Camp 1: Winter hiking along a wide creek in a Wildlife area. No snow on the ground but temps in the 30's. Noticed a camp maybe 100yds off trail other side. Tent collapsed. Investigated. Crummy brand tent & sleeping bag. Tent collapsed and open with some snow inside. Sleeping bag kind of tossed about. Really cheap cooking kit sitting in the fire ring with ice in the pot. Really cheap damaged pack. The tent and gear was not up to the seasonal temps and looked long abandoned.
My buddy and I packed it all up into the backpack and stashed the pack next to the cattleguard that defined the land boundary between State and Federal land (Didn't want to carry it all out). The "trail" was a closed 4WD road that would be passable if it were open.
I called the County to report what we found. Dispatch said it was a poacher's camp they'd been watching for awhile. (Known of - perhaps. Watching - I don't think so. It was abandoned.) Called the USFS and told them where to find the packed up stuff on their next drive thru the area. (it's gone)
Camp 2: hiking in a relatively remote valley looking for airplane wreckage. Month of June so still some snowdrifts at treeline. I hiked to the ridgetop and looking downhill saw something blue sticking out of a snowdrift.
Story here:
http://www.coloradowreckchasing.com/DillonA3/A3trips.htmlJD had been hunting. Weather started very heavy snow. He wrote a note with his phone # and left it in his camp then bailed out. I took his note and called him to verify he got out ok and to tell him the camp was melting out.
Bottom line is that the answer depends on what I find. If it's a dropped water bottle, I'll carry it in case I find the owner. Camera would get turned in. Gun likewise. Knife .... depends on value. Stashed gear gets left alone. Trash gets picked up.
It depends.
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