Thieve's in damascus

imported
#1

I will Start my Thru-Hike Next Year and I have now come across two Journals That said that 3 BackPacks have been stoled in Damascus, Va. One was at the Hostel “The Place” and the others did not say where they wer staying, Question is, Is this a common event on the A.T.? does it happen other places that I am not yet aware of. and what do you do with your packs when your in a trail town for the day? do you take them into the Diner’s and leave them unattended? Man, that would make a very bad day to lose all your stuff!!

Patriot

#2

I don’t think it’s a common event, but I would definitely be aware that during Traildays there are a huge number of people coming in and out of The Place. Not everyone is a hiker during this time. When I was in town, I generally left my pack in hostels or hotel rooms. If I wasn’t staying, but was going somewhere to eat, usually I’d ask if it was ok to stash my pack in the corner of the restaurant. If not, then outside, but tried to be seated with a view of my pack. If you are in the woods, away from roads (like more than 2 miles) you will probably not have another hiker steal your stuff because they don’t want to carry extra ****.
I would also not be inclined to trust anyone who gives you a ride to town and says that they will wait with your pack while you run into the grocery store or fast food place. Two people had their packs stolen like this in 2003. It sucked. Put your pack in the grocery cart!

zero

#3

While your pack is pretty much your life while on the trail, I always figured that the contents of my pack were too disgusting for anyone to steal. old smelly laundry has its one deterrent value. keep that on top.

The previous post is right though: always keep your pack within sight or with another hiker when at a store or restaurant and don’t leave things lying around in an open enviroment like trail days.

I also heard about hikers getting things stolen while aqua blazing but thats just a vague recollection on my part.

jalanjalan

#4

i’ve known several people who had their pack stolen. Nuffy, icabod, Rex, and another i can’t remember. unattended packs anywhere is a danger. nuffy’s was in her tent at traildays surrounded by hundreds of tents and constantly roaming hikers and apparently a few theives. Icabod and rex dropped pack and walked 3/10s of a mile to a store and returned to no pack. personally, i have rarely left my pack out of eye shot. at trail days i make sure i have someone who is going to stay in the area of my tent when i am away. at restaurants, i set it in my booth.

for me, i have 2 packs, it wouldn’t be a hike spoiler, other than the feeling of betrayal or insecurities that would creep in. for others, it can be devistating. the ideals of the “pure” wilderness and honest folks away from the world is not always true.

i have a few simple inner guidelines. i don’t trust till proven trustworthy people i haven’t hiked with for some time, in a thruhike i count that as the whole way from springer.

i don’t trust clean people. hikers have ratty clothing after a few 100 miles. they carry hiker gear, they have sweat spots even on their clean gear. generally the girls have hair everywhere and guys don’t shave all too regularly, most have a poorly spotted beard, at least a beard is unkept because it is in the prosess of growing in.
their boots, shoes, sandals, or better yet crocs and feet for that matter are well worn, black or even blistered and they show you their feet cause they want to know yer secrets for damaged feet.

the mentality is also easy to pick up. long distance hikers are very loyal, grumpy, and protective of their ratpack. when alone they tend to be more antisocial except when they need something. then they slobber at the opportunity for something they need. they understand lust…even when it is just a snickerdoodle.

early in a hike a sobo near a road is always a local to me. they may be kind, or they may be untrustworthy, but i keep my stuff with me, mostly i hike away from them after brief conversation.

better than anything, i would suggest that you don’t lose track of what yer trying to do. dropping pack and walking away from it on a long distance hike is not really the smartest thing to do. it has yer survival gear in it, even if it doesn’t have yer money. when yer hungry, tired, lonely, don’t forget to carry yer pack with you.

i left a camera pack at a privy near the smokies. it had my camera, wallet, cash, credit cards, amongst id and other must haves. i hiked for 2 hours. when i returned, it was still there. the point is, hikers are trustworthy and are not out to get you. they don’t want yer crap, or they woulda bought it to start with. but people who aren’t in the hiker community may take it just for the goodies.

sound judgement is the best survival tool. best of luck, sorry for the long post. hope it helps.

burn

#5

is it worth caring the metal lock so you can put it around your pack and leave it. i am talking about http://www.pac-safe.com/product.aspx?pId=642.

boy who wanders

#6

i personally don’t think it’s worth carrying this item on a thru-hike. too heavy and only really useful in town. maybe the mesh is small enough to keep bears from getting food in your pack, but i wouldn’t count on it.

zero

#7

Definitely do not carry a pac lock or whatever with you. Much, much too heavy and way too much of a hassle. I think those things are more for travelling (ie on airplanes or buses) where weight isn’t so much of an issue.

The best solution is to vigilant, take your pack with you wherever you go or have someone you trust watch it at all times. Shouldn’t be so horrible to take it with you places if you don’t have that much crap, so it’s small and doesn’t weigh that much.

www.jackielbolen.blogspot.com

Tell it like it is

#8

In 02 I was always keeping one eye on my pack. Losing it would be like a goldminer losing his mule. The problem these days is that soon you wont be allowed to carry your pack into buildings and especially post offices. Just too many fears about explosives and stuff. Tie a skunk hide onto it.

Virginian

#9

It only happened at Damascus near a heary traffic area, and the cops did find the theives so don’t even worry about theft.

Tomato head

#10

Damascus has had problems with thievery forever. Trail days or no traildays. I think you are asking for trouble by leaving your pack somewhere that isn’t “safe”. A multi use hostel is certainly NOT safe. With all that said, the amount of packs stolen compared to the amount of hikers without problems is minimal. 99.9% of folks hiking are cool and would watch your back. Someone brought up pac safes… stupid invention… almost as stupid as people who put a small lock on their tents. Has anyone heard of a knife? If someone is determined to steal your stuff they will not let a very thin piece of material stop them.

aswah

aswah

#11

pack theft is not a large problem, but it does happen I would watch mine where ever I am. Unless you are absolutely sure of its safty.

Virginian

#12

With most instances of petty theft the motive for the theft is to resell the stolen goods for cash. I don’t know of any reason why pack theft would be any different. I suppose its possible that someone would steal equipment with the intention of actually hiking with it, but with backpacking gear the victim selection seems tricky: how would the thief know whether you had gear worth using or not?

So most likely, these packs and their contents are being sold. Bear that in mind every time you see someone selling used gear; there’s a chance that that used gear is the spoils of a theft. If you don’t know the seller as a hiker, don’t buy. Some of the few outfitters that will buy used gear for resale exacerbate this: you have no idea who they bought it from. The stores are more than happy to take stolen gear in, albeit unknowingly, since the thieves are likely to be willing to sell the goods for much less than they’re worth. It’s no different than buying used CD’s or car stereo’s in any urban pawn shop; you know there’s a decent chance that you’re capitalizing on someone else’s theft.

Rusty075