Ontario enjoyed those extra warm summer days around 9/11, too, so he was probably dressed for the temperature. I don't think he was planning on spending the evening out in the elements. It's possible he was meeting someone. I also think he is not a resident or citizen of Canada. I lean to someone from Central or South America.
I'm also curious as to why he had a flashlight with him. And a laundry bag from a hotel. I don't think his death is related to foul play but I do wonder as to the reason he was in that area to begin with.
I noticed a few things about Bret's (pseudonym) possessions. I thought perhaps he'd gone to an outdoor store and they advised him a bit. He evidently had a MagLite. Those are awesome, bright, and very packable. He had a candle lantern. This seems super odd to me, not because they aren't useful, but because they'd have to be on your radar. The candles in a candle lantern might last 9 hours or so, but why not just take extra batteries for the MagLite? Taking a flashlight of some kind doesn't bother me a bit. He might have been afraid he could possibly run late and get caught by darkness.
It looks like he had Wigwam brand (synthetic) socks and worn sneakers. Wigwam is a very nice brand. I can see a shop person advising him simply to stick with his current sneakers for the moment if he was a novice, but HAD to make sure the socks were appropriate (lots of reasons). They may have been in an end-of-season sales bin, and would be very sensible.
I see that some posters are imagining there's a sleeping bag and tent abandoned somewhere in the area. I can't envision that at all. Eagle Creek packs, if they're the kind that attach to luggage, don't fit very much, and don't have appropriate doodad loops on them. No way you're gonna carry a tent and sleeping bag. Also, it has to have been a small pack, because it seems to have had an airline tag on it: this was presumably for the cabin. If it had been for the hold, the claim stub would have linked to the person's ticket, and we'd have an identity. Anyway, if the pack was carryon, it's not a big pack. They're for sightseeing the Vatican, not for hiking except as a make-do. [Don't get me wrong: I LOVE my Eagle Creek stuff, every last little bit of it: for
traveling.]
As to the hotel laundry bag, I'm guessing it's plastic. This would be useful for a thousand things, not least because you could line a day pack with it if you heard rain was in the forecast. Or, it could have been used to corral items in the pack. Hard to know without a size. If it was huge, a clever person in an outdoor store may have suggested it as a safety device or improvised rain jacket.
