View Full Version : Another Theft At The Place
Apparently a hiker had his camera and two Swiss Army knives stolen yesterday at The Place.
If any of you stay there keep your belongings secure because we still have thieves lurking. I would almost bet it was a local that comes and goes regularly there, I sure would like to catch him.
jersey joe
11-04-2009, 10:55
That is a shame.
Pedaling Fool
11-04-2009, 10:59
It's not so much of a shame as it is predictable with all the riff-raff that pass thru.
Blissful
11-04-2009, 11:13
Should watch your stuff anyway no matter where you are, whether it be a hostel, shelter, etc. Unless you're in a locked hotel room. That's why I liked Dave's - you can lock your room.
JokerJersey
11-04-2009, 11:24
Should watch your stuff anyway no matter where you are, whether it be a hostel, shelter, etc. Unless you're in a locked hotel room.
Heh, gotta agree with this. I had a guy break the window of my car to steal 2 packs of cigarettes out of the center console a couple of years ago. I never leave anything where someone can snag it. Heck, last time we went out car camping, we tore down our tent and stored all of our stuff in the trunk of the car when we went for a dayhike because we noticed some kids cruising around on bikes acting shady. Paranoid? Maybe...but all of our stuff was there when we got back.
My last shred of faith in people to keep thier hands off other people's thing was crushed when some jerk stole my Kevlar when I was using the head in Iraq. If it wasn't safe there, in the middle of a US military base, surrounded by my "brothers-in-arms", it definately isn't safe in a hostel.
I really just hope the Place doesn't get shut down before I do my thru, since it would be a nice resource to have if the weather turns sour.
max patch
11-04-2009, 11:33
My wife visited me when I reached Damascus, so we pitched a tent down by the water. Kept everything else in our car; went to a movie and diner. Got back to the campsite and somebody had stolen our tent.
Reported it to the police; they said locals stole stuff like that all the time.
Pedaling Fool
11-04-2009, 11:49
I was curious of the population of Damascus, so I looked it up on Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus,_Virginia and look what it says about Trail Days.
"The Trail Days festival is held around the end of July each year and draws in excess of 20 tourists, making it the smallest single gathering of Appalachian Trail hikers anywhere.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus,_Virginia#cite_note-2) "
Obviously not a simple mistake...Wiki is a nice quick reference, but at the same time I always look for another reference on things I really want to know.
Pedaling Fool
11-04-2009, 11:53
...And when I say "obviously" I know that doesn't include people not associated with the AT.
max patch
11-04-2009, 12:06
I was curious of the population of Damascus, so I looked it up on Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus,_Virginia and look what it says about Trail Days.
"The Trail Days festival is held around the end of July each year and draws in excess of 20 tourists, making it the smallest single gathering of Appalachian Trail hikers anywhere.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus,_Virginia#cite_note-2) "
Obviously not a simple mistake...Wiki is a nice quick reference, but at the same time I always look for another reference on things I really want to know.
Another intentional revisionist error...
The original entry stated in excess of 20,000 tourists.
It was then revised to add that it was the largest single gathering of hikers.
It was then revised to remove the above and replace it with: "Trail days is where smelly hikers come and throw stuff at the local marching band".
It was then quickly revised back to 20,000 tourists and largest single gathering.
In September it was revised to what John found above.
John is correct, always confirm what you read on wikipedia.
RiverWarriorPJ
11-04-2009, 12:11
My last shred of faith in people to keep thier hands off other people's thing was crushed when some jerk stole my Kevlar when I was using the head in Iraq.
Steal kevlar..??..I couldn't stand it.....gave mine away..!!..
JokerJersey
11-04-2009, 12:15
I fixed the wikipedia entry. It now reads as it should.
The Trail Days festival is held around the end of July each year and draws in excess of 20,000 tourists, making it the largest single gathering of Appalachian Trail hikers anywhere.[3] (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#cite_note-2)
I love when people use wikipedia as thier SOLE source of information. Not saying you did John, but I've had people make some seriously poor arguements all based off of incorrect wikipedia material.
My mother's walker was stolen from her minivan last week. Who would steal an old lady's walker? My Dad took the car to town and didn't lock it. Guess someone saw him get out and walk perfectly well and decided he didn't need the walker.
I stay at Dave's if I'm low on money, or Suzanne's Hike Inn if I've got more cash. Never at the Place.
