Lost or forgotten gear?

[Doctari]

OK, a few nights ago I had one of those "Real dreams", you know, when you can 't tell you are dreaming. Anyway, during the dream I hiked 8 miles to just before Dicks Creek Gap. For some reason, I did not notice how light my pack was, turns out I had: gotten up, packed my food & clothing, & headed down the trail (8 miles) TOTALLY forgetting my hammock stuff & tarp!!! I noticed this when I went to set up (1/2 mile or so before the road) & opened a nearly empty pack.

YEA, I woke up with a start, nearly fell out of my hammock.

SO, Has anyone had this happen, or heard of it happening in real life? Seriously, I walked the entire 8 miles in my dream, never noticed the empty pack, so I'm thinking, for me at least, it may be possible.

In real life, I have only left: a hat, 2 shirts, 2 hiking poles (at parking lot RRG, stuck em in the ground, tossed pack in car, drove away ) on separate occasions. And I "Lost" my spoon a few times, only to find it in my pack AFTER dinner.

I found (separate occasions) a tent on Tray Mountain, abandoned at least a few days, a headlamp (Happily returned to owner 3 days later) Monopod / hiking stick & a neat folding "camp" spatula.

[fredmugs]

Two things immediately come to mind.

1. Hiking in NJ when I got to the Walkill river valley there was an actual bench right on the trail so I decided to stop and take a nice long break. I felt something was missing when I took off the pack and realized it was my water filter. I had it in one of my side compartments and I remember having to scrape under a blow down and I'm betting it popped out without my knowing it. Instead of trying to go back and find it I just carried way too much water. I now carry my filter inside the pack.

2. Last March somewhere around Sams Gap in a bitterly cold rain storm my tarp came off my pack. It was so cold and rainy and I never heard it. Fortunately I was doing a hike where I was going SOBO and the people I car swapped with were going NOBO and we happened to meet that day. They picked up my tarp and enjoyed placing it in front of their shelter when it rained all night long.

[Tinker]

I forgot my spoon (second time in 30 years, thankfully) last weekend on an overnighter, so I carved one from a downed birch limb. No biggie. I more often carry stuff I don't need, keeping with my credo "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it".
I once cleaned my Whisperlite stove and left the cable which goes in the generator behind. The stove worked fine, and later I found that I had not actually left it behind, I'd just put it in some goofy place!

[wcgornto]

I left my Tilley hat at Velvet Rocks shelter just outside of Hanover, NH.

If any of you found it, I would appreciate its safe return.

[papa john]

While doing a section hike around Standing Indian Mtn, my wife had had enough and wanted to bail out. So we hiked down to the road, ditched our packs behind a rock and hitched back to the car with a fisherman. We then drove back to the rock and picked up the packs. Later the next day on the way home, I noticed that there was only one hiking pole in the back. I had carried mine with me while she had left hers behind the rock.

Fast forward almost a year later and I was back up there doing another section hike of the area (I like that spot) I drove back to see if I could find that rock. Sure enough, not only found the rock, but the hiking pole was still there under some leaves. Good as new.

I always leave stuff behind, so anytime I stop on the trail or when packing up in the morning, I now stop and look back where I was sitting to make sure I didn't forget something or leave behind any trash.

[nox]

After flipping a canoe we had to empty and drain our bags. I didn't have to carry it so i didn't notice that I never put my tent back in. 8 miles later I was Mad!!!. I also left a pair of tree huggers hanging after I wrapped up my hammock. I have done that a few times but only once did I not realize within a decent distance.

[Lyle]

Not actually on a hike, but on the way. My very first backpacking trip to the Smokies. Two of my college roomates and I packed all our gear, plus ourselves into my Pinto for the trip from Michigan to NC. Upon arrival at Cades Cove campground and unpacking the car, found one of my hiking boots was missing, apparantly fell out of the car during a fuel/rest stop. Had to high-tail it into Gatlinburg and buy a brand new pair of boots. Great for a very first trip, with new, heavy, not-broken-in boots!!!

Just as a note, Vasque later sold me one single boot real cheap to replace the lost one. Thought that was good of them.

[Philip]

Yeeeees. )-: My father bought me a Spot II PLB for Christmas this year, which I promptly hung off of the included carabiner on the top of my pack and forgot all about it.

Anyway, a few days later I decided to spend a weekend on the LSHT and left it on my pack even though I obviously wasn't using it. At one point I left the trail to do a little bushwacking intending to stealth, and when climbing up the bank of a creek I was crossing, I got caught in some underbrush and really had to dig in hard with my poles and forced my way up the bank. All of a sudden I broke free from the bush I was caught in and didn't think much about it. About five minutes later I decided on a spot and took off my pack. While I was puttering around preparing to set up, I noticed the carabiner hanging off the pack, but no PLB.

At this point I wasn't too worried about it because I immediately put two and two together and figured it would be easy to find since I knew right where I thought I had lost it. So, I went ahead and set up my tent and laid out my pad and bag, and walked the short distance back to the creek to retrieve it.

