View Full Version : Don't park at the Keys Gap Parking lot- West VA Route 9!
Ratchet-SectionHiker
07-04-2009, 20:29
So my wife and I did a sobo hike from Pen-Mar to Keys Gap this week and had a blast! Didn't rain on us except in the tent one night and had an absolutely great trip to the ATCH and other places. We left my wife's vehicle at Keys Gap and her mother gave us a ride to Pen Mar the same day. When we arrived to where we parked our car at the nice looking parking lot on West VA 9 we jumped in the car exhausted and ready to go home after a great time. At the closest 7-11 I stopped to put fuel in the car for the ride home. After about 5 gallons of pumping I started noticing fuel running from under the vehicle at a high volume. After stopping the pump and running inside to tell the clerk to call the fire department I investigated the car. Someone had taken about a 3/8" drill bit and drilled TWO holes in the plastic fuel tank of my wifes Saturn Vue. The fire department came and put oil-absorb on the fuel and helped me push the car away from the pumps. Mind you we were still a 5 hour ride from home after hiking 7 miles that morning up and out of Harpers Ferry. After the police came to file a vandalism report, we were able to drive the car enough to get it to an Advance Auto Parts store and patch up the fuel tank with some epoxy to get us home. The police officer said someone may have vandalized our vehicle because there was an Obama sticker on the back window!!! We ended up getting home about 3 hours later than we had planned because of all the ridiculousness (is that really a word?). The creeps did nothing to the exterior of the vehicle not even a scratch except for drilling the tank either to drain and steal the fuel or just to be complete jerks. I just wanted to vent a little and warn people from long term parking in this lot. I am so glad that I am done with this section and never have to leave a vehicle in this area again!
Looks like you may have had the wrong sticker on the car for the neighborhood you were in.
Lone Wolf
07-04-2009, 20:44
i have Bush, McCain, NRA, USMC and Harley Davidson stickers on my truck. people leave me beers at trailheads. they never mess with the vehicle :)
Cookerhiker
07-04-2009, 21:35
Sorry about your car. There's no excusing such vandalism no matter what one's politics are.
I recommend you report this incident to the ATC (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805859/k.BFA3/Home.htm). They like to monitor the safety of trailhead parking.
It's possible that they were just after your gasoline and it had nothing to do with your political sticker. I'd hate to think that I would have to make my car up to look like a gun toting redneck biker non-combat marine just to safely park at a trail head.
110% positive they drilled two holes in your tank to steal your gas. when i do it, i put a second hole in so it drains faster.
and ill sooner drill a plastic gas tank. cuts down on my fear of catching it on fire with a drill.
Feral Bill
07-04-2009, 23:10
110% positive they drilled two holes in your tank to steal your gas. when i do it, i put a second hole in so it drains faster.
Always good to get a professionals viewpoint.
Toolshed
07-05-2009, 06:56
So my wife and I did a sobo hike from Pen-Mar to Keys Gap this week and had a blast! Didn't rain on us except in the tent one night and had an absolutely great trip to the ATCH and other places. We left my wife's vehicle at Keys Gap and her mother gave us a ride to Pen Mar the same day. When we arrived to where we parked our car at the nice looking parking lot on West VA 9 we jumped in the car exhausted and ready to go home after a great time. At the closest 7-11 I stopped to put fuel in the car for the ride home. After about 5 gallons of pumping I started noticing fuel running from under the vehicle at a high volume. After stopping the pump and running inside to tell the clerk to call the fire department I investigated the car. Someone had taken about a 3/8" drill bit and drilled TWO holes in the plastic fuel tank of my wifes Saturn Vue. The fire department came and put oil-absorb on the fuel and helped me push the car away from the pumps. Mind you we were still a 5 hour ride from home after hiking 7 miles that morning up and out of Harpers Ferry. After the police came to file a vandalism report, we were able to drive the car enough to get it to an Advance Auto Parts store and patch up the fuel tank with some epoxy to get us home. The police officer said someone may have vandalized our vehicle because there was an Obama sticker on the back window!!! We ended up getting home about 3 hours later than we had planned because of all the ridiculousness (is that really a word?). The creeps did nothing to the exterior of the vehicle not even a scratch except for drilling the tank either to drain and steal the fuel or just to be complete jerks. I just wanted to vent a little and warn people from long term parking in this lot. I am so glad that I am done with this section and never have to leave a vehicle in this area again!
So, I am curious, because this doesn't seem to make sense... Did you lie down in the gas to look under the car to see what they did?
How high up in the tank did they drill the holes?
Do you have a locked gas cap access?
