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View Full Version : What would you do if you lost gear on the trail?



ccomplete7
01-18-2015, 19:24
Just did a day hike to Tray Mountain yesterday and think I may have left my tent there along the trail or at a shelter. Probably gonna drive up there tomorrow and look for it, but $%*! this hurts. Thinking of leaving a lost and found flyer at the trail head too but this is NO BUENO!

egilbe
01-18-2015, 19:35
How does one leave their tent behind?

ccomplete7
01-18-2015, 19:46
got dark and cold real quick on the way back to the car (day hike) and in pulling my insulating layer out of the bag...pulled out the tent at the top of the bag and set it right on the trail. i was NOT thinking at that moment. first time hiking in the dark too, so TOTAL bonehead thing to do. not to mention i was cramping up and ran out of water about 0.3 miles from the next stream. just bad all around. the wife says i'm DEFINITELY going to look for it as much as i spent (zpacks).

yeah, i'm about to cry. man tears in 3...2...1

saltysack
01-18-2015, 20:04
.3 from next stream...really. Why did u pack a tent for a day hike? Best of luck getting it back....damn all I found on my last hike was other trash topped off with a tampon and a pair of shi$$$ underwear!

PS
I picked up all the trash......couldn't bring myself to get the rest....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ccomplete7
01-18-2015, 20:24
.3 from next stream...really. Why did u pack a tent for a day hike? Best of luck getting it back....damn all I found on my last hike was other trash topped off with a tampon and a pair of shi$$$ underwear!

PS
I picked up all the trash......couldn't bring myself to get the rest....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

basically it was a mini-shakedown to load up gear and see how it rode. is there some kind of trail etiquette to leave gear where it might lay assuming the owner mihgt turn around and come get it? or maybe leave said found item at the nearest trailhead?

sorta freakin' out here but DEFINITELY learned a lesson that will stick with me from here on out.

Old Hiker
01-18-2015, 20:32
OK, enough - I hope the snarking and name-calling quits. Worry about the beam in your own eye before you worry about the mote in mine type of thing.

I dropped a quilted BDU liner before. It was threaded through my shoulder strap and I didn't notice it had worked its way out and down. I was lucky that Bubble Foot (Thanks, BF !) found it and brought it forward.

Dark, tired, not thinking, been there done that. I've learned once my pack is on my back, I step back several feet and check the area I was packing up in VERY carefully, as well as any places I was sleeping or making food. .

I think this reminds me to start labeling my high end gear with my real name and Trail name. Maybe a phone number as well. Hope you find it or it finds you.

egilbe
01-18-2015, 21:03
I'd assume, being this time of year, not many people would be out. I would go back and see if its still there. Bring a flashlight or a head lamp with you.

MuddyWaters
01-18-2015, 21:14
What would you do if you lost gear on the trail?


Id assume I would never see it again, and get on with life and buy replacement. I wouldnt drive several hours, and hike several more to look for it, because my time has value to me as well.

Yeah , it hurts.
It will hurt more if you spend the time to go back and look for it and dont find it.

johnnybgood
01-18-2015, 21:38
Trail etiquette of a major piece of gear such as yours would be to stand by for a short while hoping the owner returns. In this case...Good Luck !

July
01-18-2015, 21:58
What would you do if you lost gear on the trail?


Id assume I would never see it again, and get on with life and buy replacement. I wouldnt drive several hours, and hike several more to look for it, because my time has value to me as well.



Yeah , it hurts.
It will hurt more if you spend the time to go back and look for it and dont find it.

Probably pretty good advice here. If on a longer distance hike you tend to get to know those around you on a daily/weekly basis, I,ve seen items find there way back to the owner through word of mouth. My friend actually dropped a camera late one evening and did not discover it missing till we made camp. On rising the next morning while I packed up camp, she went back to where we filled up water the evening before. After just a few minutes, she came upon 2 hikers and one of the guys had it swinging from his shoulder strap to display it. WOW, made our morning :) On a day hike, probably just have to suck it up, and add it to lessons learned.

Another Kevin
01-18-2015, 22:16
I left my gaiters hanging in The Hemlocks shelter once. I hope Cosmo or whoever cleaned out found someone to make good use of them. It wasn't worth going back for them.

