What’s the coolest thing you found in the back country

[browning2480]

Hunting in the mountains of Colorado, back in 1998, I found this big flat rock laid up against another one that made a little cave thing. I was looking in there and thought I seen a bone sticking out of the dirt. Reached in and pulled it out and it was the handle to a shovel. I also found a start drill, chisel, pick head and hammer head. Shovel was the only thing that still had a hammer. Everything was super heavy and I packed it all off the mountain. Pics are not great because this was when you had to use a disposable camera.

 

[Mike Islander]

Living on the Mokelumne River in Northern California:

- 1/16 oz gold nugget embedded in a wall of limestone at about chest level
- Old Spanish stone cabin ruins
- 300 year old Grove of fig trees
- Daguerreotype photo of a lady
- Wall of limestone (?) crystal about 10 feet long and 8 feet high
- Tunnel on top of bedrock into side of mountain. Inside was tracks, tools, and a mining cart. It started by us noticing a depression in the side of the hill at about the right height. Since this was in an old placer mining camp, my dad guessed it was a shaft, and he was right! Dug it out with the backhoe and about got washed into the river when he broke through, as it was of course filled with water. Went straight into the side of the hill (perpendicular to the river), as the river had moved away from the hill over the years. Ended up finding lots of gold in that shaft.

 

[Bdjones]

I was riding trails with my genius in the Badlands and found this nice long now laying on the fence line. It had a note taped to the bow. So I knew it had a sentimental value. I ended up posted in several Facebook groups in the North Dakota area. Luckily a guy had an encounter with a gentlemen who lost his bow, the man who lost his bow helped this guy changed his flat tire in the badlands. After receiving info on what they small talked about. I found out the guy who lost his bow was from Wisconsin. Thinking I need to contact the game warden for help. The flat tire guy was actually fish and game. the next day he found the man who lost his bow by searching through the tag system for non residents. Shortly after I talked the the man on the phone getting his back story, it was a really cool experience. The guy had this bow for 20 plus years. He told me stories of the bow and how it was like his best friend. I shipped the bow off and received a nice hand written letter back with his sincere-ness of my honesty.

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[Danomite]

1. Part of a Clovis point (10,000+ years old).
2. Sterling silver pin (way pre-Nazi Germany).
3. Nickel minted in 1900.
4. Nautilus fossil about 60 million years old.

 

[Carr5vols]

Attached are the numbers. 2006831. Someone help me find this guy.

Do any of you ex-military know how to look this number up to find this man?

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

We were hunting CO wilderness and found an old foot hold trap. Hand hammered chain. It was cool enough that dad carried it the 5 miles and several thousand feed out.

 

[Antarctica]

We were hunting CO wilderness and found an old foot hold trap. Hand hammered chain. It was cool enough that dad carried it the 5 miles and several thousand feed out.

Old traps can command a ton of money, depending on what they are. Fur Fish and Game has a monthly coumn int he back on trap collecting. Might be worth looking into.

 

[mcr-85]

I found what I think is a steel arrowhead. After I found it I did a little reading on them. Indians would trade for them with the fur trappers or white settlers is one thing I read. Not very old, probably 1800s, but pretty cool. Not many of these are found.

 

[westbranch]

I have seen a few memorials in the woods, usually they are near trails or trailheads. This one was a bit more interesting, just under 1 mile from the road and 800 ft down with some thick trees/brush on the way. Would have been some work to get the bench there. Based on the dates of 1975-1994, he was 19 years old. Did some googling of the name and found one cemetery listing in Post Falls, ID but nothing else.

Would be interesting to know if family still visited there or hunted the area. There was a bull bugling down below that I was too much of a wuss to chase after.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

By far the coolest is a granite arrowhead I found in the back country in one of my favorite high altitude black tail spots in California. After my wife and I moved 3 times in the first 10 months of our marriage it was misplaced

 

[Perrin713]

Wouldn’t say this is “cool” but more creepy than anything. Was doing a deer drive this season and in the middle woods stumbled upon this headless doll. Gave the dial on its back a turn and it started playing music. Gently placed it back down and walked away...

 

[NebraskaStickHunter]

I found an Indian allotment act stake along the Missouri River. That is the coolest thing I have found other than a few jars from what I assume was a mining camp stuffed back in the trees a ways off any trail.

 

[FLAK]

I know where there are some still standing Longleaf Pine hearts from when they collected sap out of the trees to make turpentine way back in the day. Prolly 10-12 ft. tall and can still see the cut marks and a few still have remnants of the nails and brackets used to hold the metal buckets. This is in a National Forest. Would love to have one of those things standing in my man cave with a National forest sign on it but they probably weigh as much as a car and I'd prolly end up in prison for doing it.

 

[mike.adams.467]

I went on a fly-in caribou hunt about 25 years ago. I took a freighter frame to pack meat, and secured my pack to it. I bought an attachment for the pack frame to carry my rifle, which was essentially a hook for the sling and a pad with a Velcro strap to hold the stock. The Velcro strap broke on the first day, rendering it useless.

We were hunting a couple of days later, moving along a caribou trail. I happened to glance down and there in the trail was a bracket identical to the one that broke on me 2 days earlier. It was in perfect condition. Bear in mind we were 2 hours by plane from civilization.....


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[Mike Islander]

White Quartz lined well in Western South Carolina.

 

[WorleyElk]

For some reason I always find Mylar Balloons. Happy Birthday seems to be the theme! Anyone else find Mylar Balloons? Ironically its where I find the elk too. Go figure.

 

[Vids]

For some reason I always find Mylar Balloons. Happy Birthday seems to be the theme! Anyone else find Mylar Balloons? Ironically its where I find the elk too. Go figure.

I have found mylar balloons a couple times, unfortunately there were no elk nearby at the time....

 

[MtnOyster]

1992 climbed the top of pagoda peak above meeker Colorado, there was a old wooden cross made of 2x2 wood about 4 to 5 ft tall held up by wires and a wood box with numbers and letters in it buried in rocks under it, I don’t have a clue what the purpose was but I thought it was pretty cool, i took a picture of it and have it around here somewhere.......while I was at the peak trying to figure out what it was or meant a dang Mylar heart shaped balloon drifted right over the top of my head......that’s a little over 10k ft .ive Never forgotten that day for some reason.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I have seen a few memorials in the woods, usually they are near trails or trailheads. This one was a bit more interesting, just under 1 mile from the road and 800 ft down with some thick trees/brush on the way. Would have been some work to get the bench there. Based on the dates of 1975-1994, he was 19 years old. Did some googling of the name and found one cemetery listing in Post Falls, ID but nothing else.

Would be interesting to know if family still visited there or hunted the area. There was a bull bugling down below that I was too much of a wuss to chase after.


View attachment 158769

I haven’t seen the bench, but I recognize the view. Neat area.

 

[come2elmo]

I have found mylar balloons a couple times, unfortunately there were no elk nearby at the time....

Ditto.