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Tractor
11-01-2006, 19:40
I'm sure this has been covered before but I thought I would toss it out again. Have you ever forgotten something BIG just as you were setting out for a long hike? Paying the next rent for instance? Your stove (I did that one)? Boots perhaps? Antifreeze in your ride (winter hike a-coming)? Insurance payment? That hot sauce you had on the kitchen table....that you had sooo wanted to use about every meal....

Whatever it was, how did you handle it?

Lone Wolf
11-01-2006, 19:48
Nope . Never. I'm very organized. It's a Marine thing.:)

general
11-01-2006, 19:53
i forget my leki poles all the time. it's a short term memory thing.

jlb2012
11-01-2006, 19:55
forgot water bottles once, spoon twice, straps for hammock once - thats about all I can think of - all easily taken care of

Blissful
11-01-2006, 19:57
Well it wasn't big but this past weekend's hike, forgot to pack any utensils at all. No lexan spoons, etc. The first night we ate potatoes using tortillas as scoops. The next night we were able to get some plastic spoons from the Blackburn trail center caretakers.

Skidsteer
11-01-2006, 20:04
Forgot a spoon once. I made a replacement by cutting up a soda bottle(my wife's idea). It worked fine.

jlb2012
11-01-2006, 20:10
good idea Skidsteer

Dances with Mice
11-01-2006, 20:22
I sat at Bryson Gap on the Benton Mac/Duncan Ridge Trail once waiting for my iodine water treatment to work and whittled a pair of chopsticks from a Hemlock tree (Note: not Socrate's hemlock, that's an herb) because my Lexan spoon was at home carefully nestled inside my dishwasher. I didn't lose an undue amount of weight on the trip, so I guess they worked pretty well.

Once I forgot my pocketknife and realized I didn't really use it all that much anyway. But that time I had my spoon.

Doctari
11-01-2006, 20:32
Probably. I just don't remember :rolleyes:



Lets see: Hat in my car, 80 trail miles from my start point. Sleeping bag liner on a very cold trip, safely in the clothes dryer. etc etc etc.


Doctari.

Skidsteer
11-01-2006, 20:43
good idea Skidsteer

I thought so too and immediately praised my bride for her good sense.

Now here's the 'rest of the story':

The soda bottle in question contained precisely 20 ounces of common box-wine Burgundy. Being frugal by nature I insisted on making use of the contents prior to surgery and persisted until the task was complete.:D

Then I set to work making spoons with a small, cheap, non-locking-blade multi-tool I used to carry.

It's one of the few times I've actually used my first-aid kit.:o

trlhiker
11-01-2006, 21:01
My warm fleece jacket once, luckily we had 2 mild nights.

Alligator
11-01-2006, 21:24
My boots on a winter trip. I used my sneakers.

The tarp for my new hammock. I kept my rain gear handy and hoped for the best. The next night I made sure to reach the shelter. I bought a cheapie in town on the third day.

Ewker
11-01-2006, 21:46
My boots on a winter trip.

whew, glad I am not the only one :eek:

littlelaurel59
11-01-2006, 21:52
On a car camping trip when my son was a cub scout I forgot to pack the rain fly for our tent. Fortunately we had fair weather. Potential disaster, though.

I can't recall any "big" (that is, "important") items forgotten on a BP trip.

Just Jeff
11-01-2006, 21:56
I forgot my spoon once. I carved one from a stick while my food soaked.

Forgot my sit pad on a winter trip and wouldn't even consider using my insulated mat out there like a sit pad, so I did without. Got kinda cold sitting on the snow like that, but no big deal.

I used my bearbag cord as a clothesline once and left it at that campsite. 30' of 550 cord - I was pretty irritated, but no way was I hiking back to get it. That's about the time I quit bearbagging.

But nothing big, I guess. The sit pad was probably the biggest inconvenience.

RAT
11-01-2006, 21:56
Nope . Never. I'm very organized. Comes from hanging around Lone Wolf ;-)

RAT

Alligator
11-01-2006, 22:17
...

I used my bearbag cord as a clothesline once and left it at that campsite. 30' of 550 cord - I was pretty irritated, but no way was I hiking back to get it. That's about the time I quit bearbagging.

...I got pretty good at forgetting clothes lines so I discontinued using them for quite a long time. Then this past summer I used my bear bag line for a clothes line and (of course) I left it:datz . Oh well, it was heavy line anyway, a good excuse to lighten up a little.

neo
11-01-2006, 22:24
whew, glad I am not the only one :eek:
:D your girl friend forgot her sleeping bag that time in the smokies:cool: neo

Just Jeff
11-01-2006, 22:28
Yeah, but I saw them later on the trail and gave it back. He never knew a thing... :eek:

Mother Nature
11-01-2006, 22:34
I was so excited to head out in 2004 that I headed out to Maine wearing my bedroom slippers. I glanced down and couldn't believe my eyes. I had left my boots on the front porch. Thankfully we live in GA and I took the ride back home very red faced. :p

Mother Nature

TJ aka Teej
11-01-2006, 22:41
Cooking pot and lid. I had a cheap metal cup though that fit on my pocket rocket. Worked out OK, and now I just carry the cup.

