If anyone is going to Charlotte Lake (less than a mile off the JMT/PCT near Kearsarge Pass in the Sierra Nevada), I lost a man's titanium wedding ring there about a week ago. It's just Ti, so no great monetary value, but of course it has sentimental value to me personally. I'm offering a $100 cash reward for your time and trouble. I'll put down below some clues as to where I believe it is, if you'll be in that area, please take a look.

1. The ring was lost at the west end of Charlotte Lake in the flatish forested area seen in the right hand side of this photo.

2. Nearby were two brown/tan large Knaack brand jobsite type tool chests, presumably used for food storage by horse packers. These are not the bear lockers that the NPS puts into place. Here's a sample photo, below. I was just east (30 yards?) of the tool chests in a flat area above the trail.

3. Here's a map link to a topo map showing the approximate location of the Knaack tool chests and the ring which I set down on top of a rock. You'll have to zoom in a couple of clicks to make sense of the map. Note that the location of the trail as shown on the USGS map is incorrect. I've placed a dashed line on the map to indicate the actual route of the trail (approximately).

I'd love it if someone were able to find it.

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

Wow!

Yeah, pretty much. I mean what are the chances? But found it is.

HJ