I also once had my camera fall off my pack strap while hiking in the Catskills. (I had it hanging by a cheap keychain 'biner. Subsequently replaced it with a real 'biner with a locking gate.) Another hiker saw it in the trail, picked it up and put it in the register box. I found it when I signed out. God bless him!

sccamper
01-18-2015, 22:43
For the cost of a Zpack tent, I would take a day off work and go look for it. You can drive to a parking area at Tray Gap and not be far from the shelter.

I found a stuff sack with a steripen, prescription glasses, contact lens case, meds and toiletries at Deer Park Mountain Shelter. I carried it out and tracked down the owner by the name on the meds. Pharmacy passed my info to the owner which contacted me. I mailed items back and only asked for shipping reimbursement. I got stiffed on the shipping reimbursement but at least I did the right thing. Wish I would have kept his address so I could have sent a nice card.

Frye
01-18-2015, 22:48
I don't remember what I did...

Never buy shine from a man in a pickup by the Catawba trailhead. I misplaced a tarp, fleece, awol guide, and a pair of glasses between there and Troutville. =/

I'm sure I had fun though.

At least I didn't fall off Tinkers, I know I was there after dark as I found some photos in the phone.

Best of luck getting your stuff back. =D

Coffee
01-18-2015, 22:50
Wow, losing my zPacks tent would sting badly. Good luck on the search.

McPick
01-18-2015, 23:45
Oh man... I feel for you on your loss. Me? '06 bad storm. Many hikers crowed into a southern shelter. Everybody was breathing into everybody's face all night. Lots of action in the morning.
Everybody trying to get up and get going. I packed my pack and took off. 4 miles later, just as I crossed a dirt road and climbed up into the trees, one of the guys I knew, Tom, came out of the woods onto the dirt road behind me and called out, "Hey McPck... how's your pack?" I started to call back that it was GREAT, when I realized he was trying to tell me something.

I had a VERY HEAVY (like 3 lbs) and VERY COMFORTABLE Thermarest 'Camper' pad, which I always wrapped in my tent's footprint and strapped to the back of my pack. Not that morning... I left it leaning up against the inside of the shelter. I could see it there in my mind. (DANG!) I did some quick calculations re: distance, (4 miles, mostly down hill to the shelter then 4 miles back to this location, mostly uphill) food, water, etc and decided to go after it. I figured by late afternoon I'd be right back at the road crossing. I started back down the trail.

Within minutes I met up with some of the hikers who had also been in that shelter the previous evening. And there was a guy named Ron, who was smiling at me real big... "Lose something?" he asked in an almost too cheerful manner. "Yeah, left my sleeping pad in the shelter," I remarked as I sped by him. "Oh," he turned and called out towards me after I passed... "Does it look like this one?" I stopped dead in my tracks and whirled around to look at him. Yup... Ron had picked up my pad and fly and carried it, thinking he'd see me at the next shelter that evening.

And see me in the shelter that evening he did. I got everybody's attention and as publicly as I could, I thanked Ron for helping me out that day. I reminded all the hikers at that shelter that we all had a responsibility to one another on the trail (which I witnessed over and over) and that all we could possibly do was be mindful, respectful, helpful when when the opportunity arose, pay it forward. I had a packet of those bar-b-que steak strips. I gave that packet of steak to Ron and expressed my sincere gratitude. Happily, Ron opened it and passed it all around, saying he was pleased could help. However, after carrying my pad for 4 miles, he didn't want to carry the additional weight of the meat!

Later that summer, I lost my favorite Bula headband somewhere in Vermont. It was a US Ski Team band from the Olympics in Utah. I was bummed! Luckily, one of my brothers lived in Park City. He had an extra one and sent it to me.

Like many of you, I pick up bits of trash along the trail. One day I saw a shiny reflection off of what I thought must be a candy bar wrapper, under a fern. Nope, it was a large wristwatch looking device that showed time, temp, forecasts, etc and elevation graphics. It was real fun to watch it show the elevation gain and loss at Mt. Washington and I was able to save that graphic for several weeks. Ultimately, it was too heavy and I really didn't need it, so I never use it now.