Gaiter
11-01-2006, 23:49
forgot my spork and when i was saying good bye to my parents, gave my dog some water in her bowl, and i forgot the bowl, so we shared the same pot for a couple days. But luckly my parents were stopping by ms. janets to take my extra food, since i would be there in a couple of days, so they saw everything i forgot and left it there, well acctually now that i think of it, i didn't get the spork, i had to borrow lil'red's fork for a few days (thanks lil'red!)

Webs
11-02-2006, 00:15
:mad: grrr, i forgot my hiking poles this summer during my section-hike--made it all the way to hot springs (this year's terminus) from springer, then i leave them at elmer's sunnybank inn. i called him recently and said they're long gone! :( hope some other hiker is enjoying them now! :o

Hana_Hanger
11-02-2006, 00:30
I forgot all the instant oatmeal and all the small packages of mustard, ketsup that sort of thing.
The big deal was the Bic lighters were in that same ziploc bag...oh well we did have matches.

Blissful
11-02-2006, 14:53
Forgot a spoon once. I made a replacement by cutting up a soda bottle(my wife's idea). It worked fine.

Yeah my hubby wanted to cut up a Orikasa plate. I told him NO!!! :)

Blissful
11-02-2006, 14:54
Yeah my hubby wanted to cut up a Orikasa plate. I told him NO!!! :)

I neglected to say they were given to us...but I still didn't want to and we made do.

Ender
11-02-2006, 15:04
My Leki poles are still to this day travelling around California on a Greyhound bus somewhere.

ardeaitch
11-02-2006, 18:01
My wife and I set out on a two+ week car camping trip this summer. Got to the first camp - Rocky Bluff up near Hot Springs NC. We got the tent set up and had a nice walk down on the Spring Creek nature loop there. As we got back toward our campsite and were figuring out our dinner, it suddenly dawned on me that I forgot to pack the stove... We ended up making a lot of campfires over the rest of our trip to do our cooking. We'd just bought a new stove last winter when our old one gave up the ghost, so we weren't too anxious about buying another new one. We got pretty creative in our recipes and cooking methods... it all turned out good.
R

saimyoji
11-02-2006, 18:33
Spoon on several occaisions. I am at the point where I now plan on making a spoon/chopsticks while I wait for my water to boil. Only takes a few minutes, and they are a replenishable resource.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-02-2006, 18:38
My tarp once - I have a 'test hammock' that is the same color and grabbed it instead. Thank goodness it didn't rain much. We did have the tiny bivy tent or we would have cancelled the trip.

Kerosene
11-02-2006, 18:57
Nope, nothing that I can recall in the 20-or-so section hikes I've done. Then again, I agonize repeatedly over what to bring for months before the hike and can visualize where everything is in the pack before I load it into the car. I've walked a few steps away from the car before remembering my poles a few times though.

hikerjohnd
11-02-2006, 19:57
I forgot to quit my job... No kidding - they knew I was leaving, even had a goodbye party for me. When I got back, they said I forgot to fill out the forms to quit. Worked out well for me though - got the same job that fall and as far as HR was concerned I never left.

Two Speed
11-02-2006, 20:42
I forgot to quit my job... No kidding - they knew I was leaving, even had a goodbye party for me. When I got back, they said I forgot to fill out the forms to quit. Worked out well for me though - got the same job that fall and as far as HR was concerned I never left.Now if you could wire that so Payroll would forget to stop cutting checks . . . this could be the perfect backpacking job! :banana

Forgot my walking stick on one trip. Bad part is I usually use that as the second pole for my Lunar. The Lunar will work with one pole, but it ain't pretty. I just had to find a tree to "back up" to, so things worked out, though.

Downhill sections were a still PITA, until I could find another stick I liked the look of. I must be way too picky, because it took me two or three days to find an acceptable substitute.

weary
11-02-2006, 21:33
I'm sure this has been covered before but I thought I would toss it out again. Have you ever forgotten something BIG just as you were setting out for a long hike? Paying the next rent for instance? Your stove (I did that one)? Boots perhaps? Antifreeze in your ride (winter hike a-coming)? Insurance payment? That hot sauce you had on the kitchen table....that you had sooo wanted to use about every meal....

Whatever it was, how did you handle it?
Well, I left my camera on the train when Amtrak made me transfer in Washington, DC, So when I reached Atlanta I stopped at a Camera store and bought a camera that was a pound lighter -- a good decision, though one that severely restricted my budget for the first few weeks before a new social security check arrived.

