View Full Version : Davenport Gap vandalism
grrickar
04-11-2006, 14:07
Just wanted to caution anyone parking at Davenport Gap: We left 3 vehicles there for a 4 day group section hike and all three were vandalized. Two were damaged and one was successfully broken into and items were taken. The vehicles were parked on the gravel shoulder about 25 yards from the where the trail starts.
Farging Bastages.
Sorry to hear about that. That area is regularly patrolled. Not a good sign.
grricker. Thanks for the update. The more we know, the more we can prevent these episodes. This is not a good sign for section hikers. We need to always remember that everyone that visits the AT may not have the same intentions as hikers. I'm always relieved after my section hikes when I see my vehicle with no damage.
sparky2000
04-11-2006, 14:51
Just abouta mile away to the hostel. He, last year, for $10.00, allowed cars to park on his land. They were pretty ladies so don't expect too much.
I'd love to set-up a sting (rock salt).
Probably best to park at the Ranger Station and and take the Chestnut Branch Trail or walk around and/or park at Mnt Moma's and get shuttled.
Oh! I was thinking Newfound Gap. Davenport Gap gets vandalized regulrly. The NPS Ranger Station is right down the road, and there is a great blue blaze to the trail.
Word to the wise. Learn from this unfortunate event. DON'T PARK @ DAVENPORT GAP!
The Solemates
04-11-2006, 15:08
sorry to hear about your misfortune. happened to us on the bartram a few years back.
but mowgli is right, davenport gap has had several instances of vandalism. park at the ranger station, mountain mama's, or standing bear farm.
papa john
04-11-2006, 17:35
Hell, they found a body in the river not too long ago, I'd be careful just hangin around there. Park at the Ranger station or up at Standing Bear Fram.
hey grikkar,i was the one parked there in the jeep liberty when all you guys arrived,man im so sorry that happened.i left from there about 45 min after you left.we gotta set up a sting..bunch of local yokels out there doin this..
saimyoji
04-11-2006, 18:19
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there was a thread about dangerous happenings around the Rt. 19E section a while back, dumping was the major concern I think. Someone took photos and video of the vandals and legal proceedings began. Never heard what happened to that situation, but it is encouraging that there is a possibility to catch the bastiches.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there was a thread about dangerous happenings around the Rt. 19E section a while back, dumping was the major concern I think. Someone took photos and video of the vandals and legal proceedings began. Never heard what happened to that situation, but it is encouraging that there is a possibility to catch the bastiches.
Different place. Different situation. 19E is a busy road crossing. Davenport Gap is a remote area adjacent to GSMNP.
saimyoji
04-11-2006, 21:21
Is it not possible to effect the same solution though? Catch the guys on tape and prosecute?
yeah i think you could set something up near there.thed be easy prey for a sting now that theve had success already.
Unfortunately vandalism here in the East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia area is not new. I've had the dubious honor of having vehicles vandalized near Erwin (three times), Davenport Gap, on the NC side of the trail, the Smokies, and several other places. This was all decades ago when we were taking youth groups onto the trail at different locations. Now I live a short walk from the AT and take most hikes out of my back door. When we park somewhere, I take my junker Astro van with the broken door handles, seats removed, and trash in the back. I'm surprised someone hasn't left me a few dollars out of sympathy.
I've had some follks suggest that the vehicle be left unlocked and all valuables removed. This way at least you don't get broken windows or damaged door locks. I guess the thought is that if someone is going to break into your vehicle, try to minimize the damage. Sounds like door locks are not sufficient.
Lone Wolf
04-12-2006, 09:06
Is it not possible to effect the same solution though? Catch the guys on tape and prosecute?
Catch em on tape? Catch em live and beat the s**t out of em.:)
tiamalle
04-12-2006, 09:18
Hell, they found a body in the river not too long ago, I'd be careful just hangin around there. Park at the Ranger station or up at Standing Bear Fram.There is a rest area not far from there and just
past that is a portable D.O.T. check area and I filled a tractor trailor full of
fuel in Newport headed to Franklin,NC,but I had drove to the point I felt it was dangerous to go on.I pulled over and went to sleep for and when I woke up in 2 hours my truck had quit running,I got out to see waht happened because it wouldn't crank.The fuel caps were both off.One of those hard up local hoodlema syphoned all my fuel out.
It's really simple folks. Don't leave a vehicle at Davenport Gap. Or at 19E. Anytime you can park away from a trailhead during an extended hike, it's a good thing. And its a good thing that we have options.
Am I the only one who expends energy worrying if my car is going to be intact when I'm done hiking? It ain't worth it.
Bookmark this site (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.806835/k.10F4/Getting_to_the_Trail.htm).
Am I the only one who expends energy worrying if my car is going to be intact when I'm done hiking? It ain't worth it.
I think that would be covered in the " Hiking alone: Understanding fear, negotiation strategies and leisure experience" thread.
Have you seen it? :p
I think that would be covered in the " Hiking alone: Understanding fear, negotiation strategies and leisure experience" thread.
