Update: Owner found, tent returned. He was thrilled that someone was willing to carry it out for him.

The notice here on Whiteblaze didn't do it, or the notice I put in the RATC newsletter. His buddy was up on Dragon's Tooth looking for it (a mile from where I found it) when a friend of mine was up there, and they just started chatting. Fortunate coincidence.

He knew all the particulars, including the odd fact that it still had the tags on it. It was a brand-new Hubba Hubba, BTW.

I probably stood over that tent on the trail for five minutes trying to figure out the right thing to do. I knew the owner wasn't nearby, because Cove is a narrow ridgetop there. There's nowhere to hide. I came up with all sorts of reasons not to carry the weight (some of which are echoed above) but then realized that I was simply trying to justify not getting involved.

It all worked out in the end.