Made Decision to Leave Snow Shoes on Blanca Peak

[Jacob11235]

A buddy of mine and I were up on Blanca Peak yesterday (12-3-22) and on the way down we got off the trail; by the time we reached Lake Como it was dark and I made the decision not to backtrack the mile up the correct trail to get my snow shoes which are stashed roughly where the road past Lake Como ends and the trail to Blue Lake begins.

They have served me well in the Sangres and have only been used a few times; they are a reliable pair of shoes and if someone finds them and needs them please feel free to keep them; otherwise, please email me at Jacob.stevens2001@yahoo.com and we can make arrangements for me to get them back.

Thanks in advance folks!

[jmanner]

LNT, am I right?

[cottonmountaineering]

littering

[daway8]

Thanks for letting folks know - a lot of folks on this site have done the same thing. Personally that's why I basically never stash gear - it's just way too easy for this kind of thing to happen, especially this time of year with less daylight.

Sometimes a nice person comes along and rescues the gear...

[Jacob11235]

Right? In hindsight, there were lots of things that could have been done differently but I hope they find a nice home or maybe I'll get them back; I was planning on upgrading this season so looks like I'll just do that sooner rather than later; I just got an REI membership and notice they have the slightly used section, anyone have experience there? Good gear? (I'll go post this in another forum as well but figure since there are a couple responses I'd ask).

[daway8]

I just got an REI membership and notice they have the slightly used section, anyone have experience there? Good gear?

Hit and miss but occasionally you can get screaming deals if you poke around at the right time.

[two lunches]

I just got an REI membership and notice they have the slightly used section, anyone have experience there? Good gear?

Hit and miss but occasionally you can get screaming deals if you poke around at the right time.

if for nothing else, it's a solid source of entertainment to walk around and read all the tags that show the reason an item was returned. but for more practical input, i've gotten some awesome things from that section and need to remember to poke around there more often.

[globreal]

I made the decision not to backtrack the mile up the correct trail to get my snow shoes.

The truth be told, there are a lot of good people in the mountaneering community. Someone may be willing to haul them off the mountain and return them to you. And they may be under snow now and likely won’t be found until summer. So so don’t give up hope.

P.S. Recommendation… always mark a way point when you stash gear so you can easily find it on the way down.

[CaptainSuburbia]

I made the decision not to backtrack the mile up the correct trail to get my snow shoes.

The truth be told, there are a lot of good people in the mountaneering community. Someone may be willing to haul them off the mountain and return them to you. And they may be under snow now and likely won’t be found until summer. So so don’t give up hope.

I left my snowshoes near the summit of Harvard a couple winters ago. Someone was nice enough to go up and get them for me.

[Dan_Suitor]

I just got an REI membership and notice they have the slightly used section, anyone have experience there? Good gear?

Hit and miss but occasionally you can get screaming deals if you poke around at the right time.

It's worth looking over. The Denver flagship store has a section on the top level with used/returned gear. However, with some of these items there may be no warranty or return. Just make sure what you are buying is solid.

[Jay521]

Personally that's why I basically never stash gear....

Ditto... And many times I intentionally take a different route down (love loop and lollipop hikes) But - like you, I learned that lesson the hard way - early on - probably 50 years ago - I spent half a day looking for my snowshoes. Finally found them - and still have them...

[Hiking_TheRockies]

I just got an REI membership and notice they have the slightly used section, anyone have experience there? Good gear?

Hit and miss but occasionally you can get screaming deals if you poke around at the right time.

It's worth looking over. The Denver flagship store has a section on the top level with used/returned gear. However, with some of these items there may be no warranty or return. Just make sure what you are buying is solid.

Agreed. I found a barely used mummy sleeping bag that had been returned because the original buyer "didn't like the mummy style." Despite it barely being used, the price was dropped from $120 to somewhere around $70. If you go at the right time, you can get great deals on the returned items.