"I found it in a hiker box"

[TyJoWa]

What's the best thing you found in a hiker box?

[Doctari]

At Kincora: a pair of scissors, the perfect size for hiking use & sharp (& well made) enough to cut Mole skin. I made a holster for them when I got home, & they go on every trip now. I shall forever wonder why they were left there.

[Sailor (The other one)]

At Mountain Crossings, last year. We'd forgotten Mudpie's knee brace and to cut sit pads from some old blue foam. In the hostel hiker box we found a knee brace and, next to it, some cut blue foam. (And the staff loaned us some reading glasses to replace the one's Mudpie lost).

[takethisbread]

A water bottle full and I was thirsty

[Cheers]

Food, glorious food!

[RedneckRye]

At Vermillion Valley Resort out on the PCT this summer I pulled 4 snickers bars, half a dozen Emergen-C's, half a roll of TP, and a pound of Pistachios out of the hiker barrel.
Sat there that afternoon and ate the pistachios at the bar along with a nice cold beverage.
Also pulled a synthetic t-shirt out that was printed with a "Philmont Ranger 2009" logo on the chest.
Pistachios!
Snickers!
Clean Clothes!

[Cheers]

I stayed at Vermilion Valley 7 years ago. Did you also notice that some of the hiker box food was obviously put out on the shelf for sale? Crushed and wrinkled packs of Ramen and Liptons dinners...I dunno. They made up for it by getting me drunk on whisky with cowboys round a barrel fire, one of the most memorable places i've ever zero'd.

[The Solemates]

in a hiker box:

Camelbak cloudburst
3/4 length ridgerest
nalgene bottles
pair of boots, just my size, and almost new
maps
guidebooks
books


along the trail (clean up SOBO hike after all the northbounders go thru in March):

water filter (still use to this day)
nalgenes
wicking t-shirts (still use to this day)
fleeces
books
maps
guidebooks



i know I've come across other stuff as well...cant remember it right now though. ironically, i've never taken food from a hiker box.

[Manwich]

Two unopened "Backpackers Pantry - Pad Thai" dehydrated dinners. Those are the only ones I can stomach.

[Blue Jay]

A book I had been looking for for years (amazon, ah no), just after Ihad finished my only book due to poor planning.

[Manwich]

Also I forgot, in the Inn at the Long Trail, there was a small bottle of brandy.

Looks like somebody was a quitter.

[Lyle]

LaJunta, CO - Koshare Indian Kiva/Museum: Pair of running shoes from their Lost/abandoned box (taken with permission). This was the first time I used running shoes to backpack, they worked great for the Kansas/Missouri/Illinois/Kentucky road walks. Were finally replaced in Damascus.

[Spokes]

Full set of titanium tent stakes at the Sapphire Inn in Franklin, NC YEEHAW!!!!!!!!!!

[slowandlow]

Here's the worst thing I have found in a hiker box.

[Ramble~On]

Here's the worst thing I have found in a hiker box.

That's Food!

[Wrangler88]

At Shaw's someone that I was there with got a nice laptop cover. Hopefully they mailed it home instead of carrying it all the way to WV.

[Mags]

LaJunta, CO -

Wow..that's off the beaten path.

Were you in the nearby Comanche Grasslands? I did a restoration project there a few years back. Very memorable area.

[Pootz]

Limped into Cloud 9 with a bad knee. I found a knee brace in the hiker box. Still had in on when I climbed Katahdin. I am still using it today, although it is in pretty bad shape.

[Lyle]

Were you in the nearby Comanche Grasslands? I did a restoration project there a few years back. Very memorable area.

No, unfortunately. Was while doing Hikanation in 1980/81, precursor to American Discovery Trail.

[Mags]

No, unfortunately. Was while doing Hikanation in 1980/81, precursor to American Discovery Trail.

That sounds cool in its own right!

EDIT: It was cool! http://hikanation.com/

The Comanche Grass Lands is not something I'd want to go to all the time, but it is definitely worth going to at least once.

One of the few examples of native grasslands left in the great plains, has several cool canyons (I went to Picketwire Canyon) and has some of the best examples of preserved Brontosaurus tracks in the world.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/coma/m...ireguide.shtml

Because it was a restoration project, the group was given permission by the USFS to camp out in the canyon. Something normally not allowed.

Camping out in the middle of the very wide canyon, sitting around the campfire on a nearly full moon night and hearing the coyotes yip...well, its up there in terms of outdoor experiences.

Hmm..time to go back I think.