DentonDoc wrote on Sep 27^th, 2010 at 9:21pm:

I think that's absolutely rediculous and am surprised at the number of people who clearly must forget their own packs frequently enough to think it's a reasonable assumption.  Maybe I'm just that amazing, that I've never forgotten a whole pack on a campsite.   

"I think that's absolutely rediculous and am surprised at the number of people who clearly must forget their own packs frequently enough to think it's a reasonable assumption.  Maybe I'm just that amazing, that I've never forgotten a whole pack on a campsite."

Not amazing, just solo.  Being solo, or in a small group of 2 or 4 people, or more if all are experienced trippers, it is very  unlikely that someone would leave a pack behind.

But consider a larger group, say 9 people ( maybe kids)who are all inexperienced and using an outfitter - likely they pack differently every time they move, and who knows who grabs which pack at camp or at a portage (gee, I thought it was in your canoe ! - when and where did someone see that pack last?)  - that is much less unlikely, and I'd guess it happens occasionally.

I once found a pack (boy scout canvas pack on packframe) along a stream I was fishing, about 4 miles from the nearest trailhead - it was in a steep little canyon in very rugged terrain (had to wade parts of the stream to go up the canyon).  I was concerned that I didn't see anybody, or any sign of anybody - could be someone got lost (unlikely) or possibly fell and got hurt?  For that reason, I looked thru the pack to see if I could tell how long it had been there (and for any ID, which there was none) - it had all the usual camping stuff - cookpots, some food, misc, a big heavy down sleeping bag, etc.  None of the food was bad, so I concluded that it must have just been left by a fisherman whom I couldn't see ?  When I got home, I checked local sources to see if anyone was missing in that area - nope.  Forgot about it, then went back to the same stream a month or more later to fish it again, and there was the pack, right where it had been left earlier.  I salvaged the pack and sleeping bag, "buried" the remaining useless stuff in a rockslide, and hauled the heavy stuff out to clean up the woods.  I concluded that some newbe had had enough of backpacking, just quit and left his stuff behind on purpose - nothing in there was top of the line gear.  Household pots and pans, a Frostline kit down bag (which I still use in my truck in Winter), and the cheap canvas pack gets used every hunting season at one of my camps where I hang my gear up in the trees between trips.  That must have been 20 years ago or more.

Another time, me and my Dad found a .22 rifle left against a tree at an unoccupied campsite in the Adirondacks - from the rust accumulated, it seemed that it had been there a week or so - nothing else at the site.  We called out, but got no answer - decided to haul it back with us, and left it with the local police. Never heard anymore about it, other than the cop said that people leave stuff in the woods all the time, more than you'd think.

So, no, I don't think it is that farfetched to think that someone might have left a pack behind at a campsite and not bothered to come back for it.

Preacher wrote on Sep 27^th, 2010 at 9:33pm:


Preacher, I'm knocking on wood while I type this, but I have never left a pack either.  However, working with kids, I've allowed a pack that I spied on the shore to be "forgotten" as the person responsible for that pack needed to learn a lesson.  We only paddled for 10 minutes before they caught on with my string of inquiries about whether or not we had everything.

As to stuff that was forgotten, misplaced, or otherwise left behind in camp or at a portage trail, here's what I've personally found that were each in plain view and could be construed as reserving a camp site:
1 food pack that reeked (probably mostly garbage); 1 size 4 Duluth Pack filled with gear; 1 medium size day pack filled with rain jackets; 1 tent (not set up); 2 paddles; 2 pfds; waterproof hard plastic case; huge tackle boxes; 2 fishing poles and fishing nets; hardsided cooler; pair of boots; climbing ropes (probably bear ropes); 1 Chaco sandal.

Oh, and I also found a junked aluminum canoe at a camp site once.  In all of the cases that we stayed on the campsite, nobody came back to claim the site, much less the gear/trash.  Like PJ said "Some people's kids."  

I want to know what you guys think of this. Dumping a single pack on a sight then being far away for long periods of time, that's obviously bad manners. But how about, and I've done this, getting to the sight you know you're going to take, throwing all your gear there, usually pretty obviously in the middle of the sight, and then going out fishing or exploring the lake some more. Basically just not getting to setting up your sight but having every intention of staying at the place you put your gear. When I've done this before I've been within sight, or at least almost within sight of the campsight. Am I being rude when I've done this or is what's being talked about as rude a different thing.
Just to clarify, I'm definetly not dropping a pack at each sight on a lake while looking for hte best one.

solotripper wrote on Oct 5^th, 2010 at 5:56pm:

For me a big pile of gear is a single pack!