If you go after your tent, good luck. Finding it will surely be REAL trail magic!

ny breakfast
01-19-2015, 00:25
i'd be in the car by now going back, if it was that valuable to you. if it's going to risk job, etc. and you can make up the loss fast lesson learned

Dogwood
01-19-2015, 00:42
What would you do if you lost gear on the trail?I wish to rephrase that. What do I do when I lose gear on the trail?

I adapt. Or I go back and find it. I've walked back RT 16 miles, 11 miles, 9 miles, and 7 miles to retrieve that which I left or lost behind. I quickly broke myself of leaving things absent mindedly behind though, Rarely, do I leave things behind anymore because I've minmized the amount of differnt kits I utilize, know where each item is in my backpack, don't carry much of anything loosely hanging on the outside of my backpack, and, most of all, I ALWAYS do three checks around the immediate vicinity everywhere after stopping before heading off.

July
01-19-2015, 01:55
What would you do if you lost gear on the trail?

I wish to rephrase that. What do I do when I lose gear on the trail?

I adapt. Or I go back and find it. I've walked back RT 16 miles, 11 miles, 9 miles, and 7 miles to retrieve that which I left or lost behind. I quickly broke myself of leaving things absent mindedly behind though, Rarely, do I leave things behind anymore because I've minmized the amount of differnt kits I utilize, know where each item is in my backpack, don't carry much of anything loosely hanging on the outside of my backpack, and, most of all, I ALWAYS do three checks around the immediate vicinity everywhere after stopping before heading off.

\
Sounds like a TOP 1Sgt....

July
01-19-2015, 02:22
What would you do if you lost gear on the trail?

I wish to rephrase that. What do I do when I lose gear on the trail?

I adapt. Or I go back and find it. I've walked back RT 16 miles, 11 miles, 9 miles, and 7 miles to retrieve that which I left or lost behind. I quickly broke myself of leaving things absent mindedly behind though, Rarely, do I leave things behind anymore because I've minmized the amount of differnt kits I utilize, know where each item is in my backpack, don't carry much of anything loosely hanging on the outside of my backpack, and, most of all, I ALWAYS do three checks around the immediate vicinity everywhere after stopping before heading off.


Yes Sir.. We jumpin in Cenytal/SW@ America. Humpin them packs. is an Education. Questions?

squeezebox
01-19-2015, 07:18
Like I said in another thread, bring a 2nd trash compactor bag, anything that comes out of your pack either gets used immediately or goes into the 2nd trash bag. That way all your stuff is in one place, and no chance of mine vs. yours BS either.

Traveler
01-19-2015, 08:07
Just did a day hike to Tray Mountain yesterday and think I may have left my tent there along the trail or at a shelter. Probably gonna drive up there tomorrow and look for it, but $%*! this hurts. Thinking of leaving a lost and found flyer at the trail head too but this is NO BUENO!

You can try the lost item flyer, I have no idea what the success rate of that effort may be. There is no real trail "etiquette" for this kind of thing that is common.

I would drive back to the trailhead and check the area (and a distant trailhead if the trail is long and crosses various access roads) in case it was found and rescued by someone who returned to the opposite end. I have run across gear like this (watches, binoculars, stuff sacks with clothes or gear, etc) and returned them to the trail head I started from, leaving them near the register or kiosk if there is one, or in an obvious place at the start of the trail. You could be lucky. If not, take the lesson that most of us have learned similarly, take a few steps and look back for anything you may have left anytime you take your pack off.

saltysack
01-19-2015, 09:52
basically it was a mini-shakedown to load up gear and see how it rode. is there some kind of trail etiquette to leave gear where it might lay assuming the owner mihgt turn around and come get it? or maybe leave said found item at the nearest trailhead?

sorta freakin' out here but DEFINITELY learned a lesson that will stick with me from here on out.

Best of luck...we've all lost gear.....another reason I don't like breaking camp in dark!!....worst thing I've lost is TP......I hate leaves.....thank god for that ever useful biodegradable cotton bandana![emoji1]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RED-DOG
01-19-2015, 10:03
basically it was a mini-shakedown to load up gear and see how it rode. is there some kind of trail etiquette to leave gear where it might lay assuming the owner mihgt turn around and come get it? or maybe leave said found item at the nearest trailhead?

sorta freakin' out here but DEFINITELY learned a lesson that will stick with me from here on out.

