Valuable things you've lost on canoe trips

[RogerMac]

1990 October Pine Barrens trip, lost an almost brand new pair of prescription glasses. I normally wore a strap, but these new glasses had loop earpieces, so I mistakenly believed they were safe. We were paddling the Mullica River and while going around one of the bends a branch caught the brim of my hat, flipped under the brim hitting me in the face and pulling the glasses off faster than I could react. I reached for the bottom with my paddle and could not touch with my hand below the surface. Needless to say, no chance of retrieving the glasses, and went back to wearing a strap on my glasses again. Fortunately, I pretty much always keep a spare pair of glasses handy.

Those were the nicest pair of glasses I ever had. Titanium frames, high dollar lightweight lenses, super comfortable and when adjusted for inflation, by far the most expensive glasses I ever bought. Went back to wearing much less pricey glasses after that.

 

[scoutergriz]

1990 October Pine Barrens trip, lost an almost brand new pair of prescription glasses. I normally wore a strap, but these new glasses had loop earpieces, so I mistakenly believed they were safe. We were paddling the Mullica River and while going around one of the bends a branch caught the brim of my hat, flipped under the brim hitting me in the face and pulling the glasses off faster than I could react. I reached for the bottom with my paddle and could not touch with my hand below the surface. Needless to say, no chance of retrieving the glasses, and went back to wearing a strap on my glasses again. Fortunately, I pretty much always keep a spare pair of glasses handy.

Those were the nicest pair of glasses I ever had. Titanium frames, high dollar lightweight lenses, super comfortable and when adjusted for inflation, by far the most expensive glasses I ever bought. Went back to wearing much less pricey glasses after that.

all my glasses are prescription and have polarized safety glass so losing a pair REALLY stings. when I get a new prescription the last pair goes in the car, and the second last goes in my ditch kit. I also have a plethora of Croakies or other floating devices scattered throughout my gear (years ago I was given a box of 20 to field test). Both my regular and sunglasses use the same frame so I can cannibalize the sunglasses for parts (done it 3 times). My worst nightmare would be losing both the new and old prescriptions because it would mean not seeing the dinky little portage signs or trail tape marking portages, nor reading the maps needed to locate them...

 

[Pseudonym]

On a trip in 2001 (or thereabouts) I lost all my personal gear early on in a trip. I was a young camp counselor, helping to lead a group of campers across Chesuncook Lake in a rising wind. Boats were swamping left and right and we t-rescued as many as we could until my boat became too swamped to manage. We did not have our gear strapped into the boat and when we finally went into the lake, we held onto what we could. I prioritized the group's "K-wan" (kitchen wannigan, of the homebuilt plywood & fiberglass Gil Gilpatrick design) and watched my own boundary bag quickly sail away down the length of the lake, never to be found again. I can't remember if we were heading up through the length of the Allagash from there, or onto Chamberlain>Telos>Webster Brook, but I'm glad the trip was in the height of the summer because I finished the trip with the clothes on my back and borrowed spares. When we got back to camp, the Director sent me to LLBean with the camp credit card to replace all that had been lost. That was the best time I ever had going shopping!