High Sierra Topix

The most dramatic - an airplane wreck strung out about half a mile on the Downs Glacier in the Wind River Mountains. Found out later that it had crashed into the peak and over the years avalanches had dispersed it down the glacier. It was 10+ years old but the pieces looked very recent, especially the bright orange seat cushions.

Lots of old rusted tin cans and general trail litter. An entire stashed horse camp (very deteirorated and in an illegal location). Took photos and gave to the FS rangers. The saddlebags had the outfitters name on them! Oil barrels stuck in the tops of trees 30 feet above ground - result of the 1997-8 flood on the Yuba River. Mining equipment from the gold rush days.

Junk that I have left or lost. Plastic bag full of garbage - put it on a rock at night and forgot it - remembered about 8 miles later. $200 transitions bifocals fell out of my pocket - hunted for 2 hours and could not find them. Ice axe, boots - fell head first into a raging stream - the boots were someone elses (we were bringing out gear of a person who was evacuated) and the ice axe was mine. One tennis shoe fell off my pack while bushwhaking below Edith Lake. My sporke is sitting on a log in Cirque of the Towers, Wyoming. Plenty of fishing flies stuck up in trees. Lots of webbing and climbing gear when bailing off climbs. Socks that somehow slipped out of my hand while washing and went floating down the river.

That reminds me. . .
If anyone spots the top half of a spinning rod sticking up out of the sand bottom about 12 feet down in 4th of July Lake - - that's mine, and I want it back!

Where do I start. Plane wreckage (check). Chopper wreckage (check). Old tents, tarps, groundpads, sleepingbags, trash, cans, bottles, mining equipment (check). Im a collector so my wife loves it when I find more junk to add to my collection.

Best find was last summer in Desolation. Found a nearly brand new Cannon Powershot SD630 6.0mpix. Went to sit on a rock to tie a new fly, looked down and there it was. Went through all the pix to try to find a way to contact the owner. Called the ranger station to report it missing. Went CSI style to find the owner matter of fact. Had the persons wedding pics, trip to Peru, 4th of July. I mad many phone calls to try to find the owner with no success.

So, my wife has a new camera until the owner claims it. The owner appears to be about 25 to 35, female, blond, in shape, and from the Huntington Beach area. So unless you fit that description, forget about it!

Good one BMFB! And with digital cameras it takes less than a minute to take a pic of a piece of paper with a name and phone number on it. On my to-do list for sure.

On our recent trip to Emigrant WIlderness--to some of the most remote lakes in the area:

Found---a very nice official BSA pocket knife in mint condition. Somebody's gonna lose a badge over that one...

A perfect pair of fisherman's nippers, complete with hook cleaner. This at a lake where there are no fish.

A new and nearly perfect United Airlines Business class toiletries bag, complete with all the fixings.

And yet another of those dam**d mylar balloons--this one a "Happy Graduation" special that got lost somewhere in the Central Valley and floated up to 8,000 feet. grrrrr.

In the aftermath of a snowstorm, while standing on Mather Pass, I found a sleeping bag. It was in its stuff bag and laying in the middle of the trail.

The only footprints in the snow were headed the same way that I was heading so I picked up the down bag a packed it away. I walked until well after dark in the moonlight and set up camp very close to the trail. I never saw anyone else and the tracks were still headed the same way I was.

The next morning as I am getting packed I spied a guy humping it down the trail towards me. He had a jacket tied around his waist and a water bottle in his hand. When he got to me it looked like I would get a quick nod and then the pace was going to pick up.

I asked,"Did you have a cold night"? He said yes and indicated that he danced around a fire all night while his partner slept. I pulled the sleeping bag out and tossed it to him. He was overjoyed that he would sleep warm that night and that he wouldn't have to go over Mather again.

It seems that when he pulled his camera out to photograph both sides of Mather he lost his bag. I, on the other hand, am so paranoid about leaving vital gear that I'm always double checking everything, even my "scenic" stop sites.

Bad Man From Bodie wrote:Found a nearly brand new Cannon Powershot SD630 6.0mpix. Went to sit on a rock to tie a new fly, looked down and there it was. Went through all the pix to try to find a way to contact the owner. Called the ranger station to report it missing. Went CSI style to find the owner matter of fact. Had the persons wedding pics, trip to Peru, 4th of July. I mad many phone calls to try to find the owner with no success.!

mokelumnekid wrote:Good one BMFB! And with digital cameras it takes less than a minute to take a pic of a piece of paper with a name and phone number on it. On my to-do list for sure.

That's got to be a best practice!! Just pulled my contact info right up on the outlook biz card and took a pic right off the screen. Now, if i lose the camera, hopefully someone will be as honest in searching for the owner as BMFB.. sigh..

[quote="Bad Man From Bodie"]Best find was last summer in Desolation. Found a nearly brand new Cannon Powershot SD630 6.0mpix. Went to sit on a rock to tie a new fly, looked down and there it was. Went through all the pix to try to find a way to contact the owner. Called the ranger station to report it missing. Went CSI style to find the owner matter of fact. Had the persons wedding pics, trip to Peru, 4th of July. I mad many phone calls to try to find the owner with no success.
[quote]
I did that once. Found a SD card full of pics. Wedding pics, high school gradation, etc. There were several pics of a guy in a high school band with the letters of the school on his uniform. I searched around and found the HS and called the band dept. As it turned out, the band director was familiar with one of his student's stories about a lost card and the rest is history. Happy ending in my case. Took me a year to get it done, though, because I found it in the summer (school's out), then I forgot, etc.

I found my first Singing Balloon!

Bomber crash site, Mississippi Head, Mt Hood, Oregon.

Small plane crash site in Sawtooths near Ingeborg Lake.

A number of weather balloons with radiosondes--Olympics, Sawtooths, Sierra, Cascades. In the olden days the radiosondes were expensive and had a return address and IIRC you got a token reward for mailing them back. I never found one of those 'good' ones, only the more recent no deposit, no return type.

Antique bottle embossed "Dr J. Hostetter's Stomach Bitters". This just off of a trail that supposedly was used in pioneer days to access a hot spring--I kinda thought BLM was making that up as the trail isn't horse friendly. I had picked up so much contemporary garbage my day pack and pockets were stuffed--no more room--so I was cursing when I spotted another bottle--until I pulled it out of the duff. Wow!! Maybe that BLM story has credence after all.

I keep hoping for a satchel full of 20's. Maybe some day soon!!!