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View Full Version : Do you take it EVERYWHERE?



mcskinney
11-29-2010, 17:42
When in town or at a crowded shelter do you take your pack everywhere with you? Are you able to leave your gear at a hostel? Do they have lockers or footlockers? If so, do you need to bring a padlock?


Has anyone ever had their pack stolen? Any personal experience having something taken when you thought your pack was safe?

leaftye
11-29-2010, 17:48
Search this forum. You'll find plenty of stories about packs being stolen. If you've adopted UL principles, I don't see why you wouldn't take your home with you. You're already homeless when you're on the trail, but you get your pack stolen and you truly have nothing. I'd rather put myself in front of an angry gun toting drug dealer...and I have, and still wouldn't leave my pack unsecured.

Red Hat
11-29-2010, 18:22
I've left my pack in most hostels while I went to town for supplies or out to eat. Never had a problem. Some places are safer than others... but I never saw any lockers or anything like that and no one that I knew had a lock on their pack.

As for taking your "home with you", lots of places don't allow packs. You have to leave them outside.

mweinstone
11-29-2010, 18:29
enjoy the freedom not to fear. leaving our packs unattended is a prized liberty we take when our skills at recognizing sketchyness is honed and the feeling is good about a place. witch is three fourths or more of the places. except maby the place. witch is sketchy. but only because its an unguarded whole house with alot of road access. and we, as a group, hikerdom, dont take care of it. to me, it is one of the bashtons of hikerdom.

Graywolf
11-29-2010, 18:40
Never had a pack stoilen, but I did take it to twon once but left camp set up. Lost my tent, stove, extra clothes, fishing rod, sleeping bag, pad, everything I needed.. But alas!! I still had my pack with me..

johnnybgood
11-29-2010, 19:05
I can relate to the anxiety of leaving one's pack unattended , even for a short minute.
If you must leave your pack outside , you might try this.
Put a heavy duty trashbag over your pack and tie it off in a double knot . This is one way to secure that the items that are attached to the outside of your pack are not seen , thus not coveted.

Not saying that most hikers aren't honest , I'm guessing that hikers generally are, but occasionally there's a thread that pops up here every year relating a incident where someone's pack had been rifled through and contents were stolen.

Sierra Echo
11-29-2010, 19:57
Put a heavy duty trashbag over your pack and tie it off in a double knot .

And while you are gone, be sure to pray that is not garbage day!

Lyle
11-29-2010, 20:05
I carry my money, credit cards, ID in my shorts pocket. Camera usually comes with me too. Other than that, pack gets left at the hostel. I've never had my pack messed with. I've know others who have had their stolen. Each time it was while hitchhiking.

Use caution with pick-ups when the driver stays in the vehicle and wants you to throw your pack in the back - you may find the passenger door locked, and see the truck drive off with your gear. Best to have two people, one of you climbs in the back, then you hand the packs up.

Also be suspicious of a car that pulls up, the driver remotely unlocks the trunk for you to throw the pack into (or even back seat). Could also see your pack drive away in this scenario. Always best to have you or your partner to be in the vehicle, prior to putting any packs in.

Luddite
11-29-2010, 21:13
Just carry your pack with you at all times. I don't know about you , but if my pack was stolen it would end my hike.

Blissful
11-29-2010, 21:16
Yes packs get stolen. A hiker had her pack stolen near the Jerry Cabin shelter, by her tent while she was off cooking at the shelter. So keep on eye on your stuff.

BrianLe
11-29-2010, 21:24
The issue I was most concerned about was grocery shopping. What worked out was to just get a shopping cart, put the pack in the cart (collapse the poles so they don't jab anyone) and do this with confidence, i.e., "what I'm doing is perfectly normal, nothing to see here, go about your business"). Never had a problem. Perhaps being in my 50's and trying hard not to look like too much of a derelict helped there, and to be clear, I only did this while shopping in the actual grocery store (otherwise you really do look like a derelict ...).

Other stuff didn't seem to be a problem, I suppose it's always possible to be ripped off in a hostel but usually the dynamics are such that it's not likely (and of course, like others, I take wallet and cell phone along ...).

In a store that insists "no packs inside" (and some do), of course try to position the pack somewhere you can see it from outside. Here's where it's handy to be hiking with someone else.

Blissful
11-29-2010, 21:29
I put my pack by a window at stores so I could see it. Having stinky dirty socks on it is supposedly helpful too. But if the store had a shopping cart, my pack went in it. In restaurants many times I just walked in with it and looked for a corner table. :)

Spokes
11-29-2010, 21:59
I agree with Lyle. I carried valuables in a small Sea-to-Summit dry sack that stayed with me when separated from the pack. Never had any problems otherwise. Left my pack in many a hostel without incident.

Use your sixth sense just like you would when in the urban environment to gauge your comfort level.

Odd Man Out
11-29-2010, 22:24
In a store that insists "no packs inside" (and some do), of course try to position the pack somewhere you can see it from outside. Here's where it's handy to be hiking with someone else.