No you probably want get it back especially if it's Z-packs everybody wants one but not everybody can afford one, some body just got real lucky, but seriously contact the local trail club tell them what happened and tell them to be on the look out, theirs a very slim chance you might get it back.

yonderway
01-19-2015, 10:08
weather has been great in georgia, its a three day weekend for a lot of people... that tent is gone.

it's a harsh life lesson, but somebody got a nice tent, maybe karma will come around for you

A.T.Lt
01-19-2015, 10:14
That does suck.. Ive found "non trash" items that were clearly dropped or misplaced. Depending on the location, near a shelter, or trailhead, or between trailhead and shelter or whatever, absent any contact info like name, # or email, Ill either prop up where it will be easily located or leave at shelter or trailhead where its easily noticed. Nothing is worse than losing something and searching and searching.
I take a sharpie and write my email address on most of my gear. I utilize my secondary email that I use for online sites, shopping and registering farthings online. A trick with digital cameras and cell phones is to snap a picture of your contact information. For a cell phone obviously use something other than that cell # for obvious reasons! My son and I found a drone in the woods near out house once and was able to track the owner down through the digital memory card.

Connie
01-19-2015, 11:23
If you didn't already, ask your employer for a "sick day" to go back to the trail campsite to look for it, because you feel so sick you left it behind.

If you put up flyers, put flyers in the gas stations, grocery stores and, especially, in the laundromats. Explain it had to be pre-ordered with a waiting list. Mention it is specialized lightweight gear and somewhat fragile: don't make it sound desireable. Like that.

For that reason, offer a cash reward and a steak dinner.

rickb
01-19-2015, 12:55
Just did a day hike to Tray Mountain yesterday and think I may have left my tent there along the trail or at a shelter. Probably gonna drive up there tomorrow and look for it, but $%*! this hurts. Thinking of leaving a lost and found flyer at the trail head too but this is NO BUENO!

Mark me down as one who thinks you will find it right where you left it. Or perhaps hanging from a tree branch at eye level right where you left it, or at the trailhead.

trbjr
01-20-2015, 22:12
Any Updates? Just wondering if you found it.

Toon
01-21-2015, 02:00
I would cry, then start looking at new tents online.

Dogwood
01-21-2015, 02:14
It may not seem so important to you now as you're still concentrating on the sting of losing something, particularly something expensive as a Zpacks shelter, but what can be done from this point forward to avoid losing or leaving things behind in the future is also important at this stage.

In the future consider during pre hike preparation laying out out everything for the hike neatly organized separated that you'll be wearing and carrying on the floor. Go over it. Dial it in. Give it some thought. This is what I would usually expect if doing a shakedown hike anyway as you were. Look at all of it lying neatly organized on the floor, NOT in a heap, visually locking it in with a mental snapshot. See the different colors, notice the volume, shapes, etc. Now, put on your apparel and load up your kit into the backpack as you will be loading up your pack on trail. Adjust the pack. Look in the mirror at yourself. Visualize. Walk around with your kit and in your apparel in your hiking shoes. FEEL as intimately and deeply as you can how it feels. Make that feeling, visualization, and complete sensory experience as real to you as you can through multi-tagging and association. Notice the volume, wt, feel, comfortability, tactility, smell, colors, sounds of the buckles clicking, etc of you, your apparel, and your kit. Unload and load everything again doing everything the same or take new visualization/sensory keys if anything was amended.

I do this every trip pre hike as part of the shakedown and on trail whenever I've unloaded some things from my pack and when packing back up in the morning. Now, I'm so deeply and intimately aware of what's on my person, where I keep components, and all those characteristics about my kit that when someone attempted to trail gag me by surreptiously placing a railroad spike into my backpack I immediately knew the volume and wt had changed upon putting my backpack back on. When 3-4 oz is suddenly removed or missing in a typical 22 lb load I notice. When someone placed a 2 oz Snickers bar into my backpack unbeknownst to me as a gift I knew it with an 16 lb load. When the volume and wt of my load changes as much as a tee shirt I notice.