JokerJersey
11-04-2009, 12:18
Hmm, thats odd. The citation now points at whiteblaze instead of wikipedia. Must have formatted it wrong. Regardless...the information on wikipedia has been changed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus,_Virginia
modiyooch
11-04-2009, 13:05
Flying back from the west, I checked our dirty clothes and carried the tent and bags. Good call since they lost the dirty clothes.
In 1980, someone did load my backpack on another bus. I truly think they were trying to steal it. I just happened to see it being loaded and questioned my bus driver who promptly retrieved it.
Jester2000
11-04-2009, 13:13
I think that a lot of hikers fall into the trap of trusting people around them while they're on the trail, only to have this trust violated when in town. Particularly in shelters, one gets used to having what can be some pretty valuable stuff spread out for all to see, and none of it gets stolen. Maybe because nobody wants to carry it.
Upon arriving in town, many hikers don't realize they need to put their guard back up. I had a hiking pole stolen in Kent, and I realize that I was foolish to have left it in plain sight. At the time it was horrible -- I had had my faith in humanity restored by all of the good experiences I had had with strangers up to that point.
Lesson learned -- keep your eyes on your stuff, no matter how trusting you'd like to be.
JokerJersey
11-04-2009, 13:30
Maybe because nobody wants to carry it.
I think you hit the nail on the head here Jester. I'd imagine a lot of would-be thieves rethink thier habits on the trail when they realize they'd have to carry whatever they took to the next town.
Just another reason to not go UL... :D :banana
Jack Tarlin
11-04-2009, 14:04
First thought: Pretty foolish to leave a nice camera unattended in a public
place, and that's what a hostel is.
Second thought: Why on earth would anyone travel or hike with TWO Swiss Army knives? Like, ya need a back-up corkscrew or something?
Just wondering. :rolleyes:
Jester2000
11-04-2009, 14:44
First thought: Pretty foolish to leave a nice camera unattended in a public
place, and that's what a hostel is.
Second thought: Why on earth would anyone travel or hike with TWO Swiss Army knives? Like, ya need a back-up corkscrew or something?
Just wondering. :rolleyes:
Well, say the screws come loose on your Swiss Army knife. You've got the tools on your second Swiss Army knife to repair it! Brilliant!
sheepdog
11-04-2009, 14:48
First thought: Pretty foolish to leave a nice camera unattended in a public
place, and that's what a hostel is.
Second thought: Why on earth would anyone travel or hike with TWO Swiss Army knives? Like, ya need a back-up corkscrew or something?
Just wondering. :rolleyes:
just in case one gets stolen???:D
First thought: Pretty foolish to leave a nice camera unattended in a public
place, and that's what a hostel is.
Second thought: Why on earth would anyone travel or hike with TWO Swiss Army knives? Like, ya need a back-up corkscrew or something?
Just wondering. :rolleyes:
Didn't NASA pioneer the concept of "redundant systems" during the Apollo space flight years? There you have it.
Gray Blazer
11-04-2009, 15:35
First thought: Pretty foolish to leave a nice camera unattended in a public
place, and that's what a hostel is.
Second thought: Why on earth would anyone travel or hike with TWO Swiss Army knives? Like, ya need a back-up corkscrew or something?
Just wondering. :rolleyes:
Did not say he was carrying two....only had two stolen. He could have been carrying a lot more.
Blissful
11-04-2009, 15:56
My mother's walker was stolen from her minivan last week. Who would steal an old lady's walker? .
A walker? That's sick...
And really, really sad.
saimyoji
11-04-2009, 16:05
My mother's walker was stolen from her minivan last week. Who would steal an old lady's walker?
a theiving old lady? seriously, just because they're elderly don't make them more honest....
Well, say the screws come loose on your Swiss Army knife. You've got the tools on your second Swiss Army knife to repair it! Brilliant!
I think you've got a few screws loose.
I'm not surprised at all.
First thought: Pretty foolish to leave a nice camera unattended in a public
place, and that's what a hostel is.
Second thought: Why on earth would anyone travel or hike with TWO Swiss Army knives? Like, ya need a back-up corkscrew or something?
Just wondering. :rolleyes:I do not really know, I think one was small and the other large?
Did not say he was carrying two....only had two stolen. He could have been carrying a lot more.this is true since he worked for me today because he had a gerber special ops knife he was using. some people carry lots of one thing when they hike and some love knives....