Woke up to missing shoe..

[mattcav]

Was walking in Girraween/Bald Rock NP's over the weekend and experienced some trouble in the way of a missing shoe on the last day out. After arriving at the campsite after a full day's walk and pitching my tent for the night I left my shoes outside in the tent vestibule, as I always do, and retired for the evening. When I awoke the next morning only one of my shoes was to be found. A thorough search of the surrounding bush failed to turn up any trace of my left shoe in the morning and after a few minutes of sitting down with a very cold left foot I improvised a shoe with a couple of thick socks and a rectangle of foam pad held on with a rubber band and then a small stuff sack over the entire thing held on with another rubber band. I then proceeded to walk the 15km required to get back to the car and drive home. I'm not sure if the culprit was animal or human but it's not something I'd like to have happen again. Anyone else had a similar experience?

[stepbystep]

Can't help, but maybe the shoe ended up in a sputnik!!!
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=3491&hilit=what+happened+boot

[jacko1956]

Did you p##s anyone off during the day??

[mattcav]

It's possible I annoyed someone from a distance but I'm not sure how as they must have been overly sensitive to a guy walking through the forest minding his own business.. Bald Rock's not too far from Yabbra which is rumoured to be home to bunyips... From all accounts a size 9 trainer isn't going to fit a bunyip though. Maybe that's why it didn't bother with the other one. In all seriousness though, my socks were a bit smelly after a good day's walk, and the shoes did have some suede on them (attractive to some critters out there as a meal perhaps??) and with this particular shoe being fairly light perhaps something out there might have been keen enough to run off with it. I did hear some scurrying during the night. Whatever it was really did cart it off too because I was camped in a clearing with no bush for about 30m in all directions and the shoe simply wasn't there. If it was a person it was a fairly cruel and calculated act to take only one shoe and leave the other and my titanium cookwear untouched. The 'sputnik' story above makes me think that there may actually be people out there who take a walker's boot away out of spite. Really just keen to hear if anyone else has lost a shoe in similar circumstances and positively attribulted it to animals. If not then I guess be careful of fellow campers with a chip on their shoulders..

[Rob A]

Have never left my boots outside in the vestible, always at the foot of my sleeping bag.
Dont like the idea of wildlife taking up residence in the warm moist cave of my boot and having them defend against my toes in the morning.
Also I might want to get up or shift in a hurry in the night, wont get far without boots.

Over in Kiwi boot theft is a real problem in some places. The eVile ones nick em in the night and quite a few people have been faced with a then dangerous decent from a pass in one boot, bare feet, socks, camp slippers, spare runners. Completely rocked the perimeter of my tent fly in one place, the closed pack laid in the zippered vestible, with only a wet tek towel draped over it. Back in Aus I asked the other half if the corner of the towel had ever got caught up in the dryer or something. Someone had been into it.

Oh so innocent!

P1070662.jpg (29.2 KiB) Viewed 5305 times

[photohiker]

Yep. Never actually lost one, but have been close.

These days, I tie the laces together through an eyelet or strap of the pack, or if hammocking, I tie the laces and hang them over the whoopie sling suspension of the hammock.

Walking out in crocs or one footed is not on my list of enjoyable past times.

[Overlandman]

The organizations in the first list below can accept donations of single shoes in good condition and may be able to assist in locating single shoes as well. The second list contains retailers that offer single shoes for sale,

http://www.amputee-coalition.org/fact_s ... dshoe.html

This site may help you with the missing shoe, or you could help them with the shoe you still have!

I have heard of Tasmanian Devils taking a liking to the odd boot
Regards Overlandman

[phan_TOM]

I was out there doing a 3 day walk in April and wouldn't be suprised if it was a critter of some sort. I barely slept my first night because of the interest in my pack from the furry locals...

Were you bush camping or in one of the main campgrounds? Being school holidays there must have been a few people in the campgrounds and more than likely a few cheeky kids, I wouldn't be suprised if it was a naughty trick...

[cams]

Maybe a goat? Although I wouldn't have thought they'd be particularly stealthy.

[DaveNoble]

On a Colo walk many years ago - a friend lost a shoe (Dunlop volley) in a rapid. It was a long walk out. He didn't seem too concerned. He pulled out some material from his pack (canvas, leather) and a small sewing machine(!!!) - a small hand operated one. it didn't take him too long to make a moccasin - which was fine for the walk out.

Dave

[puredingo]

I've fallen victum to a Nattia sock thief.... I turned my camp area and surrounding bushland upside down but nowhere to be seen was this sock?....The wierdest thing was I had both socks on sticks about half a meter off the ground drying by the fire all night so if it was a critter it was a brave one that deserves a purple heart.

[MartyGwynne]

I suspect the culprit was a fox, I remember a story a year or two back where a farmer was loosing a boot every now and then. He was rather ticked off and then found a boot buried in the paddock near the house. After some investigation he found a fox making off with one of his boots (leather work boots).
SO it will be buried somewhere within 200-300 metres of where you camped.

Click on this link to find the story.
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3324669.htm
Marty

[mattcav]

Thanks for the replies. I have to say I hadn't considered foxes but it does sound possible now. Just hope they're not inquisitive enough to chew through a tent to get to a shoe..