Trying to check in on 2 guys I slackpacked in SNP on 7/5 (Sleepwalker/Poptart)

[JRowan]

I met up with a pair of thru-hikers (Sleepwalker and Poptart) on 7/4-7/5 at the Blackrock Hut (I had to bail out of my weekend trip due to knee problems and cut the hike short at the hut). Since I was heading back to my car and driving north, I agreed to slackpack them for a 10-ish mile stretch and drop off their packs at a spot near one of the road crossings before heading out of the park. I dropped the packs off out of sight (ish) in the spot they wanted, in a place that wouldn't really attract the attention of passers-by, but would not be hard at all to spot for someone looking for a pack.

Since I don't really know these guys beyond staying at the same shelter and grabbing some breakfast later on, I don't really have any way of making sure that they found their stuff okay. I know that I put everything where they wanted it and did exactly what they wanted, but I'm a worrier by nature, so I'm curious to see if anyone's encountered them on the trail since the afternoon of 7/5. Also, I kinda assume that if they hadn't found their packs, it would have made it through the grapevine for people in the area, since that would obviously be pretty catastrophic for them.

Obviously, there's not a lot I can do either way, but, seeing as how two guys I'd met 18 hours before were willing to trust me with nearly everything they had, I just want to make sure (if I can) that their stuff made it back to them. I know it's kind of a tall order to find out from a message board post (especially since cell/internet coverage isn't exactly abundant in SNP), but it's all I've got.

[slbirdnerd]

It's nice of you to try, hope you find out. Bump!

[kayak karl]

check for a thread "hiker absconded with our packs in the SNP " if you can't find one they probably found them.

[canoe]

thats funny Karl

[Jack Tarlin]

Just want to point out that while it was very nice of this guy to help out with a slackpack, "stashing" a pack in the woods for later retrieval by the owner is not always a particularly good idea. I know of one guy whose pack was pillaged by bears while it was "stashed"; I know of one guy who spent the better part of a day looking for his pack because it wasn't where he thought it was; I know of one guy whose pack was "stashed" for him and it was never seen again. In short, leaving one's backpack unattended anywhere, i.e. in the woods or anywhere else, for hours at a time, is generally not a good idea.

[JRowan]

check for a thread "hiker absconded with our packs in the SNP " if you can't find one they probably found them.

Yeah, realistically, I know that someone would have heard about it reasonably quickly if there had been a problem. Two guys getting stranded in the middle of the park with nothing but the clothes they were wearing (in one case, not much) and a water filter would probably come up in conversation around the shelters at some point.

I'm a worrier by nature, so the whole idea of leaving two thru-hikers' backpacks at a road crossing and then driving off kinda freaks me out. I get that this is super common, but I've never done it for anyone before, and I always get nervous leaving stuff unattended. (9 years of city life will do that to a person.)

[Malto]

Hopefully this all works out but is the benefit of not hiking with a pack really worth the risk of leaving it with a stranger to drop off in the woods? Miscommunication, animals, and people finding the pack (well intentioned or not)..... This is just tempting fate. Then we would have a sob story on here looking for donations for missing gear.

[jeffmeh]

Hopefully this all works out but is the benefit of not hiking with a pack really worth the risk of leaving it with a stranger to drop off in the woods? Miscommunication, animals, and people finding the pack (well intentioned or not)..... This is just tempting fate. Then we would have a sob story on here looking for donations for missing gear.

Agreed. Very bad judgment (not the "trusting someone" part, but the "leave the packs where only we will find them" part), but I hope it worked out for them.

[Onedawg]

I would feel the same way. I slacked three hikers in SNP last week, but I agreed to meet them at designated time and place. Once I took responsibility for their packs, there was no way I was going to let them out of my sight.

[river2013]

I am a 2013 thruhiker and I saw their picture at the ATC. They came into Harper's Ferry on July 10th.

[JRowan]

I am a 2013 thruhiker and I saw their picture at the ATC. They came into Harper's Ferry on July 10th.

Thanks for this. Glad to hear everything seems to have worked out.

[glacier freeze]

Yup. Poptart and Sleepwalker are in PA with me. I last saw Poptart at the General Store at Pine Grove SP.