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View Full Version : Any idea, random tents, tarps, clothes on mountain top?



SurferNerd
12-07-2008, 17:52
Ok, so on my small shakedown hike this morning from Fontana Dam, down to Cable Shelter. The first summit south of Hwy28 has two tents, tarp, tent poles, and socks hanging in a tree just laying on the ground. Is this a common thing now, or was this the site of an emergency packup? It looked too camplike to be just random trash throwing. It looks as if camp was set up for two tents, clothes were hung in tree to dry, and thats it. There's no tent bags so I doubt it was weight dropping..any ideas?

KG4FAM
12-07-2008, 17:59
If everything was set up then folks may be setting up a base camp and doing day hikes in the area.

SurferNerd
12-07-2008, 18:18
Sorry, I forgot to mention, all the gear was broken. The tents were smashed, the tent poles ripped into pieces. There were ice pools on the tarp, and the socks were frozen wet on the tree. It was definitely not a base camp, lol, but I thought the same thing until I saw the damage.

Toolshed
12-07-2008, 18:30
I've seen that occur once in the ADKs and twice in PA. From what I could see it is one of 2 things
1. folks that are new to outside camping hike in somewhere with a lot of $hit and have a cold or wet sleepless night and decide in the morning to screw it and leave there crap there and walk out with near empty packs.
2. Couple of folks (or kids) go out for some hunting and leave their stuff there for the next weekend, to avoid packing it back in and either comeback to see it windblown and destroyed and decide to leave it there, or they simply never make it back on a second trip to get their gear.

Dances with Mice
12-07-2008, 18:41
I have recovered three tents from the AT, all either Wal-Mart'ish or Sports Authority type tents. One was a single room cabin tent. All the ones I've found have had poles and stake intact, one even still had the set up instruction sheet still in the tent bag. Here's one. (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=15782&catid=member&imageuser=1030)

I figured someone spent a miserable night in a leaky tent and bailed, figuring the tent wasn't even worth carrying out.

Each time I've kept the freebie tents a year or two in my basement before throwing them out.

SurferNerd
12-07-2008, 18:48
Haha, well that explains it. I assumed they were Ozark Trail, red and cream material with red poles. It was surprisingly a beautiful summit, and I mean it was most likely 1.5 miles up from Hwy28, what a horrible waste. Oh well, if someone needs a tarp or two tents that need replacement poles..you know where to get them, haha.

Blissful
12-07-2008, 22:31
You see lots of weird stuff on the AT. And gear too.

OldStormcrow
12-08-2008, 09:44
If you ever want to pick up a bunch of really good "car-camping" gear, just go over to Gooch Gap Shelter or even Hawk Mountain Shelter. Iron fry pans, hatchets, axes, etc.