For a criminial to lay on the ground after bringing a drill seems like a lot of work especially if gas shoots out and covers them while drilling....
Are you sure there wasn't some sort of sensor bolted on the tank there, that came off (for whatever reason?).
But your take on this is really more along....."DON'T PARK IN KEYS GAP IF YOU HAVE AN OBAMA STICKER ON YOUR CAR......" So the rest of us are OK to park?
le loupe
07-05-2009, 08:48
of all the ridiculousness (is that really a word?).
I prefer - ridiculosity!
I am very sorry this happened to you in my neck of the woods, and I agree that you should report this to the ATC, as they like to keep track of what happens at the trailheads.
I would like to say that I don't think the sticker had anything to do with it. The cop was very wrong in stating that.....This parking lot had been know for many years to have locals cause problems. Getting gas for 4-wheelers is a mounting problems with kids in this area.
I have parked in this lot many times, but would never leave my car over night.
dirigo
Pedaling Fool
07-05-2009, 08:53
From the below link:
"Two unattended vehicles were broken into at the Route 9 Keys Gap trailhead on 2/16/08; another such incident occurred there within the past month. 02/19/08."
http://rohland.homedns.org/at/state/state_detail/AT_state_detail.aspx?stateID=11%20§ionID=85
I'm sure it was the Obama sticker:rolleyes:
Wolf - 23000
07-05-2009, 09:02
Keys Gap seems to be a bad area for vandalism. I know ATC tries to keep track of this stuff and I would encourage you to file a report with them as well if you haven't done so already. Does anyone know if ATC post a list of crime in an area. I would be interested to see it.
Wolf
Keys Gap has been a site of repeated vandalism for the better part of a decade. The ATC shuttle list even has had an advisory to warn hikers not to park there long-term, for years. They are, therefore, already aware of the problem but another report to them won't hurt. They will probably update the advisory based upon your report.
It's conceivable a certain type of vandal might be motivated by hate-politics, but I would not assume this was the reason (or the only reason) your vehicle was vandalized.
Okay, I'm back from a pleasant bike ride this morning to find my normally innocuous forum taken over by political posts. I'm sorry to wipe out so much effort on a new WB member's part, but posts that foment political arguments are not acceptable on Whiteblaze. Therefore I am going to go back and remove a number of posts. Also leaving us now are the posts that react to the unacceptable posts.
Pedaling Fool
07-05-2009, 11:51
Okay, I'm back from a pleasant bike ride this morning to find my normally innocuous forum taken over by political posts. I'm sorry to wipe out so much effort on a new WB member's part, but posts that foment political arguments are not acceptable on Whiteblaze. Therefore I am going to go back and remove a number of posts. Also leaving us now are the posts that react to the unacceptable posts.
Save yourself some grief and just close it; the OP should have researched the parking area, already been pointed out, nothing else to learn here;)
The general policy of moderators is NOT to close threads unless they are clearly just pot-stirring, with no redeeming value. There may yet be information people can contribute to this thread, such as suggestions as to where one can safely park in the area, and so on.
Always good to get a professionals viewpoint.
Sounds more like an enthusiastic amateur. ;)
bullseye
07-05-2009, 13:54
Keys Gap has had a lot of problems for at least the last 15 years that I can remember. I'm sure it wouldn't matter if you had Bush, NRA, or harley stickers on your car:rolleyes:.
Ratch,
I'm very sorry to hear about this incident. The PATC ridgerunner has been working hard with the club and others to clean up the parking area at Keys Gap, so this is especially disappointing to learn.
I will echo what Cookerhiker, Dirigo, and Wolf said about filing an official incident report form with ATC. Doing this will give us more details that would be helpful and provide us with a format that is easier to work with. You can find the "Reporting an Incident" page with the form on the Health and Safety page of ATC's website here (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/lookup.asp?c=mqLTIYOwGlF&b=5129395).
Many thanks,
Laurie Potteiger
ATC
Ratchet-SectionHiker
07-05-2009, 16:05
Sorry guys for starting the whole political discussion, I was merely trying to let you know the officer's opinion. I thought that if they wanted gas, they would have siphoned it straight from the tank, since I don't have a locking tank. I will definitely report this to the ATC, thanks for the information about keys gap. Also, where would I find this information in the future? I didn't read anything about that lot being problematic. As for the sensor, it was definitely a drillbit that caused the holes, and in the only place they could access the plastic part of the tank. Thanks for all the input, I will definitely be more careful in the future! Too bad we were already on empty, I guess they were disappointed!
bullseye
07-05-2009, 16:47
You can get trail updates here (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805467/k.A0C2/Trail_Updates.htm) .
