Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Lost Wedding Ring -- Charlotte Lake

Pretty much a long shot, but if anyone is heading to Charlotte Lake (just off the JMT near Kearsarge Pass), I lost a man's wedding ring there this past Sunday. It's titanium (silvery in color), so no great dollar value, but of course there's sentimental value.

I camped at the west end of the lake just east of two large Knaack brand brown/tan metal tool boxes that are presumably used by horse packers as food storage boxes. Note that these boxes are not the NPS supplied bear locker which is further east. From where I was, I could see the two tool boxes out of the corner of my eye, so I was close, just east of them.

I've marked the approximate position on a topo map. Note that the position of the trail is wrong on the map. The trail ran below my position, not above it. If you zoom in on the map, you should be able to see where I've sketched in the corrected position of the trail.

Yep, major long shot I realize, but if anyone is out that way, look for it on top of a rock just east of those two tool boxes.

Much obliged,

HJ

Hi HJ,

You've got one reference point (the Knaack boxes), how about another that you can recall and post the distance to the reference points?

Good luck!

CK

Thanks CK.

In case people don't know what I mean by a Knaack tool box, this is a big, honking tool chest, the kind that gets left at a job site. I think they're about 4 1/2 feet wide and maybe 3 1/2 feet tall. Big. I have no idea how they got these things up there (there are two of them), even with mules.



There were two of these, about where I've shown them on the linked topo map in my first post. I was in a flat area just east of the two tool boxes. I could see the closer tool box quite clearly. Maybe I was 30 yards away. I was above the trail even though the topo map shows the trail higher than where I was. The topo map is wrong in that aspect.

So, the references are:
1. Just east (30 yds?) of the two big Knaack boxes.
2. Above the trail.
3. In a flat area (basically a camp site)
4. West of the outlet of Charlotte Lake.

The ring is most likely still on top of the rock that I seem to recall that I set it on.

HJ

Just got off the phone with the NPS at the visitor center at Cedar Grove. No ring yet. Alas.

On a more positive note, here's lovely Charlotte Lake, taken from the PCT/JMT looking south as I descend from Glen Pass.


HJ

Love the picture. Hope you find your ring!

Thanks.

If someone were to find it, I would like to offer a cash reward of $100. "Trail magic" is a wonderful thing, but I think a modicum of compensation would be warranted, and given the ring's sentimental value (it's just Ti, so no big monetary value), I am happy to offer a reward.

HJ

If anyone is headed out in the vicinity of Charlotte Lake this weekend, please keep an eye out for my ring.


Thanks,

HJ

A PCT Through Hiker that I know just looked for my ring earlier today, but he didn't find the two large jobsite type tool chests. It occurs to me that maybe I just got lucky with spotting them in the trees, so I wrote up a hopefully better, more detailed description below. I hope this is clearer. Feedback welcomed.

MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
If one were walking west on the trail along Charlotte Lake, one would first come to the ranger station, then to the NPS bear locker, and then to the west end of the lake. As the trail draws even with the west end of Charlotte Lake, it is some distance away from the outlet stream. As the trail proceeds further west, it turns a bit to the left (~SW) and comes closer to the outlet stream. If one looks to the right (~NW), there is a bit of a rise with a pretty faint use trail going toward it. If one were to follow this faint use trail, there is a flat area, suitable for a large group to camp in on a sort of bench type area that is just above and slightly to the north of the Charlotte Lake trail. West of this flat area there is a bit of a rise, the crest of an indistinct ridge. In an cluster of trees more or less on the crest of the indistinct ridge are two large jobsite type tool chests. The brand name "Knaack" can be seen on at least one of the tool chests. These tool chests are similar in size to a NPS bear locker but are a bit lighter in color. The eastern most of these two tool chests can be seen from the above described flat area but most definitely cannot be seen from the Charlotte Lake Trail. I lost my ring in the flat area just east of the two tool boxes, perhaps 30 yards east, perhaps a bit less. As I recall, I set my ring on a rock that might have been about 18 to 24 inches in height while I washed up. I have revised slightly my topo map of the vicinity; I have now sketched in the faint use trail using yellow dots. Note also that the tool chests are on the crest of the indistinct ridge (placement approximate) and that the lost ring location is just east of the tool chests.

HJ

UPDATE 7/6/2014: My ring was found by JMT through hiker Tim. Thank you to all who searched (especially Tim!).

HJ

Wonderful! A happy ending to the story!

Honestly, better than I expected. It's been about a month, and my hopes were dimming. But found it is.

I've got this idea: I might open a tab (if Doug will permit it) at the store. When the gentleman who found my ring gets there, he can eat, shower (if I recall correctly, there is a shower available), etc, all on my dime. He can leave the ring with Doug (assuming it's not too much trouble for Doug), and I or a friend can pick it up. I feel a little weird about putting a wedding ring in the mail, and it would be a hassle for the gentleman who found the ring to have to get some packaging, find the post office, and mail it.

At least that's my thought off the top of my head.

HJ

I checked this thread every few days for such an ending.

I hope you close out this thread with photos at the Portal and a brief description on how a through hiker on the JMT came about on the recovery.

Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to meet Tim as he comes out at the Portal (which would be really really cool if I could). I've shot my vacation time (I was up in Mammoth last week) for a while. Too bad Tim didn't find it last week! God's timing is funny I guess.

Tim reports that he wasn't even looking for it. He just looked down and there it was. He happened to recall that I had posted something on the JMT Facebook page a few weeks earlier. When he went out over Kearsarge to resupply, he posted a "hey, anybody know who the guy who lost the ring is?" kind of post. I was out hiking with my daughter at the time. My cell phone lit up like a Christmas tree when I got back to where there was coverage! Pretty cool.

I wrote Doug yesterday asking him if I could open a tab at the store for Tim so that he gets a "free ride" as soon as he walks into the store. I was thinking (as a backpacker) that I would find that fun if I had a free shower, food, etc. waiting for me. I haven't heard from Doug. I hope he's not off in the backcountry somewhere! I'll call the store today probably.

HJ