What have you found in the woods?

In your travels in the backcountry, mainly off trail bushwhacking, what "treasures" have you found? For example, just when you think that you're the first person that has been in a "pristine" spot, you stumble across an old disused hunting camp that is miles from the nearest trail or road. I do this quite often, and it's amazing to realize who's been there before you. We know logging in the past has reached far into the wilds, so remnants of man and his works are expected.

Things I've stumbled across:
Camps old and new, Stoves, Metal Barrels, Chains,Wooden Barrel Rings, Pieces of Buckboards, Chains, Old Boats, Mylar Ballons, Clothes, Axeheads imbedded in moss on a rock, An old bear trap, the list goes on and on!

What have you found?

Cans, Cables, Gearboxes (from water wheels I believe), Old Glassware at an obvious old camp, Cars in the middle of nowhere, Railroad spikes (no suprise), Metal drums some with god knows what inside, Metal Pipes, Tires, I'm sure there is other stuff I can't remember.

Keith

Two weeks ago while 'whackin Bull Mtn (3136') in Maine we pushed through a particularly thick steep section and stopped to check our bearing. There at our feet, in the middle of nowhere, was a swiss army knife! Whats the odd's huh?!

Onestep

Among other things - A big plane crash

A 5' rock wall of typical NH construction about 200' south of the summit of Mount Prospect in Holderness, NH. I bushwhacked up there a few years ago, because it is very close to my house. There are no trails or views up there. All trees and brambles. Somebody had to expend a lot of time and energy to build that wall up there. Proves we were visited by aliens, I guess.

mavs00, where is that?

Nothing unusual or anything that others probably haven't seen on regular hikes: Airplane wreckage (Camel's Hump, Vt., Wright Peak); lumber camp remains (rusted iron coffee pot, stove, etc., Nye Mt. Adks.), stove (between Saddleback & Jay Mtns. on bushwack, ADKs), old car (off trail to Hogback, SW ADks), remains of old TV signal tower station (Graham Mt. summit, Catskills), probably tons of other stuff that doesn't come to mind at the moment.

Seeker said:

mavs00, where is that?

Click to expand...

Its............. in the Adirondacks of course.

I happened to be with Dick on the Saddleback/Jay discovery of the stove. Here it is on all its glory. Very odd too, 3200' middle of nowhere, no trail within miles. Big one too.

I think cutting thru the woods and boom there is a pond not on your map is the one of the best surprises.

West Field Pond


or if the link is still not working http://image30.webshots.com/31/4/71/54/2052471540074054169ctyocp_fs.jpg

I once found an abandoned school bus deep in the woods south of Mount Sherrill in the Catskills. This was particularly disturbing, as I had just read Jon Krakhauer's _Into the Wild_, in which a young man's body is found in the Alaskan wild, in an abandoned school bus

Not found by me, but was there all times when they were found:

$300+ digital camera. Just sitting on a Cairn, not another soul for sight in miles (on the Presidential range....so yes, for miles.)

L.L. Bean or EMS (cant remember which) sleeping bag that the rodents had gotten into, but was still useable after patching.

Sock

Empty bag of tuna fish and snack cake wrapper.....gotts love those slob campers

Brian

Found an old tow rope (the machine part) on the southern side of Gap Mt. At the time I was not completly sure that it was a tow rope or maybe just some sort of farming equipment. I never new there was skiing there and the slopes have 40-60 year growth in the area. About a year later I spotted it listed on the New England Lost Ski Area Project site www.nelsap.org

Found an old tow rope (the machine part) on the southern side of Gap Mt. At the time I was not completly sure that it was a tow rope or maybe just some sort of farming equipment. I never new there was skiing there and the slopes have 40-60 year growth in the area. About a year later I spotted it listed on the New England Lost Ski Area Project site www.nelsap.org


Found the nelsap.com interesting--especially Chris Vacarro's article in USA Today about Afgahanistan. Thanks for the info.

Not really the woods but on sunday on the Wallkill river in New Paltz, NY I found a 48" snow tube!!!! floating in the river stuck to the shore just north of the Rt 299 bridge over the Wallkill.

it's made by Aqua Leisure and has "Uncle Bob" plastered over it. it has 3 grab handles and according to AL's website, is a full functioning snow tube. Cool, maybe I can go down Whiteface in the ADKs with it. But anyway, it's in perfect shape, still inflated and all that....

Jay

Back in the early '90's, while enjoying a very limited foggy view from Hough, my dog Alex came happily bounding up the path with a weathered, scruffy old baseball. Somewhere in the scrubby trees he came across this prized treasure. To this day, I was always perplexed why someone would tote a baseball into the midst of the high peaks.

well tarnished quarter

yesterday between the hancocks on the ridge i found a quarter in the middle of the trail. it was heads up and very tarnished on one side. my partner, ahead of me, walked right over it. its green color blended in.

i left it to give someone else good luck.

Going up the Garfield Ridge Trail, on the steep section before the spring and cut-off to the tentsite, there's a brick lying in the rocks. How it got there is anyone's guess, but it reminds me of the story [ true or not ] about a thru-hiker who's buddy hid a chunk of scrap iron in the bottom of his pack. He supposedly carried it from New York State.

Dave

adkleaddog said:

What have you found?

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A nearly full case of beer emerging from a snow bank (previous owner apparently lost it earlier in the winter, probably during a snow storm) and the meaning of life.
The former I shared, the latter I've kept to myself.

Back in the 90's near Norwich Vermont I was hiking southbound on the AT and ran into a friend from the west coast that I had not seen or heard from in 6 years. Not quite finding something but unusual considering the last time I saw him neither one of us was into hiking.

Chip said:

A nearly full case of beer emerging from a snow bank (previous owner apparently lost it earlier in the winter, probably during a snow storm) and the meaning of life.
The former I shared, the latter I've kept to myself.

Click to expand...

I couldn't come up with any significant finds to add to this thread - then I saw your post.

This past winter, I found two unopened Bud tallboys frozen and partally buried under big rock near our local lake. Having cleaned out my share of empties over the years, I figured this was my reward. As it was 7 AM, I brought them home to drink later that night. My wife was "surprised" (ok - disgusted) that I would drink beer I found in the woods. Isn't modern packaging great!