found one in that area...

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

That is a hard one, isn't it?

I have found things and don't always know what to do. If it is a shoe, glove or hat, I pick it up and place it on a rock or branch where it can be easily seen in case the person backtracks. If it is something more expensive then I turn it into lost and found. During one of my son's band competitions this fall, one of the band members lost her cell phone. The person that found it went into the contacts and saw one that said "mom and dad' and called the number and said she had found a phone. The father was able to reach another band member and told them where the person who had the phone was standing, so girl and phone were reunited.

One time when we were in Zion, my husband left his expensive tripod behind at Weeping Rock. He did not realize it until we got to River Walk. Luckly a guy heard us talking about it and he said that he found it leaning against a rock wall and he put it behind the wall just in case the person who lost it came back looking for it.

I've found a zillion mylar balloons out there... those I take a picture of and then put them in the pack.
Also have found lots of knives...

Probably the most interesting item was this:


Took quite a bit of effort to find the owner and return it to them.

I've also both lost and found an Old Dude out there a few times.

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We found an NPS radio and also a rangers 9mm clip.

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Old Dude

Quote
mrcondron
We found an NPS radio and also a rangers 9mm clip.

Sure it wasn't .40 S&W?

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=e4e4009d31af7b5b43919ef5c7341026&tab=core&_cview=0

Some of the stuff in this solicitation seems rather interesting. Frangible .223 ammo. That means bullets that break up into little pieces on impact. I understand that trauma surgeons love that stuff, especially trying to fish out all those sharp little pieces.

Lord yes. We've found at least five of those mylar balloons. Happy Birthday.

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963