What's the most obsolete/useless/inapropriate item you saw on the A.T?

[Old_Man]

On my first Appalachian trip, I was so afraid of bears that I strapped a bike horn to my hip-belt to scare them away. Never had to use it.

[theinfamousj]

6*9=54

That's the joke. No, really. That is the joke.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk

[redzombie]

Ex-wife...

Nice! Can't stop laughing.

[jimmyjam]

wet toilet paper.

[Drybones]

A rock sack for tossing a bear bag line over a limb, made a mighty nice one with a fancy bag and coffee can lid 16" up the line so critters couldn't climb down the line, used it the first night, got up next morning to find bag on ground with all items sampled by a mouse, never hung again.

[Papa D]

I've seen people actually carry cell phones on the trail. They walk around and look for service - they call their wives and husbands and friends. They even claim them as a necessity in case of an emergency. I can tell you that when I through hiked, I had no such thing - I had a "phone card" for pay phones. A pay phone or borrowed phone is all I need now - - I'd suggest skipping the cell altogether.

[jeffmeh]

Oh man this made me laugh out loud. Not sure what she did when she hit the Smokies. If I was a bear I'd be thinking Peking Duck for dinner tonight! And it would take just one uncontrolled dog to make short work of it. Me, I would have got a nice cheery fire going, two forked sticks and a straight one...

My brother's family used to have a pair of ducks. It used to piss off his crunchy ex-wife when I referred to them as "Peking" and "L'Orange."

[handlebar]

Had to read the whole thread to see whether this one was posted already. Last fall I saw a sobo near Front Royal carrying in each hand two or three pieces of rebar duct-taped together as trekking poles. They must have each weighed 20 lbs. He said he didn't want to lose upper body mass.

[jeffmeh]

A couple of my younger tribesmen found a Styrofoam head (some type of retail display thing) early on and carried it the rest of the way.

Dropout (2012) found a small kiddie pool and strapped it to his pack, and still had it on Baxter Peak.

And yes, of course, 42.

[Coffee]

I've seen people actually carry cell phones on the trail. They walk around and look for service - they call their wives and husbands and friends. They even claim them as a necessity in case of an emergency. I can tell you that when I through hiked, I had no such thing - I had a "phone card" for pay phones. A pay phone or borrowed phone is all I need now - - I'd suggest skipping the cell altogether.

I also have a phone card and would prefer to leave my cell behind... However the number of pay phones has decreased to such an extent that a cell phone is nearly required for anyone who needs to occasionally get a call out. Many of the places one would expect to find pay phones have pulled them out.

[rafe]

I've seen people actually carry cell phones on the trail ... they call their wives and husbands and friends.

For some of us, that ability to call loved ones makes the difference between hiking long distance -- or not.

[Mags]

Pay phones are pretty much a relic. You can find them in large metro areas still reasonably frequently (usually in a grocery store), but increasingly less and less.

For example, none are listed for Damascus, VA
http://www.payphone-directory.org/payva.html

(Does not mean there is none, but that it is not reported. Still...)

[MDSection12]

For some of us, that ability to call loved ones makes the difference between hiking long distance -- or not.

+1

Until the day I can talk my wife into more than an overnight comes, I'm stuck with my cell phone. She doesn't mind if I don't check in every day, she knows I can handle myself and there's no need to worry, but I must admit that I sleep much better when I can get a call out before laying down.

My last hike was solo and I camped down in a hollow with no service. I didn't think it'd bother me, having done it many times before, but it did. Luckily, there was a huge rocky outcropping nearby and I got service from the top. She was quite flattered that I had literally rock scrambled up to find service and call her.

[squeezebox]

For a few seconds, I considered carrying a blow up party doll,
Just to be ignorant, real ignorant !!

[vic_doom69]

2010 woods hole shelter saw a woman with her pet bird. :/

[Rolls Kanardly]

A pay phone or borrowed phone is all I need now - - I'd suggest skipping the cell altogether.

So who carries the borrowed phone? Rolls

[ChinMusic]

So who carries the borrowed phone? Rolls

This. He better be bleeding..........

[rocketsocks]

For a few seconds, I considered carrying a blow up party doll,
Just to be ignorant, real ignorant !!

nothin ignant about a full body pillow.

[ChinMusic]

nothin ignant about a full body pillow.

It's just a ruze to get into the HOV lane on the trail.

[rocketsocks]

It's just a ruze to get into the HOV lane on the trail.

deflated traffic keep right.