Weary

SGT Rock
11-03-2006, 02:54
I forget some things on short trips - but can't think of anything I forgot for a long trip.

Some things I have forgot -
the footprint for my tent.
a bottle of tequila
a strap for my hammock
my spare lighter
my iodine water treatment

But usually this is because I got a chance to go hiking and was in a hurry to get out the door.

bartender
11-03-2006, 03:15
I join the legion who forgot his spoon, whittled one out of a stick and now am spoon obsessed. Also left my trekking poles on the roof of a car that gave me a lift into Richmond Vermont on my LT hike, based on the tags they now live in Ohio.

Kerosene
11-03-2006, 13:49
a bottle of tequilaHow could you forget that!!!!! :eek:

Just Jeff
11-03-2006, 13:50
He was too drunk to remember?

Two Speed
11-03-2006, 13:52
Forgot a bottle of tequilla? Truly shocking, and possibly alcohol abuse if the bottle wasn't left in a safe, warm place in the care of a responsible adult.

icemanat95
11-03-2006, 14:55
I forgot my boots once...very excited about the trip and leaving very early in the morning. I left them in the middle of the living room floor. I had intended to grab them on the second trip out to the car, but never made the second trip.

I left my rain parka behind at the campground outside of Erwin, TN. I got someone to shuttle it up to me the next day.

Egads
11-03-2006, 19:38
I have not forgotten anything major before backpacking, but I forget about things while backpacking. I can't seem to remember anything about work or honeydos while I'm on the trail.:rolleyes:

Egads

Skidsteer
11-03-2006, 19:45
I have not forgotten anything major before backpacking, but I forget about things while backpacking. I can't seem to remember anything about work or honeydos while I'm on the trail.:rolleyes:

Egads

Then you're doing it right, Egads!

mweinstone
11-03-2006, 20:27
i forgot a molacule once. great thread.

scope
11-03-2006, 21:25
I don't get out enough, so I eagerly anticipate each trip by packing a month in advance. In this particular case, it was about two months as I had a new backpack and a new tent. So, its packed, but I decide I need to experiment with various ways of carrying my tent, separating the tent, fly, and poles and packing them in various places. But with two weeks to go, I get busy with work and other stuff, but I say to myself, "I'm packed, ready to go". Great feeling, no stress the night before, just the pack to load in the a.m. and off I go...

....without my tent poles!

Was hiking with a buddy who had a 2-man tent of his own, so it worked out fine, but just imagine having a new tent to test out and you can't because you forgot the dang poles!! Urghh, I felt like SUCH a dork! (which by the way, I am)

Wanderingson
11-04-2006, 04:45
Over the years, I have had the distinct pleasure of forgetting all kinds of things. Oten times I realize it at the most oportune time and get that sinking feeling in my gut. "Now, I know I packed that fuel where the heck is it." No matter how many times I tear things apart, it just never seems to materialize--funny how that works. Sometimes, I find it a challenge when I forget something to see how creative I can be to make some field expedient improvision. When I'm successful, I grin from ear to ear like a young child with a new toy. On a showshoe trip in Northern Utah last year, I tucked my gloves into my hip belt after leaving a backcountry yurt. After about ten minutes, I reached down and looked for my gloves--they had fallen off somewhere while I was breaking trail. I had two options--press on or go back and get them. I had the wife wait there and found them 5 minutes back. I tend to get a little absent minded and will leave things when I break for lunch or stop for the night. I've left treasures for others to find along the way numerous times. It just really sucks having to reinvest in good gear.

I guess the biggest issue with leaving things behind is getting razzed by hiking buddies along the way. It typically makes for good conversation for a later hike though.

longshank
11-04-2006, 10:43
i forgot a molacule once. great thread.
the scope of your inannity continues to impress.

Just Jeff
11-04-2006, 11:18
I've left treasures for others to find along the way numerous times.

Hrm. When is your next trip? And where? :D

Wanderingson
11-04-2006, 11:29
Hrm. When is your next trip? And where? :D


May be a while before I can get out and do any real hiking. Not much in this barren wasteland.

Two Speed
11-04-2006, 11:31
Hrm. When is your next trip? And where? :DGreat minds think alike.

And us too! :sun

Just Jeff
11-04-2006, 11:57
May be a while before I can get out and do any real hiking. Not much in this barren wasteland.

DOH - didn't notice you were over there. As soon as I get back each time, I have to go camping to remind myself that I like being outside. It's easy to forget that "outside is good" when you're over there, no?

I even feel guilty about it b/c I try to find something I like everywhere I go - there were a few things...beautiful sunsets, and the first blinding sandstorm was pretty neat, and the creepy nighttime fog in Qatar - but for the most part I just wanted to get back to trees and creeks. Probably some homesickness coloring my judgment, though.

But anyway, hopefully you'll be back soon. Then I can hike behind you and pick up my...er...your treasures. :D

Btw - Sabah al Salem means "morning of peace."