One man's trash...

[BrianF]

The oddest and most disturbing trash I have found was on Mt. Shasta. My friend and I arrived in the helen lake area late in the evening in strong winds and whiteout conditions. We found a low rockwall shelter to block some of the wind and quickly set up our tent in it on the foot of new snow inside. As the winds increased overnight we were dismayed to realize that the rock walls weren't blocking much wind and that by setting up in the tent spot we were broadside to the wind. We spent much of that night sitting with our backs against the windward side to keep the tent from blowing down, there were gusts that got under the tent and lifted the tent floor with us on it off the ground. We sat fully dressed ready to bail if the tent blew apart.
The next morning the wind was still howling so we decided to give up the climb and go down. As we were packing up the tent we started seeing stuff sticking up throught the snow that had packed down under our tent. We dug around and found a Sierra Designs mountain tent still staked down with bent poles and torn fabric right under our tent. Further digging produced some bowls of half eaten food and some spoons and cups. Some one had to abandon ship pretty desperately. We hauled all the debris down and took it to the ranger station in case whoever it was was still out there somewhere, but were told that they made it down OK after the wind destroyed their tent

[oldranger]

I love it how people feel it is ok to abandon their gear when things get tough with no feeling of responsibility to return and retrieve it. It happened to me several times as a backcountry ranger.

Mike

[RoguePhotonic]

My dad abandoned a tent once due to high winds and cold. It was fine but he just didn't want to deal with trying to pack it up.

We did come back and get it a week later though.

[Flux]

I had kind of an eerie morning last summer on a dayhike lake. I arrived at the lake and just had a weird feeling. I head a couple big noises like a rock move and then what sounded like a wooden bang on a tree across the lake, which is not very big really. I watched the trees for a while, fondled my lock blade a bit. Nothing. No more noises and I headed to the inlet of the lake and while casting spied a weird blue backpack. I checked it out and it contained some cotton socks, a pair of lee jeans ..........and a blue bong?? WTF?? The daypack was old and faded the clothes looked dated. It was like a time capsule rolled off the hill. Between that and the loud bangs that morning I was spooked a bit, but caught some nice fish anyway. Strange find though for sure.

Mid 90's I took a solo trip to the continental divide in CO. I had nighthiked into Coney lake near the Indian Peaks wilderness just to tromp around and get out knowing it was my last chance to hike in CO for a while. The next day I bushwacked back to the upper lake and decided to scramble a saddle and get some views. On the way up I noticed a really pale log in a swampy area, thought it odd since there were no big trees up this way. On coming down I circled the other side of the valley and while hiking down the scree I saw a weird piece of aluminum. I picked it up, it had an aerodynamic shape, all at once it dawned on me. The log was a wing, then I saw the cockpit chasis, windshield all broke up, etc. The engine was gone as well as some other parts. Appeared to me someone flew into this tight valley and didn't have the horsepower to get out. I doubt very many folks ever get back in there, if any at all. So a pretty unusual find.

[TehipiteTom]

I love it how people feel it is ok to abandon their gear when things get tough with no feeling of responsibility to return and retrieve it. It happened to me several times as a backcountry ranger.

Mike

I confess that I once accidentally left a groundcloth in Kid Lakes Basin. Just spaced on it while I was packing up, and by the time I realized I didn't have it I was 10 miles away and 6,000' lower. My bad.

[rlown]

the only thing I've accidentally left was a yellow nylon fish stringer on the N side of Star Lk. It was draped in a small pine tree. So, if you find it, it's probably just the ring and the tip by now..

I have found a few nice knives over the years on trail.. Mostly Gerbers.

[Carne_DelMuerto]

During an early season (late April/early May) trip to Hamilton Lakes in '95 or '96, I found a huge Swiss Army knife, a few dollars, and a few other items that looked they fell out of an open pocket on a pack. They had obviously been there through the winter, so I guessed someone didn't notice an open zipper when they bailed out at the end of the previous season. I remember thinking, "who packs this huge knife with 50 tools you'll never need?" I think the knife has either been lost or is buried in a box of gear as I never would carry it.

Once, we left a bota bag filled with tequila hanging on a tree at the first night's camp. We figured it would be gone by the time we came back through, but there it was, 3-4 days later. I always pack out trash I find on the trail, even backtracking a bit to pick up stuff I saw on the way in.

[Wandering Daisy]

Oh oh- now that we have listed what we have found, do we have to list what we have lost/left? True confessions. Most were unintentional and I did try to find them, without luck.

socks- a few have gotten away from me while washing out in a stream
sunglasses - classic- put down on rock at rest break and forget
$$$ prescription bifocals - fell out of my pocket in a boulder field (cannot hop rocks in bifocals)
one tennis shoe- fell off my pack going up the creek to Edith Lake bushwhaking
ice axe- at the bottom of a creek I fell in headfirst- lucky to just get myself out
much climbing gear- used as anchors to rapel off on many retreats
plastic bag full of garbage- put under a rock and forgot to retrieve it- guilt to this day
sporke- left on a log- I know exactly where
water bottle - bye-bye as it falls 1000 feet off a climb
my belay device - bye-bye off Tenaya Peak
hat- bye-bye as the wind blows it into a lake
toilet paper- papered willows so helicopter could see wind direction on rescue- some not retrieved
spent fuel cannister- yup-earlier days- dropped down a huge gap in a boulder field, guilty
years ago left some food in a bear box, good intentions to return, route changed, lesson learned
many fishing flies, now up in the trees beyond my reach
many fishing lures, now stuck on submerged logs, below my reach
many fish, set in stream, memory of exactly where escaped my memory when I returned
too many pencils to count- fell out of my pocket
stove - caught on fire, it blew up to simtherines- only found the fuel cannister rim
tent stakes - probably found as many as lost so I am even on this one

[TehipiteTom]

sunglasses - classic- put down on rock at rest break and forget

One time when I did the Yosemite Falls trail, I was resting at the top and noticed something on top of Lost Arrow Spire. Got my binoculars, and saw a pair of sunglasses there. I didn't go fetch them...and I'm guessing the owner didn't come back for them.

[RoguePhotonic]

I certainly have left sunglasses. The last pair I remember leaving in the back country was in the middle of the Tablelands. I also lost a pair of socks near Glen Aulin. I lost a gaiter in Deadman Canyon. I lost a trekking pole on the ridge that drops SW of Mt. Morgan, I lost a trekking pole in the Middle Fork of the Kings. I have lost water bottles. And perhaps the worst that should not be admitted to I had to use a thermal shirt as TP once and I buried it with the rest of the mess.