[pct-l] Billy Goat's Lost Poles

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, all,

On NoBo hikes I usually pick up and carry any items I find along the trail.
My reasoning is most recent hikers are also heading that same direction, and
since I am usually a bit faster than average I will probably catch them
sooner or later.  South of “Tiger Tank” I found a stuffed shelter tarp on
the trail.  I picked it up, tied it to my pack and hiked on.  Later, I saw
Socks chugging back south on the trail without her pack.  She had gotten to
the tank and when she took off her pack she discovered she had lost the
tarp.  I told her she was in luck:  I just happened to have an extra one.



Somewhere south of Muir Pass I found a nice broad-brimmed hat along the
trail.  Later I came upon a hiker wearing a stocking hat in the middle of
the day.  Sure enough, it was his hat.



At the head of Evolution Creek I found one left-handed fleece glove.  Later
at the Evolution Creek ford I came upon a hiker wearing a black fleece glove
on his right hand, but a wool sock on his left hand.  It’s hard to grip a
pole without a thumb.



Somewhere north of Wilma Lake I discovered I had lost my distinctive
sunglasses.  When I camped several miles south of Sonora Pass a hiker caught
up to me and delivered the missing sunglasses; he had recognized them and
hurried ahead to catch me.  When he got ready to hit the sack he tied his
bandanna around his head grumbling that he had lost his stocking hat.  As it
turned out, I had found one a day or so before.  It wasn’t his, but he
inherited it and I no longer had to carry it.



Sometimes thing just work out….



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Sat, Apr 10, 2010 at 7:04 AM, Bob Bankhead <wandering_bob at comcast.net>wrote:

> What to do about equipment (or trash) found along the trail is always a
> question. On one hand, I'd like to pick it up and carry it as far as the
> next dumpster or re-supply station. On the other hand, I realize that unless
> there is contact information on or in the equipment, the chance of it
> finding its way back into the hands of its former owner is slim at best
> (i.e. the owner is going the other direction). The same holds true for any
> of my equipment that jumps ship (and a few things have over the years); too
> bad for me. I should have been more careful.
>
> How far I'm willing to carry such things before I can dispose of them comes
> into play as well; a day or two - maybe; more than that, forget it. Besides,
> I'm already carrying MY stuff, which is far more important to me than YOUR
> stuff which YOU lost. Also, the capacity of my trash bag was selected based
> on my own needs, which get served first.
>
> So, unless the item is deemed expensive, or has some means of readily
> identifying and contacting its former owner, I'm sorry, but it's probably
> just going to stay there. I came out here to enjoy my hike, not act as a
> lost and found or garbage service. If that sounds callous, too bad.
>
> Wandering Bob
>   ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com
>  To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>  Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 6:35 AM
>  Subject: Re: [pct-l] Billy Goat's Lost Poles
>
>
>  I think it's better to bring stuff with you that you find because if
>  the owner is going to go back and look for it, you might save him/her
>  a mile or more of backtracking. And if they don't, you might actually
>  find the owner later. But it's a crapshoot because there are section
>  hikers who aren't going the same way in some parts of the trail.
>
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