I looked high, I looked low, I scoured the bush(es), bank, creek, and surrounding area in ever-widening circles and came up with nothing. After wasting the last hour of daylight I gave up and went back to camp. The next morning I walked the area again while drinking my coffee, and once more on the way out and never did find the darn thing. Since the area is close to my house, I've been back out there twice since then looking for it to no avail.

Cost of hanging stuff off of my pack like an idiot: $150
Being 35 years old and still afraid to tell my dad I lost it: priceless

Lesson learned: Don't try to be inspector gadget and show off my fancy stuff cause it belongs in the pack.

[Slo-go'en]

I seem to lose stuff at hostles.

Left my spoon at "The Place" once (made one out of Oak and used it for years afterwards).

A pocket knife at Uncle Johnies (after fixing the wires on the rabbit ears for the TV, left it on top of the VCR).

A nearly full bottle of alcohol at Standing Bear - had to bum fuel for the next 3 days.

Forgot to pack my headlamp in the morning leaving the Gray Knob cabin one winter. Had to stumble 1.5 miles to the road on icy and rocky trail, in the dark with just a little moon light to help. That was the worst and the longest 1.5 miles I've ever done! Also lost a nice hand knitted hat on that trip while I was trying to find where my headlamp was in the pack as it was getting dark. (Oh man, its got to be here somewhere - maybe stuffed in with the sleeping bag?)

I guess thats not too bad for all the years I've been hiking.

[makoboy]

I forgot my spoon (second time in 30 years, thankfully) last weekend on an overnighter, so I carved one from a downed birch limb.

They say he carved it himself….from a bigger spoon

[sherrill]

We call it an idiot check. Wife first, then me. <Usually> works.....

[srestrepo]

i'm a larger individual, some might say intimidating. i'm just a big 24 year old guy. tough even...

a couple of weekends ago i went hiking. it was very cold and then it warmed up as i was hiking. it was a miserable experience to say the least... i rolled my ankle, my water tasted funny, i fell and got my knee/lower leg wet... anyway i had taken my beloved turtle fur neckwarmer off of my head as i was overheating. i tucked it ever so carefully between my back and and pack sure it would never leave its cozy spot. i sat down somewhere and took off my pack to eat something...

anyway i put my pack on and started to hike some more. as i approached a ridge i was coming up on it got very windy so i decide to reach behind me to grab my turtle fur and put it back on my head as a hat... as i reached behind me, i rolled my already weak ankle and fell. i managed to put one hand out to stop my fall spraining my wrist. as i lay there defeated, cold and slowly saturating my clothes in mudsnow i screamed. i screamed as only little kids do when they realize they are definitely having things not go their way...

i turned around and went home... and proceeded to take on the persona of a sulking, whining 5 year old with mud on his face. needless to say i'll never tuck anything back there ever again. i miss my turtle fur... if anyone finds it... i'll be forever grateful even if it has mud on it.

[flemdawg1]

Nearly lost my wife's $250 brand new digital camera. I was taking my 2 oldest kids (age 7 and 3 at the time) on thier 1st overnight bping trip to the Walls of Jericho. On the way back the next day had a 1000ft climb back to the trailhead. We stopped about 1/3 the way up as the younger was getting abit tired and whiney, so we took off the packs and had some gorp and water. Then 2/3 up we break again and I noticed the camera pouch wasn't on my hipbelt. So after breifly considering tieing the kids to a tree, we all descended in a run to the last spot and found the camera where we had stopped. Those kiddos were dead tired and ready for some ice cream when we finally made it to the car.

[Medic!]

Got to a parking area on a remote forest road hours earlier than expected on a VT section to meet my ride out. It had started raining that morning so I just hiked through instead of 'stopping to smell the roses' so to speak, and although my ride was coming at 1800, I got there at about 1300. In the rain, of course. I set up my tent on the quick and sat there for the five hours until my ride got there, packed up double time by headlights (this was in October , so dark by 1800) and got out of Dodge. 15 miles down the road however, I realized that my Black Diamond carbon fiber trekking poles with my nice marmot rain hat hanging on them were still stuck in the ground in the tall grass at the edge of the lot. We had to ride back to the parking lot and search with headlights and flashlight in the rain for my poles and hat, which thankfully were quickly located.

[Ender]

I'm notorious for leaving my gaiters beside the trail when I take them off for breaks.

I forgot my spoon once... both me and my hiking partner both did actually. I carved up a couple chopsticks and that worked just fine for me. Can't remember what my hiking partner did.

Forgot my lighter once, but luckily (and by complete accident) had a book of matches in my pack.

[Grampie]

They say he carved it himself….from a bigger spoon

At the start of my thru I met a young lad at Springer shelter. He had a piece of a limb and was carving on it. When asked what he was making he replied, "A spoon." He said he forgot to bring one.
We gave him the name "Spoonman", only to discover a hiker fron New Zealand had that trail name. We decided to call him "Craftsman" instead.

[Feral Bill]

I left a pair of new Smart Wool socks at a camp once along the Wonderland Trail. Long ago I hiked to West Mountain Shelter without a spoon. Made one from a twig and aluminum foil. Other than that so far so good.