Have you seen it? :p
I haven't read the whole treatise. Yet. But I come by my worrying honestly. I come from a long line of worriers. When I said at the SORUCK that my Mother was freaked out by the photo of me on McAfee Knob (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=5867&catid=member&imageuser=91), I wasn't kidding.
Holy Crap! What a photo! If that were one of my daughters I would probably need extensive counseling to get over the shock. Geez. :eek:
I have to comment on this in general. I guess the one thing most gnaws at me in a hike the greatest is "I HOPE THE VEHICLE IS OK". I find a trek is SO much more enjoyable if you KNOW you vehicle is in a safe place.
The Solemates
04-12-2006, 14:15
I haven't read the whole treatise. Yet. But I come by my worrying honestly. I come from a long line of worriers. When I said at the SORUCK that my Mother was freaked out by the photo of me on McAfee Knob (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=5867&catid=member&imageuser=91), I wasn't kidding.
for that matter, http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartne/detail?.dir=9370&.dnm=57cb.jpg&.src=ph
for that matter, http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartne/detail?.dir=9370&.dnm=57cb.jpg&.src=ph
Sweet! And both of the Solemates out on the edge! The only thing that could make that photo better is a wider angle so people could appreciate the depth of the dangle.
I guess the one thing most gnaws at me in a hike the greatest is "I HOPE THE VEHICLE IS OK".
That's exactly what I'm talkin about. Inevitably, I lie down in my tent, and my mind moves to that thought. It's just a bummer. I feel so much better when I don't have to give that subject a second thought.
The Solemates
04-12-2006, 14:46
Sweet! And both of the Solemates out on the edge! The only thing that could make that photo better is a wider angle so people could appreciate the depth of the dangle.
done. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartne/detail?.dir=ac8b&.dnm=8004.jpg&.src=ph
or even better yet: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartne/detail?.dir=ac8b&.dnm=de23.jpg&.src=ph
and...http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartne/detail?.dir=ac8b&.dnm=de23.jpg&.src=ph
and...http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartne/detail?.dir=ac8b&.dnm=de23.jpg&.src=ph
:D
OK, I feel a need to post this concerning any hikers in the Damascus area. We have some safe places, including across from Mr. Rogers Outfitters (Dave's Place). However, if you're going to be gone a long time out of here, you can leave your car on my property, no charge. I'm around in hiking weather and there are two pit bulls on the property (my daughter's dogs). You would be parking 50 feet from them. I'm exactly one mile from the red caboose.
grrickar
04-14-2006, 11:48
The gentleman whose van was broken into (which happened to be the van I rode up to Davenport Gap in) lost some small electronics which he had placed in the glovebox. There were no visible signs of valuables so I think it was kids that did it. They tryed to pry open or get something around the windows, and all three vehicles were damaged. One had a cut in the rubber seal around the window, one had damaged window trim, and the other (van) had the window trim bent and the window busted. If they were real crooks why wouldn't they just has done a smash and grab? Seems like they were intentionally trying to not break the glass but accidentially did.
At any rate one of the stolen items was a Palm Pilot. The vehicles were broken into within 24 hours of us leaving them at the Gap. We know this because one of the stolen items was a cell phone. The person who had stolen it had made calls to the MD and DC areas. Several duffle bags with clothes and car keys were taken. One had a checkbook in it. (I hope the bastages try and pass a check, then we got 'em). The Palm had a message on it stating he would pay a reward for it's return. A kid ended up with it and called him and left a message. He took his cell on the trail but did not listen to the messages until the hike was over - something he was very thankful for. Imagine having a great hike and getting a call from someone who has something of yours and finding out that it had been taken. That would ruin a good hike. At that point he would have known the van was broken into.
The kid appeared to be innocent, and we paid him the reward (we got his name, address and phone for the Police). He said some kid named 'Anarchy Josh' gave him the Palm Pilot. Said the kid hung out at the Space Needle in Gatlingburg, and that he also hung out at the 'Black Cat?'. I imagine that guy had something to do with the theft. I think it was a bunch of kids (or at least one). Hopefully they learn their lesson before they try to steal something and get shot, or get tossed in jail.
I parked across from MRO last month when I went out for about a week on the Trail. They charge $2 a day for parking. Car was just like I left it when I returned!
grrickar
04-14-2006, 14:13
Speaking of vandals, what is with the dumping going on there just before the trail crosses over the Pigeon river and goes under I-40 at Waterville School road? As we were hiking towards the interstate from South to North, we noticed that there at the creek there were old sinks, matresses, busted furniture and trash dumped all along the side of the road and cascading down towards the creek. This reminded me of pretty much the same thing going on at the road that runs near Apple House Shelter. What the heck possesses someone to do things like that?!?
RockyTrail
04-14-2006, 16:32
Dumping is standard operating procedure in some parts, I know of a couple of "insurance holes" where they let cars go off the curve down a mountain.
Cumberland Falls state park in Kentucky is located on a river with a really large waterfall. The state has signs posted apologizing for the occasional trash load that goes over the falls; seems some folks upstream still use the river as a household trash disposal, go figure...:( but still worth going to see if you're ever near there.
generoll
04-14-2006, 17:14
it's a longstanding appalachian custom to dump your trash alongside the road or in the creek. I recently hiked the Lakeshore Trail through the Smokies and 70 years after the communities were relocated by the government following the construction of Fontana Dam you can still see the deritus of the folks who once lived there. Car bodies, wash tubs, salt pans, etc.