Has anyone tried this? Tell the manager "Since I'm sure you want me to spend money in your store, you won't mind watching my pack for me, will you". Hand him the pack, walk in, and start shopping.

DuctTape
11-29-2010, 22:30
I wear my pack on my back in grocery stores and bring it into restaurants. If the particular business doesn't allow it, they'll post a sign or someone will be quick to tell you to leave it outside... then you'll have to figure something else out.

Hostels are usually safe, and shelters even safer... though theft occasionally does occur. As others of have said, this is the sort of thing you'll constantly evaluate in given situations until it's second nature.

leaftye
11-29-2010, 22:31
The issue I was most concerned about was grocery shopping. What worked out was to just get a shopping cart, put the pack in the cart (collapse the poles so they don't jab anyone) and do this with confidence, i.e., "what I'm doing is perfectly normal, nothing to see here, go about your business"). Never had a problem. Perhaps being in my 50's and trying hard not to look like too much of a derelict helped there, and to be clear, I only did this while shopping in the actual grocery store (otherwise you really do look like a derelict ...).

Other stuff didn't seem to be a problem, I suppose it's always possible to be ripped off in a hostel but usually the dynamics are such that it's not likely (and of course, like others, I take wallet and cell phone along ...).

In a store that insists "no packs inside" (and some do), of course try to position the pack somewhere you can see it from outside. Here's where it's handy to be hiking with someone else.


This is good advice. Sometimes I go a step further and put the pack on the rack under the cart.

Spokes
11-29-2010, 22:53
I'll second that!

Done it a couple occasions and never got challenged.

BrianLe
11-30-2010, 01:45
"Has anyone tried this? Tell the manager "Since I'm sure you want me to spend money in your store, you won't mind watching my pack for me, will you". Hand him the pack, walk in, and start shopping."

I suggest that you don't go this route --- I think it could come across as being somewhat hostile (regardless of your intent), and we all of us need to make merchants more and more welcoming to thru-hikers and not the other way around. As DuctTape said, sometimes you see a sign, and sometimes they just tell you as you start to walk inside that packs need to stay outside. Taking the "if you want me to spend money in your store ..." approach isn't even likely to work for you personally, I suspect, much less for any residual attitude to those that come after. Even on the AT there's not *that* many thru-hikers relative to the overall customer base of such a store.

To be fair, a lot of the stores in question are fairly small places (no grocery carts) with narrow aisles --- packs could definitely cause some issues in that regards. Putting your pack somewhere so it's in sight while you're in the store and just shopping quickly/efficiently is IMO the best you can do, and of course pairing up with another hiker to watch each others gear if possible.

mweinstone
11-30-2010, 06:59
dudes and dudetts? your missing something here i wanna make clear. and info here is getting scketchy.some.

my grey haird friend is right. use your gut feeling first.

never ask to have store employees to watch a pack . thats absurdly uncool.

suppermarkets dont care about a pack in cart. its okay. your not ,"getting away with it."

each year about the same number of packs get stolen.allways in one of the same three ways.
they happen at trail days .maby 2 packs every few years there.

they happen at ungaurded campsites, mostly from bad judgement.
and they happen at roads, but only when judgement fails and a hitchiker walks out of veiw from his pack on the road for some reason.

now, as far as when its safe, lets be clear. towns with hikers commin thru since 1948 are proud to see packs on the steps of stores and dinners. they respect us. they have lots of good folks eyes eyeing for us. and its virtually impossible to get away with theft of any type if its hiker on hiker , as we allways hunt down our own.

as far as town theifs, no, they dont exist. its the place far from the trail like on a hitch, or in a store far away that these happen most.

hikers are fit, and gutsy and theives are smart. they only steel packs left outside tents at traildays.or left alone on a road while a hiker takes a poop. or when the oppurtunity is really good for them. its hard to get away with for two reasons. we police our own, we watch for each other. and we have the abbility to track down most theives but for the traveling theif who is presented with good oppurtunity while passing thru a place they dont live . towns are small and know their trooblemakers. you actually have to try hard if you wanna get ripped off.

sbhikes
11-30-2010, 10:34
Private hotel rooms give you a break from carrying your pack around.

Packs are kind of like bikes. You kind of know when you can leave your bike by the door of some place and you kind of know when this is not a good idea. I'll disable my bike if I have to leave it, or tangle my helmet so it's harder to take. I've done stuff with my pack to make it more difficult to take, too, such as buckle the waist belt to something. A thief won't expect that and will have to fumble if he really wants the rank and stinking thing.

garlic08
11-30-2010, 11:02
The only store along the AT that firmly asked me to leave my pack outside after I brazenly carried it in was the EMS in Manchester Center, VT. I didn't expect that response, but definitely respected it. All other places (except supermarkets with large carts) I asked politely first and usually got the nod. I agree, being middle-aged and relatively clean helps. Lots of places I didn't even ask--the tiny stores/cafes with narrow aisles and zero floor space. Then outside (buckling is a good idea, Piper) in view of a window works fine.

The only pack theft I heard of on my hike was a pack left unattended in a Duncannon town park. I guess you're practically asking for it then. Matthewski and Piper are right about using judgement.