Vehicles broken into at Byron Herbert Reece trailhead (Neels Gap, GA)

[tdw0066]

I went hiking on the AT down in Georgia this weekend and after 25 miles in two days I came back to the trailhead parking area at Byron Herbert Reece (Neels Gap area) to find my truck broken into. The sheriff's deputy told me it was one of three broken into that morning. Note to current and future thieves, please break out the passenger side window so I don't have to clean out 2 pounds of glass from my seat and then drive 3 hours with hundreds of tiny splinters of glass sticking me in the hands and butt.

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[HiKen2011]

That sucks! Hope they catch em.

[shoe]

I feel your pain, it happened to me on another trail last year. It just plain sucks.

[Carl in FL]

Same here, happened to me in 1996 and it was expensive.
Insurance did not cover glass without a deductible back then.
Now (here in Florida anyway) glass is a 0% deductible.

[daddytwosticks]

That sucks. One of my worst fears is finding my car vandallized after coming of the trail. Don't let this keep you from hiking.

[tdw0066]

Thanks for the kind comments by all. I won't let it stop me from hiking, but it will change my logistics going forward. No more leaving my vehicle at trailheads overnight.

[Sierra Echo]

Why on Earth would having ones car vandalized make them consider not hiking? It
could just as easily happened at a mall or a grocery store. Or these days, in your own driveway.

[Slo-go'en]

How to avoid break-ins at trail heads:

1. Don't leave anything with looks at all valuable visable inside your vehical.
2. Leave the doors unlocked.

#3, which is my method - drive an old, beat up, rusty car full of garbage in the back seat and passanger side and eveyone will leave it alone!

[Toli]

Thanks for the kind comments by all. I won't let it stop me from hiking, but it will change my logistics going forward. No more leaving my vehicle at trailheads overnight.

Next time leave ur car @ my house... I live between Woody and Neel Gap ...

[Sly]

Note to current and future thieves, please break out the passenger side window so I don't have to clean out 2 pounds of glass from my seat and then drive 3 hours with hundreds of tiny splinters of glass sticking me in the hands and butt.

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Where's LW and his gun when you need him? Seriously, probably best why I don't carry. I'd shoot the sorry bastards.

[max patch]

I've hiked in GA for 30 years and have left cars at probably every possible parking spot on the AT and have had no issues. (Although I've seen other cars that have been vandalized.) Given a choice, I think it is safer to leave a car at a trailhead that is reached via a forest service road rather than a paved road. Cars left at paved road are much more liable to be subject to a "smash and grab". I believe crooks and vandals are generally lazy and are not as likely to drive 5 or 6 miles on a dirt road to break a window.

[jbwood5]

Same here, happened to me in 1996 and it was expensive.
Insurance did not cover glass without a deductible back then.
Now (here in Florida anyway) glass is a 0% deductible.

Hey Carl.... Only your windshield glass is zero deductable. All other glass is only covered after you pay your comprehensive deductable. My son just had a power window jam in the channel and the glass shattered into pieces. He had to pay the deductable. He is in Florida.

[Carl in FL]

Hey Carl.... Only your windshield glass is zero deductable. All other glass is only covered after you pay your comprehensive deductable. My son just had a power window jam in the channel and the glass shattered into pieces. He had to pay the deductable. He is in Florida.

Yep, I thought about that afterward and figured that I had it wrong. Thanks.

When I had my convertible I always left the door unlocked, I was told to do
that by a good friend who did the same thing. It ended up being a winning
ploy for me, but he still got his roof slashed once by a lazy thief who didn't
even bother to check first.

It's all a matter of the odds. Don't let a bad day ruin the next one.

[LoneRidgeRunner]

Wouldn't you just LOVE to come back unexpectedly and catch the sorry basturds in your vehicle?? Just quietly remove your pack, slip up behind him and bash the SOB in the back of the head with the biggest, hardest rock you can find and pick up. Or if you have your trusty hand gun with you, ram his pants as far as you can up his ass with the muzzle and pull the trigger. I HATE THIEVES!! Does it show?

[LoneRidgeRunner]

Where's LW and his gun when you need him? Seriously, probably best why I don't carry. I'd shoot the sorry bastards.

AMEN to that Sly...

[FatMan]

Like Toli, I also have parking available at my place at Grassy Gap which is between Gooch and Woody Gap. With that said, I do believe that parking in GA for the AT is pretty safe. Odds are better of having your car broken into parked in front of your house than at a GA AT trailhead. It sucks that it happened to the OP.

PM if interested in parking at my place.

[nufsaid]

Wouldn't you just LOVE to come back unexpectedly and catch the sorry basturds in your vehicle?? Just quietly remove your pack, slip up behind him and bash the SOB in the back of the head with the biggest, hardest rock you can find and pick up. Or if you have your trusty hand gun with you, ram his pants as far as you can up his ass with the muzzle and pull the trigger. I HATE THIEVES!! Does it show?

Your fantasy could end up with you (back?) in jail. Would it really be worth it?

[MuddyWaters]

I have had a vehicle broken into before in my driveway that WAS unlocked. Seriously. One method used by thieves is to throw a brick thru the window while driving by a vehicle, to see if an alarm goes off. If it does they keep driving away, if it doesnt they come back a few minutes later if no one comes outside due to the noise, and do their thing.

They dont check the locks first necessarily. Woman I work with I recall telling me about 10 yrs ago had her car broken into under her carport, it was unlocked on driver side, (no power locks) they broke in passenger side. Go figure. Thieves aren always the smartest people around.

Might cost a few $ but if you are really worried, rent the cheapest car possible, ($20/day rent-a-wreck type) , Use a credit card that gives you free loss/damage waiver on car rentals, and park that there.

[Carl in FL]

Sounds like a great business opportunity for hiker towns
to have a secure-parking and shuttle combo.
3 nights parking and a round trip ride for a fixed price.
If I did it I'd offer a car wash and detail service as well.

[Newb]

does anyone care about spelling anymore?