Sorry to hear about that. I think it was a bear...... you might have left a powerbar on the dash.
grrickar
04-14-2006, 18:54
Bears listen to Ipods? LOL
The gentleman whose van was broken into (which happened to be the van I rode up to Davenport Gap in) lost some small electronics which he had placed in the glovebox. There were no visible signs of valuables so I think it was kids that did it. They tryed to pry open or get something around the windows, and all three vehicles were damaged. One had a cut in the rubber seal around the window, one had damaged window trim, and the other (van) had the window trim bent and the window busted. If they were real crooks why wouldn't they just has done a smash and grab? Seems like they were intentionally trying to not break the glass but accidentially did.
As a SWAG this sounds like the individual(s) were trying to get in _without_ leaving any sign that the break in had occurred - as to why my best guess was to get information for identity theft - this technique is well known out in the PNW and as a result many hikers pack all their identifying information with them when they go.
Dumping is standard operating procedure in some parts, I know of a couple of "insurance holes" where they let cars go off the curve down a mountain.
If you drive north from Davenport on TN 32 you will find any number of dumped stuff down from the road, must be part of the "Redneck Olympics":D
trippclark
04-17-2006, 14:51
Oh! I was thinking Newfound Gap. Davenport Gap gets vandalized regulrly. The NPS Ranger Station is right down the road, and there is a great blue blaze to the trail.
Word to the wise. Learn from this unfortunate event. DON'T PARK @ DAVENPORT GAP!
This week I'll be re-hiking the section between Davenport Gap and Hot Springs. We'll be meeting folks already on the trail at Davenport Gap Shelter on Wednesday evening. The last time, we parked at Davenport Gap and had no problems, but after reading this thread I am questioning the wisdom of risking that again. If we park at the NPS Ranger Station and take the blue blaze trail, how far is it to the AT, and where does it intersect with the AT in relation to the shelter . . . north of or south of and about how far? Thanks!
By the way, we'll be arriving in Hot Springs on Saturday, which is listed as "Trailfest," but I can't find any details on this year's Trailfest even on the Hot Springs website. I have been to Trail Days twice, but never Trailfest. I understand that it is much smaller.
Thanks!
trippclark
04-17-2006, 14:55
Okay, someone at the Trailfest web page must have been reading my mind and just today loaded a schedule at
http://www.hotspringsnc.org/-tr_agenda
The main question, though, regarding the blue blaze trail from the Ranger Station still applies. Thanks for any help with this info.
Alligator
04-17-2006, 15:03
This week I'll be re-hiking the section between Davenport Gap and Hot Springs. We'll be meeting folks already on the trail at Davenport Gap Shelter on Wednesday evening. The last time, we parked at Davenport Gap and had no problems, but after reading this thread I am questioning the wisdom of risking that again. If we park at the NPS Ranger Station and take the blue blaze trail, how far is it to the AT, and where does it intersect with the AT in relation to the shelter . . . north of or south of and about how far? Thanks!
By the way, we'll be arriving in Hot Springs on Saturday, which is listed as "Trailfest," but I can't find any details on this year's Trailfest even on the Hot Springs website. I have been to Trail Days twice, but never Trailfest. I understand that it is much smaller.
Thanks!
The Chestnut Branch Trail is 2 miles. It goes up. It connects to the AT south of the Davenport Gap Shelter. I'm missing this small piece, but I think the shelter is about a mile or under a mile from the junction. I only have the pdf map for the Smokies, so I can't say how much the climb is along the CBT up to this junction. I remember coming down it though as I was parked at Big Creek.
Try the NPS page to get a decent pdf map of the park.
Nightwalker
06-21-2006, 17:29
I have to comment on this in general. I guess the one thing most gnaws at me in a hike the greatest is "I HOPE THE VEHICLE IS OK". I find a trek is SO much more enjoyable if you KNOW you vehicle is in a safe place.
On a recent section, I went to Hiawassee City Hall, asked for permission, and parked there. I then hitched to Franklin, walked to DC Gap, and hitched back to the car. I just wish that the section I'd chosen was longer!
Where is a safe place to park? The Ranger station(and how do you find it) or Standing Bear Farm? I am planning on leaving my truck at the north end of the GSMNP this Aug and hiking back to it from Fontana.
Any good advice would be great.
Sandy B
Skidsteer
06-21-2006, 21:30
Where is a safe place to park? The Ranger station(and how do you find it) or Standing Bear Farm? I am planning on leaving my truck at the north end of the GSMNP this Aug and hiking back to it from Fontana.
Any good advice would be great.
Sandy B
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14463&highlight=vandalism
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14311&highlight=vandalism
Jeanette
06-21-2006, 22:22
Standing Bear Farm is very safe -- my sister in law and I recently section-hiked GSMNP and left our vehicle there. Curtis shuttled us to Fontana Dam and we hiked north to Standing Bear. I'd recommend it.