Anal and meticulous all this may be, and admittedly some of this dialed in familiarity has been attained through many trail nights with much the same basic kit, but I've sharply reduced losing and leaving things behind. It's something that can be practiced on day hikes too. I will not get into horror stories of the expensive items I've lost and left behind on hikes but I have experienced those types of loses. Needles to say I've felt that kind of pain. What would be truly futile is if you don't do anything differently going forward to avoid more of the same.

Hope you find your Zpacks shelter. Happy hiking.

squeezebox
01-21-2015, 08:27
I don't mean to lecture, but when stuff comes out of your pack it goes into 1 pile. Better yet it goes into a second trash compactor bag. That way everything is in one place, much harder to miss. Do not explode your stuff across the whole shelter or campsite. People might think it's too close to their stuff so it must be theirs. Or worse they realize you don't care about your gear so they might as well have it rather than you.

Demeter
01-21-2015, 13:10
This stinks! What a nice tent to lose :( Hope you get it back, but if not, it's a valuable lesson... This is one reason I carry a small tyvek ground sheet with me. I lay it on the ground any time I take something out of the pack. Makes small items much more visible. Also keeps stuff dry when the ground is wet.

rikkitikkitavi
01-21-2015, 13:39
I have found gear that I needed on the trail. I assume that anything that leaves my possession finds its way to someone who needs it. You never lose anything.

rikkitikkitavi
01-21-2015, 13:41
Everything in its place, and a place for everything.

Dogwood
01-21-2015, 13:47
I don't mean to lecture, but when stuff comes out of your pack it goes into 1 pile. Better yet it goes into a second trash compactor bag. That way everything is in one place, much harder to miss. Do not explode your stuff across the whole shelter or campsite. People might think it's too close to their stuff so it must be theirs. Or worse they realize you don't care about your gear so they might as well have it rather than you.

Yup, another common way, especially for shelter users, who likely will not be by themselves, to misplace and lose gear. Witnessed it many times, pack explosions inside shelters as if one person is entitled to the space typically allotted for 3 people especially among the AT hiking crowd often accompanied by the, oh, is that in your way idiotic questions? Losing things can occur at your own campsites though too when you treat your kit like a bomb exploded inside your pack. Now, where are those Ti tent stakes. I know had 6. Shart, where's my other Smartwool sock?

Connie
01-21-2015, 14:00
Everything in its place, and a place for everything.

I like that and Demeter's tyvek sheet.

I practice packing and unpacking so often, adjusting my gear and making changes in what will go with me, I am doing much of what Coffee has said.

I have a Metolius Rope Ranger rope bag for my climbing rope. It has a little tarp sewn in. Open it up, the little tarp opens up for the rope to sit on the ground while flaking it in position, or, while coiling the rope to carry on top of the pack. I still like to carry the coiled rope on top of the pack.

I think adding a small "tarp" near the top of a gathered end pack or a top rolled pack woukd be an excellent feature. That way, as you pull out gear it can all sit on the little tarp.

Another thing a lot of us do is have different color stuff sacks: hygiene, clothing, food, shelter. Like that. Bright red. Bright blue. Bright yellow. Bright green.

Not all my black or brown stuff.

I have had theft. It hurts, because it is all very special gear. Not at all everyday things.

I have been moving to dark colors, however, bright colors or distinctive colors and pattern fabric might be excellent for inside the pack stuff sacks.

Dogwood
01-21-2015, 14:07
Another thing a lot of us do is have different color stuff sacks: hygiene, clothing, food, shelter. Like that. Bright red. Bright blue. Bright yellow. Bright green.

Yup. All my sacks are of different colors with one reason being able to more easily keep track of it it all.

ccomplete7
01-21-2015, 15:01
Any Updates? Just wondering if you found it.

no joy on finding the tent. instead sat on top of Rocky Mountain with the friend that went with me and had a couple hours of GREAT conversation...the kind you only get when you're in the mountains sittin' in the sun laying back on warm rocks overlooking Yonah Mountain. it was a good day. now off to rubbing my wife's feet and cleaning baseboards in hopes she break down and agree on a replacement tent before March! :-)

q-tip
01-21-2015, 17:57
One of the most difficult skills I had to learn in my 1,300 miles on three continents was organization. Where to put it and how to find it took many years to find a system that works for me. Not so much on the AT, but other treks and trips the loss of critical gear could have been life threatening. Unfortuately, I believe one has to discover what is most effective for them....