on long hauls no problem just be smart. your problem can happen when you leave your car. local punks know your gone and your not from there'IE' tags. many years of camping no problems from people on trail, but car damage is a 10 percent chance.
on long hauls no problem just be smart. your problem can happen when you leave your car. local punks know your gone and your not from there'IE' tags. many years of camping no problems from people on trail, but car damage is a 10 percent chance.
Originally Posted by BACKSPACE
Very true. And amid times of hardship thefts do become more frequent.
I used to travel with a friend in a soft top jeep. He had 3 or 4 shut offs and kills, installed, and chained his hood. Even made a fuse block, that he could completely remove and take with him. He did all that so the last thing he did before putting his pack on and heading into the woods, was make sure the doors were unlocked. When locked, even with nothing left inside, and no hope of starting, he got two different tops knifed out, just to take a look.
Out of sight. Out of mind. Along with little left to steal is about all that can be done. He had good luck with it that way. Even found a burnt cig in his ash tray upon returning to it one time. Figured someone might have used it to get out of a little weather or something.
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Reminds me of the web site where where a guy reviews digital cameras. The web site owner tells his secret for camera security - he carries his camera gear in a diaper bag rather than one of the fancy camera bags. An old diaper bag too. Never lost any gear that he admitted. Anyway, another form of stealth, make your stuff look unappealing.
Security through obscurity is probably your best bet, if they don't know where your camp is they can't steal from you. You can't really prevent theft with devices, they act as a deterrent but if someone really wants to steal something chances are they will find a way. If you were really paranoid, you could bring a steel cable/netting like http://www.pacsafe.com/ and lock your pack to a tree but this would be a considerable amount of extra weight. Like others have said though, most folks on the trail tend to be decent people so you shouldn't worry too much about this.
Hah! I used to do this when I worked for newspapers and magazines. It works well. The bags are cheaper than camera bags and are padded. Sectional dividers can easily be added by attaching strips of velcro to the inside of the bag. If anyone decides to do this, I recommend adding packs of silica gel inside the back to absorb moisture since diaper bags tend to not be breathable.
Last edited by Slanket; 02-21-2011 at 16:31. Reason: Added quote and response to quote.
I set up off the path and away from crowded camp sites. I usually take the pack with, if not I have it a tree or 2 away from the hammock hidden... just saying.
Im more worried about parking my car down town then I am about my pack being rustled through at night while Im sleeping under it. If your really worried then Tie a piece of Rope to your bag and to your wrist so you will get woken up if some one moves your bag. It is a leap of faith but follow your intuition and I think you will be all right.
Just IMHO
Sometimes I like to hike and think, And sometimes I just like to hike.
Hiking is'ent about waiting for the storm to pass its about learning to hike in the rain.
Interesting thread!!
I would have to agree with Kayak Karl!! and most of the other posts, all things considered, some are waaaaaaayyyyyy out in left field, hi how ya doin!
I would worry more about my food than anything else, darn animals try to take my snickers bar!!!
Out on the AT (and I'm sure the other LD trails) there is a unspoken code, per-say, everyone I have met was pertty cool, one or two very strange!!
"yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift---thats why its called a present" - Master Oogway
It's always best if your an early riser!
My only concern, even though I prefer to stealth camp ; I snore like a freight train. In my home my family has informed me that windows rattle when I am snoring. The flip side to this: I can sleep through anything.
So my biggest concern; somebody messing with me/my stuff while I am sleeping.
I ride a recumbent.
I like to HAM it up on the CW.
I use Linux.
I play go.
Of course I sleep in a hammock!
Rug.
Hang On!
I only worry about this sort of thing in Yosemite, and then only because bears will drag off your pack and rip it to shreds looking for food.
I might be concerned on the AT, where human activity is not always entirely hikers. I have zero concerns anywhere on our western trails, save the aforementioned national park which tends to be full of all kinds of people from all walks of life - and only when within a day's walk of any trailhead. I've left stuff in the bear lockers and come back days later to find it still there, and always hang my pack from the hammock (except where the rangers post signs recommending that the pack go in the bear locker).
Normally the farther away from "civilization" you are the safer your stuff and you are. I'd hang the pack from one end of the suspension or the other and then can't do without stuff (like water filters etc) go into a stuff sack that attaches to the foot end of your hammock structural ridgeline...sans food eh. Do that until you quit needing to fret.
Locks keep honest people honest and so does out of sight out of mind. My question is; With a mind so calm it allows you to sleep so soundly, how are you able to fret so when awake? You can train yourself to wake up at sounds that are out of the ordinary. I have had to do the opposite in the last few years.
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