Securing your campsite

[swankfly]

Gee wiz guys..we're you this paranoid when you were a ground dweller...did you breakdown your tent and pack it away? Have you ever had a tent stolen? I leave a full campsite all the time. Probably naive but wow...I go to the woods to get away from this kind of crap. Surely most of this activity is happening in the front country.

[Oms]

In a campground I would pack it up, but on backpacking trips I have left the whole rig hanging while out hiking for hours. Really depends on where you are. 5-10 miles out in the mountains is not where the punks usually are. Odds are good that it will be fine. Still it would suck to loose it and could also be dangerous if it is cold out. That's the problem with nice gear. On a good note, if someone steals it, your new stuff may be so crappy that it won't be a problem anymore

[Klaussinator]

Dehydrated ninjas. If I'm leaving camp for any extended amount of time I add water to them and leave. Woe be unto those who would take my junk.

Ha, that's good!
Doesn't Babblefish5 have a video on that?

-Klauss

[2eez4life]

Here is what I have noticed. If you have a tarp setup with all the tie outs attached and doors closed your chances of anyone coming into your camp and messing with it are diminished. The logic behind this is that it is foreign. All those tie outs make it difficult to navigate around... Someone who is scoping it out won't be able to make it quick and easy because they are unfamiliar with the setup. Therefore they would have to take a much more risky route of sticking around longer and fiddling with all the stuff. This is the same reason I feel fairly safe from bears and other animals, they could just get tripped up by the tarp.

[billygoatA]

I am more worried about my car getting broken into than my campsite. Then again, I generally do not camp where I can be seen.

[Dudorino]

When car camping,,I take it all,,except for 1 cheap tan diamond shaped tarp I keep up to remind people that this campsite is taken,,I even take the folding chairs and leave nothing as its easy to put up for the wife and I,,and sooooo easy to take down and throw in the vehicle. I just figure,,if its that easy to put up/take down,,its very easy for a thief to cut it all down and pack away with it later on putting on new tie downs etc, on it after he gets to where he is going with it. Too much money wrapped up in gear to let someone 5 finger discount it for themselves.

I kind of do the same thing, but instead of a tarp, I use a $30 Wally World 2 man tent. Makes it look more like normal car camping site, plus I have a place to put the junk I don't care about losing.

[AussieLuke]

Hi all,
It has been my experience that the average hiker, backpacker or camper are kindred spirits. Way back in ye olden days, we used to tie the flap cords and that was all that was needed, even in holiday campgrounds with hundreds of people about. Just my 2c worth.

[TheQ]

I'm usually about 8 miles in for my first camp. Even deeper on a multi day.
At that point I'm clear of most day hikers & never leave camp for more than a couple hours. Figure the odds of someone coming through and trying to break down my base kit for a full hike out are pretty slim.
Now my car in the lot, I agree that's a worry. Especially with some of these So Cal trailheads.

[Seeker]

I generally avoid popular camping areas... I'm friendly, but don't like large groups of other people, if that makes sense... I usually "go deep", and that usually involves carrying a canoe quite a ways in as well. Once you make that first portage, the quality of encountered person changes dramatically. I seldom worry about thieves that far in... They tend to be lazy... If you steal it, you have to carry it. I also have subdued-colored tarps and gear, so I tend to blend in.

[Clark]

I hide my stuff in the woods. I always carry a black trash bag, load anything that I don't want stolen that I'm not taking with me and hide it. Or Ill hang stuff up in the trees depending on the time of the year. When I'm car camping I bring a lockable tote, and a trail cam. Ill chain the tote to a tree out of sight, and have the trail cam looking over it. It may not stop people from stealing it, but at least ill have someone to look for. Another Idea I had, haven't tried it yet, but get one of those camping toilets, its just a stool with a hole and a seat, have a black bag under it, stash your stuff in that bag, I highly doubt anyone would look in that bag.

You might return to find your gear covered in crap... hahaha