Where do you stash your gear?

[Boothill]

I can understand different folks stash their gear in different places while in camp, but what about when your away from camp... ie: fishing/day hikes etc..

Do you take your hammock/tarp/quilts down and pack it inside your main pack and hide it in the brush? Do you leave it hangin and hope nobody notices you're not there?

I'm sure a lot depends on the number of hikers encountered in a given area, but what's the general rule of thumb?

i leave my stuff set up, if i leave my pack at camp i will put it inside my hammock and zip it up, i like to believe that if your out in the woods hiking or camping that your a good person and my stuff is safe, haven't ever had any problems leaving my stuff in camp yet, going on 30 years of doing it this way

now i must preface this by saying all my camping is in pretty low traffic areas and if i was somewhere where that had large numbers of people and the cars were able to pull right up to my campsite then i would probably do it different and take stuff down and hide it

pretty lucky to live where i do in regards to this type of thing though

boot

[WebsterJ]

My pack goes under my legs in the hammock.

In the winter this acts as my lower body insulation.

In warmer temps this saves me from wondering what crawled into my pack overnight.

Normally the only things I have on the ground are my shoes, and my trekking poles.

[Jazilla]

I can understand different folks stash their gear in different places while in camp, but what about when your away from camp... ie: fishing/day hikes etc..

Do you take your hammock/tarp/quilts down and pack it inside your main pack and hide it in the brush? Do you leave it hangin and hope nobody notices you're not there?

I'm sure a lot depends on the number of hikers encountered in a given area, but what's the general rule of thumb?

I hike in a lot of places where others may find there way to my campsite (hunters). Not that I don't trust hunters but around here MOST hunters aren't hikes but most hikers are hunters go figure.

If I am at a campsite I normally pack everything and bring it with me and stash it close to where I am. Don't want to stash it by a campsite it might get peed on. Lately though I have been doing some off site camping. If I know I am off the trail far enough not to be seen from the trail I leave everything set up.

[LilDutchBoy]

I camp every summer at a state park campground with a lake on it. We always take up our kayaks and at night go out to drink at a local bar or during the day go for a hike. i leave my pack on a tarp under my hammock and just fold the end over to cover it from rain and falling stuff. If you take effort to hide stuff you're just keeping honest people honest anyway.

[ofceb]

I have used two methods so far. First one is hang on a tree from a separate strap and toggle setup. Second was on the ground on a large plastic yard trash bag. Where I hang depends on where I hang the backpack.

I usually leave my gear at the camp site. I camp in a group so someone is always there. But if not then I would pack what is important to me and go on my day hike. Of course setting up a hammock is quick and if you take everything with you you can setup camp anywhere.

[Fig]

All of this talk has me envisioning some type of alarm system like your car has. You have camp made and are heading out for a hike. As you walk away you turn around and press the key fob. Your hammock and/or kayaks let out a chirp and a few well placed LED's blink a couple of times. Which leads me to my next vision, a couple of campsites I have been to in the past. You are sitting there trying to cook dinner with your alcohol stove and to your left and possibly right there are hammocks off in the distance just swinging in the wind with a siren going off, LEDs blinking furiously and no one around.

[LilDutchBoy]

All of this talk has me envisioning some type of alarm system like your car has. You have camp made and are heading out for a hike. As you walk away you turn around and press the key fob. Your hammock and/or kayaks let out a chirp and a few well placed LED's blink a couple of times. Which leads me to my next vision, a couple of campsites I have been to in the past. You are sitting there trying to cook dinner with your alcohol stove and to your left and possibly right there are hammocks off in the distance just swinging in the wind with a siren going off, LEDs blinking furiously and no one around.

this had me going. you hear "bok bok bok" when people get back to camp.

[USMCStang]

My tarp ridgeline is a 50' length of 2.5mm reflective rope. The same as what comes in the figure 9 tent stake kit. This lets me take the extra rope left over after stringing my tarp and set up a "clothesline" to another tree. In dry weather, I hang sweaty clothes and my boots from this line, otherwise they will hang under the tarp on the ridgeline.

My tent stake, tarp, sleeping bag, and UQ stuff sacks all go into the bishop bag for my hammock, to keep them all in one place.

Food, trash and other smellables are bear bagged in a tree.

My empty pack is usually hung by it's haul loop off of the stump of a broken-off branch (which is pretty common at most established back country campsites), with all pockets and zippers opened, and a rain cover on it. The open pockets are to keep rodents from chewing through my pack if they do smell something interesting. They're gettin in there one way or the other, might as well allow them easy access.

Any remaining little items go on the shelf in my BB.