I dont know if real life is the same , but it seems in every film I have seen, hikers/campers/survivors ..etc. leave things behind. A rescued hiker may leave a whole backpack, a tent, or some stuff. Same for things lost while camping.

So you are camping/hiking somewhere and you see this tent, knife, backpack or whatever. What do you do ? Do you take it, leave it ? Make it more visible ( put it on a rock ) for the possibility of the owner coming back looking for it ???

What do you do ?

usually I'd leave it. How many of us go camping, and have a base camp from where we continue our outing? I'd hate for some idiot to take my tent and wander off, since I wasn't there with a 30-30 to defend my homestand.

If it is only one thing, sounds like trash to me. Pack it out. If it "valuable," turn it in to the local authorities. Now if it a lot of stuff, as in someone has "claimed" this spot but went off to do whatever, that is a whole new deal...

Leave it. Most times its just been cached and the owner is nearby. I have found valuables though - two cameras both in places they shouldn't have been, no owners near. One found its way back to its owner on the way out on the trail, the other to the Forest Service office, never heard any more about it.

Some scenes get eerie though. There's a place along the Duckabush River on the Olympic Peninsula called five mile camp, where someone was long-term camping one winter, with a tent and tarp and lots of gear laid out. I saw him and his camp twice, the third time I was back and he was gone, but al his stuff was still there, some of it knocked over and gathering rain and pine needles. His tent and sleeping bag hadn't been slept in for a while. Reported the gear to the Forest Service, they already knew about it. A trail crew picked it all up and hiked it out. A couple months after that we were back at five mile camp, and under a large rock we found some of his cooking gear still left behind. No idea where he went, up the trail to his winter fate or back down the trail to find a job, who knows. Folks who don't know about the camp will talk about the scene as being kinda spooky though.

I would leave it but I would be aware that there may be someone other than me in the woods and I would watch for them. They may have had an accident and need help.

Maybe a tent isnt a good example. There is a good chance the owner is somewhere around. Same thing for a backpack. But sometime your guess can lean to one side or another. If the pack is zipped up and lying against a rock, maybe the owner is somewhere behind a bush answering nature's call. But a backpack that is open an half empty .. and just lying somewhere near the trail....

Lets say what you found is a small item that is in no way left there on purpose like a knife, a hatchet, a first aid kit. And then suppose it is expensive like a customized knife( to make it worse for your conscious LOL).

If it was something expensive I would take it but I would turn it in to a ranger or sheriff, depending on where I was. I wouldn't keep it, I would know it wasn't mine.

Oh, I posted before seeing the other posts.

I think "cache" items will not be just put there on the trail. They will be most likely buried or at least kept in a conatiner under some rocks. Something to indicate they werent there accidently.

Lono, you have spooked me alright LOL . After reading your post, I dont think that I will even pick it up and carry it to any office. I may take a photo and take it to the authorities.

"...Lets say what you found is a small item that is in no way left there on purpose like a knife, a hatchet, a first aid kit. And then suppose it is expensive like a customized knife( to make it worse for your conscious LOL)...."

Pack it out. Let your conscience be your guide as far as turning it in. Leave it, and the next finder might be a couple of kids who end up hurting them selves...

Depends. If it is stacked and well organized or set up as a camp I just go around it because it is likely a camp and the people will be back.

If it is stashed, well organized, but covered, perhaps camouflaged, or in a depression where it is less noticeable it is likely a cache. Some people leave a note that tells anyone who find it that it is a cache and someone is depending on it. Those I leave also.

In less traveled areas caches can be a good way to work things. You can preposition supplies for a longer hike later. In my experience the people who travel the deep swamps and distant woods tend to understand what is going on and to leave the supplies alone. Sort of backwoods courtesy. In more traveled areas you get a lot of duffers who don't know any better and they tend to be less thoughtful and considerate.

If I see some gear I might mark it on the map and visit on my way out. If it is still there it is a judgment call. In some cases it is clearly abandoned. In which case it is plunder or trash. In other cases it is less clear what is going on. In which case I leave it and try to make a point of mentioning it, possibly leaving the coordinates, with the local authority.

It is pretty easy to lose a cache. Often people will mention to the rangers or guides that they lost one, or assume it stolen, and it can be helpful for them to find out it is still there. coordinates or a marked map help.