Alligator
07-05-2009, 21:32
It's just a vandalism report folks. What a waste of a holiday to have been arguing about such crap.
Our Trail Updates page at www.appalachiantrail.org/updates (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/updates) lists the most recent vandalism problems, along with other noteworthy trail conditions. It also includes updates to the A.T. Thru-Hikers' Companion.
Our Shuttles and Public Transportation list at www.appalachiantrail.org/transportation (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/transportation) lists areas where vandalism has been reported to us in the last few years.
Laurie Potteiger
ATC
D'Artagnan
07-06-2009, 13:39
Maybe the ATC should consider investing in one of those motion-sensor cameras hunters use to track deer/nocturnal animal activity. You could place it on a trial basis in one of the areas of repeated vandalism to see if the perpetrators could be caught in the act. Then again, you could just post a sign that the area was under video surveillance. :-?
Furlough
07-06-2009, 13:42
Our Trail Updates page at www.appalachiantrail.org/updates (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/updates) lists the most recent vandalism problems, along with other noteworthy trail conditions. It also includes updates to the A.T. Thru-Hikers' Companion.
Our Shuttles and Public Transportation list at www.appalachiantrail.org/transportation (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/transportation) lists areas where vandalism has been reported to us in the last few years.
Laurie Potteiger
ATC
Laurie,
Good info. thank you for the updates and links, and all you do on behalf of the trail and for the ATC.
Furlough
Airborne3325
07-06-2009, 14:49
The sticker is a lame thing to blame this on. They were stealing your gas, plain and simple. People may still be bitter about the election but I think it is more likely that they needed your gas. Probably out of work, down on their luck or just too lazy to work. No excuse for this behavior whatever the the reason.
Rockhound
07-06-2009, 14:51
Ratchet suggested the Obama sticker was the reason the vandal/thief selected his car in his initial post. This may or may not be true. Guess we'll never know. Regardless, I really don't see anyone arguing politics here. Or even discussing it for that matter. It's more of a discussion on bumper stickers and what ones to have or not have on ones car to deter such crimes. Personally I would not mind political discussions but I really don't see that happening on this thread. Not sure how someone could interprut it differently unless they are just skimming the thread for certain words and catch phrases rather than reading the actual content. Getting back to bumper stickers I think "this car protected by Smith & wesson" would serve as a decent deterant.
The sticker is a lame thing to blame this on. They were stealing your gas, plain and simple. .
Ratchet suggested the Obama sticker was the reason the vandal/thief selected his car in his initial post.
Ratchet didn't suggest the sticker was the cause, the local police did.
Toolshed
07-06-2009, 17:44
A sensor, bolted onto the tank.... that could come off and leave holes in the tank... that just happened to come off while they were at a trailhead... really?:rolleyes:
And the cop was the one who said it may have been over the Obama sticker...
What a sleuth you are lmao
C'mon Zoidfu - It's called Brainstorming and its not impossible.
I've just never heard of anyone drilling hoile sin a fuel tank.
The general policy of moderators is NOT to close threads unless they are clearly just pot-stirring, with no redeeming value. There may yet be information people can contribute to this thread, such as suggestions as to where one can safely park in the area, and so on.
Threads should never be closed...
Lemni Skate
07-07-2009, 08:27
In that area I would think that having a "Dallas Cowboys" bumper sticker would be most likely to incite vandalism on your car.
Like people said earlier, Keys Gap has been well known for vandalism of and theft from cars far longer than Obama has been nationally known. I read that they caught some people a few months ago (I hoped that was the end of it).
All of that being said, I don't care why they vandalized your car. I get fired up when I hear about somebody doing something like this.
P.S. I wonder if when my truck was keyed it was because somebody didn't like my PATC bumper sticker.
Lemni Skate
07-07-2009, 08:32
From March 2008 NPS-ATPO update:
A law enforcement surveillance operation of the Keys Gap parking area last weekend resulted
in the arrest of one individual. Upon trying to stop the suspect a three state chase, by vehicle
and by foot, involving state and local officers ensued. The suspect faces several misdemeanor
and felony charges in this case, and has several outstanding prior arrest warrants. The operation
was a joint effort involving Harpers Ferry, C&O Canal and ATPO Rangers. The investigation
is on-going with further arrests possible. (One of the new cameras was used in this case.)
source http://www.atcmarpc.org/2008/mar2008/ATPO%20Update%20March%202008.pdf
Ratchet-SectionHiker
07-07-2009, 17:12
It was the officer who said the sticker may have been the problem. I just felt like adding that in to give full account of the story. We don't plan on removing the sticker or adding any others to try and make other people happy.