Back to reality for me, I agree with Richlacal. I'll refer us back to Blast's post. His advice includes neither touching nor moving.

Context is everything. If it's off the beaten path and stashed or hidden, or in a camp, then leave it be. If it's on the trail or thrown to the side carelessly, then a little investigation is probably in order.

It is really, really bad to mess with equipment that someone else is depending on.

Dont touch, don't mess with it, but take a picture and write down the coordinates. And have a little look around to make sure someone wasn't stuck in a particular bad spot while locating water or fertilizing.


As always, there are exceptions. A lot of people will dump their big packs with tents and stuff at the foot of a mountian and go up to the top with a small daypack or nothing at all. At popular "day hike" mountain tops I've counted perphaps 30 day packs in a very small area.

I would look around, search the area for a while silently, then signal with whistle, mark the location in map etc., tell about it authorities later, but probably never touch the backpack thinking it might be some kind of trap. You never know.



I agree that Blast's suggestion is very good. But as far as not touching the backpack he wrote: "4. Take a picture of or write down the ID information." How do you find out ID information without touching/opening the backpack?

+1 Blasts response.

my first thought = crime scene. i won't put my fingerprints on that bag, nor would i hang around. i would take a few pix, note the location, notify the jurisdictional authorities when possible.

To me this represents a real or potential lost person, which is a law enforcement function.

- Based upon this I would try to locate the owner (whistle, calling, etc.) to see if they are injured or require assistance.

- I would avoid approaching the pack allowing any existing footprints and scent to remain undisturbed.

- I would mark the location with flagging tape, medical tape or any other highly visible means.

- Mark the location on a Map/GPS.

- Photograph from a distance if possible.

- If there is more than one in our group, leave someone to monitor the pack and/or make contact with returning owner and send one or more to contact authorities.

Pete

I'm used to people writing their names on their packs with a Sharpie.
-Blast

Aha, interesting. I have never seen that.

Based on the context, I got the sense that he was clearly avoiding touching. Some ID's are visible from the outside. EDIT: Yes, that was the intent.