Frozen pack found in tree

Has anyone heard about this? It was posted on Facebook: "A backpack was found lodged in a tree on the North Branch of the Gale River. Its contents were frozen as if it had been in the water. It was found by a hiker who put up a post in the NETC named Audi."

Sounds like it could be related to this:

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthre...tes-Unfortunate-ending-(Claire-Marie-Cocuzzo)

Press reports I saw didn't specify whether a backpack was found. F&G would know; I'll email "Audi" to give him/her the contact info.

Found a backpack lodged in a fallen tree across the North Branch of the Gale River. I brought it home with me, everything inside was pretty frozen as it had been in the water, haven't yet found any identification, etc. If anybody knows anything about it, please email me and I'd be happy to help get it back to its owner.

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Hopefully it wasn't just someone who dropped they bag planning to grab it on the way back. I left my pack in the col between Waumbek and Starr King this weekend and would have been pretty annoyed if someone had taken it. You could be taking someone's food and keys without knowing it.

"Audi" replied to my email, and says that after confirming the ID with F&G, "the pack is on its way to [Cocuzzo's] family".

Good work guys.

nartreb said:

"Audi" replied to my email, and says that after confirming the ID with F&G, "the pack is on its way to [Cocuzzo's] family".

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TJsName said:

Hopefully it wasn't just someone who dropped they bag planning to grab it on the way back. I left my pack in the col between Waumbek and Starr King this weekend and would have been pretty annoyed if someone had taken it. You could be taking someone's food and keys without knowing it.

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I carry a very lightweight steel cable with loops on either end and a small lock with me in my pack. Easy to lock to a tree using the haul loop. This is great for letting people know the bag was cached on purpose so they dont disturb it. Cost was less than $3.

Tahoma said:

I carry a very lightweight steel cable with loops on either end and a small lock with me in my pack. Easy to lock to a tree using the haul loop. This is great for letting people know the bag was cached on purpose so they dont disturb it. Cost was less than $3.

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+1 Tahoma. Negates any wondering about someone's intent to come back and retrieve vs OMG wonder who lost this pack and whether they might be in trouble.
Thanks for thinking about others, too.

When carrying a backpack load and dashing to a side trip for a peak, view or other side attraction where I don't want or need the extra load, I stash the pack, less some "survival" items, where only a bear would find it.

Breeze said:

+1 Tahoma. Negates any wondering about someone's intent to come back and retrieve vs OMG wonder who lost this pack and whether they might be in trouble.
Thanks for thinking about others, too.

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Ahh, clever. I generally either try to stash way off trail so it's not visible, or hand it from a tree so it looks intentional. The action typically depends on how long I think I'll be leaving it. I've done backpack trips where I stash gear if I'm doing a loop, and that involves hiding it (unless of course it's at a campsite). My concern isn't so much nefarious activity so much as someone thinking the gear/bag was forgotten and grabbing it. I've picked up lost gear before, but I don't think I'd take an entire bag though. I operate under the assumption that someone would notice if they were missing their entire pack (vs. a hat or water bottle). I do get that this particular circumstance was different since the pack was wet/frozen (and perhaps appeared as though it had been there for a while).

I've left notes attached to cached bicycles (including a date) to avoid people thinking they were abandoned. (Note: they were also locked up)

TJ, there was no question about this pack, it was clearly not put in the water for safe-keeping.

Found a backpack lodged in a fallen tree across the North Branch of the Gale River. I brought it home with me, everything inside was pretty frozen as it had been in the water, haven't yet found any identification, etc. If anybody knows anything about it, please email me and I'd be happy to help get it back to its owner.

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nartreb said:

TJ, there was no question about this pack, it was clearly not put in the water for safe-keeping.

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Ahh - dangling modifiers got me! I read it as it was found in a fallen tree on the other side of the North Branch, and that its contents were frozen as though it had been in the water. I can see now that it was likely meant as 'in the water on a fallen tree in the North Branch.