View Full Version : Keeping Your Eye On Your Pack
The Weasel
10-31-2006, 17:45
I don't think this topic has gotten much attention, but it came to me in commenting on another post elsewhere; if I'm wrong, I'm sure I'll hear about it....
When you travel the AT, it's a safe and honest place. But. I knew a lot of people who had packs rifled, and a few who had them disappear. It always seemed to happen when someone set their pack down "for a few minutes." One pack disappeared in Gatlinburg, outside the Shoney's AYCE there.
My pack contains about $2,000 (replacement) in gear. When you add up first quality stuff - pack, sleeping bag, cooking/water treatment stuff, camera, maybe a PDA or phone, clothing) I'm not particularly unusual. And a lot of people - besides hikers - know that.
So in my thru hike attempt - GA->VA - and pretty much any other time, I don't leave my pack out of my sight even for a moment, unless with someone who I know and more-or-less trust to watch it for me. If I need to take a whiz, it goes with me; if I go into a store, it comes too (and if the store doesn't want it with me, I don't need what they are selling). The only exception is when I'm taking a zero day and lock it up in a room and I have the only key (other than front desk). That goes for hostels, bunkhouses, anything (yes, I took my pack with me for Easter sunrise services when Gary drove me from the Blueberry Patch...no one even asked why I had it!).
My advice is to do the same. Do others disagree?
The Weasel
hammock engineer
10-31-2006, 17:49
Many years of living and Cincinnati and going to college has that second nature for me. There were always people getting the stuff taken, more so now when everything having to take laptops to class.
I feel comfortable leaving it in a shelter full of other hikers while I take care of business, but I have a hard time picturing myseld leaving it unattended off the trail.
Red Rover
10-31-2006, 20:30
Just this past summer, two thru hikers from PA came off the trail in Kent,CT after dark in the rain so they could get something to eat. They stashed their packs in what they understood to be an acceptable spot. Upon returning both packs were history. They had to have family come up to get them and bring them home. A real shame. The local outfitter noted in a news article about the incident that other packs had been stolen from the same spot the year before. DO NOT assume it is safe to stash a pack, EVER! My guess in this case is that a local who is privy to thru-hiker activities and habits must of known about this spot. Because they were hidden, someone knew where to look.
that really sucks and I hope the people that stole them have their genitals burst into flames and then rot and fall off and they burn in hell forever.
Don't ask me what I really feel.
Leaving your pack , just like your car, your woman, your guns ,etc., unattended, is just not an option.
RAT
Lone Wolf
10-31-2006, 20:54
Leaving your pack , just like your car, your woman, your guns ,etc., unattended, is just not an option.
RAT
No sht there hoss!:D
Do others disagree?
Completely. My pack never leaves my site unless it's left with my wife or a friend. I don't leave it with anyone I just met on the hike.
the goat
10-31-2006, 22:15
never leave it unattended. i've had things stolen from inside my pack by another thru hiker....about 1800 miles into the hike too.
Jack Tarlin
10-31-2006, 22:20
The two things you need to remember about leaving your pack unattended:
1. Never, and I mean NEVER leave your pack unattended or out of sight;
never stash it in the woods or in what you "think" is a safe place; never
arrange (like if you're slackpacking) to have the pack "left" or hidden
for you somewhere. I mean, like, NEVER do any of these things.
2. Go back and re-read #1.
This is my pack....there are many like it, but this one is mine....
I would never leave my pack unattended. It's my life line and I would never be able to afford to replace everything unexpectedly. I'd have to end my hike. I think a person's previous life experiences play into the trust factor too.
Jester2000
11-01-2006, 01:31
I had ONE of my poles stolen in Kent in 2000, which seems like bad form. If they had stolen both, I might have at least figured they planned on using them. Broke my heart, and reestablished my sense of suspicion, which had atrophied a bit on the trail.
At least I got off easy -- my pack was there too, and perhaps was too heavy to steal.
At Train Days 2005 two girls had their packs stolen, which, fortunately, were empty of most of their gear. A lot of good people chipped in and a gear rep made the difference and got them new packs. Reaffirmed their faith in humanity.
I echo what others have said about keeping close track of your pack. It's your house. Don't leave it unattended. And don't fall into the trap of letting being so comfortable in the woods with other hikers translate into trusting the whole world.
hammock engineer
11-01-2006, 01:33
With all of this talk about not leaving your pack unattended, what does everyone do at Trail Days? All of the pics that I seen show people without their packs.
I have been attending Trail Daze since `90 and have only heard of two packs being stolen, both of which were found and returned quickly. Basically local teen pranks. It's the friendliest town on the trail, not saying it cant happen, but most hikers leave their stuff zipped inside tents and with so many around it is not likely to happen there. Nonetheless, never leave your pack unattended anywhere, golden rule.
RAT
skeeterfeeder
11-01-2006, 03:20
The trail and trail towns would be perfectly safe except that people visit both. You may never have a problem, but sadly some people become vicitms. I ran into one SOBO that had his new lekis stolen and replaced with some crappy poles by a NOBO at a hostel. He was a nice guy and sadly the suspected NOBO was someone I had met a couple of times. Also, while in Damascus there were rumors that gear had been stolen at the church hostel.
Your pack and your gear is what is going to help you get from GA to ME. If you can do without either, then don't worry about watching them, otherwise, it is better to be safe than sorry.
The Weasel
11-01-2006, 11:29
I've never had a problem or think twice about leaving my pack unattended on trail, off trail, or stashing it somewheres.
Yet. You've never had a problem yet.
The Weasel
BlackCloud
11-01-2006, 11:36
So basically what I gleaned from this thead is that one should never ever leave one's pack unattended in the woods, no matter how remote; except in Damascus during trail days of course, b/c it's the friendliest town on the AT.
Oh, and leaving one's stuff "zipped up inside you tent" is somehow different then stashing your pack in the woods.....:-?
The Weasel
11-01-2006, 11:53
So basically what I gleaned from this thead is that one should never ever leave one's pack unattended in the woods, no matter how remote; except in Damascus during trail days of course, b/c it's the friendliest town on the AT.
Oh, and leaving one's stuff "zipped up inside you tent" is somehow different then stashing your pack in the woods.....:-?
That's pretty close, although the consensus is that leaving stuff at Trail Days is a dice roll. But it's harder - not impossible - to swipe stuff from a tent: The tent is up, your sleeping bag/pad are probably unrolled, and you're probably carrying your camera to take pictures of the weird non-hikers dressed in clean clothes. So not much is left behind, and it would be moderately hard to swipe it, especially since you probably have met some of your neighbors who might ask someone climbing in your tent, "Hey, you lookin' for Black Cloud? He ain't here...he's up gettin' drunk again."
But a packed pack, just sitting there, down a little semi-trail in the woods? It can sprout feet and walk off real, real fast.
The Weasel
Leaving your pack , just like your car, your woman, your guns ,etc., unattended, is just not an option.
RAT
Rat, your 'woman' sure is lucky:rolleyes: . :p
Amazonwoman
My partner and myself carry carabiners and hook our packs together (thinking that if someone tried to steal a pack on the run, he would find two packs too heavy). One of us always stays with our packs while the other can roam free and take care of business.