Vehicle vandalism while in the wilderness

[billconner]

I have not previously ever worried about leaving my car at an entry point parking area. As anyplace, I don't leave valuables in plain sight, and try to leave as few things as practical, but day after clothes, etc., are often unavoidable.

Unfortunately, reports of vandalism seem to be increasing, at least around Adirondacks. I don't know about other areas. I will probably consider using outfitter transportation and shuttles in the future.

Are others sensing a change in this?

 

[clemency]

I worry about my catalytic converter, but not stuff in the car.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I used to travel all around the country and into Canada for weeks, living out of my full size van. So, I was always carrying thousands of dollars in canoe and camping equipment, clothing, food, camera equipment, and my one-and-only computer. That laptop had all my personal life, correspondence, pictures, and a good chunk of legal documents on it, so that was the most scary thing to contemplate getting stolen. For that reason, I used to carry the laptop with me in my canoe in a waterproof, floating case.

Fortunately, I've never had a break-in of my van or any other canoe vehicle. My only visible deterrent protection are Catholic rosary beads I have wrapped around my van's rear view mirror, which are probably more marginally recognizable in Quebec than Mississippi.

 

[Rubbaboo]

I feel more paranoid in the city than out in the bush. Lots of night shoppers cruising the streets these days.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba’s northern communities are pretty rough, so you don’t just park your truck by the dock or put in and paddle away. That said, I try to always store my vehicle at an outfitter, gas station or fishing camp if it’s not parked at a float plane base.
I drive an older crappy truck but always have good rubber so they all wear a couple locking lug nuts on each rim., the gas tanks on an f150 are pretty hard to syphon as well, so I sleep pretty good while I’m out and about.

 

[Mason]

The only time I've had a problem was on the Chatooga River (GA/SC) for a day trip in 1980. They dumped several thousand dollars worth of camera gear out of the case and just took cash. (I did have a house break-in in 2009 where they cleaned me out if $28k of insured goods.) I have my photo gear on an additional rider. There's only so much you can do....

 

[Mason]

I think Alan Gage wrote about his problems on his Wollaston Lake trip, but he was out for 40 or so days.

 

[Odyssey]

I've always driven cars, vans, and trucks not worth stealing. The insurance rates reflected that, my broker told me. So much for being a good driver. But rates are also tied to your home address and the vehicle theft rates there. Well, that's one strike against me. I won't elaborate. When locking up and leaving my vehicles at put-ins I was always more concerned about the bear burglars. Any traces of food, spilled coffee, gum wrappers under the seats? No-one in their right mind would ever mess with my POS vehicle, so never problems there. I recently bought a new/old vehicle. High mileage, sort of, and not the least bit attractive. But there I was wrong. It seems it is highly rated to car thieves. It still is however, more likely to be stolen out of my driveway that out of a put-in parking lot. I clean the interior, lock up, and walk away having pointed the nose into the spot with the wheels fully turned. Makes towing a bugger I am told. For put-ins I do my best to keep it out of the way of locals and other users trying to access the water. I keep anything and everything well out of sight to discourage smash and grab scumbags, but there's only so much you can do.

 

[Boatman53]

My daughter had the rear window of her Mini broken when she was doing a weekend canoe trip in the ADK’s. She didn’t notice anything stolen, so maybe they were interrupted. It was a couple of weeks before she could get the window replaced.
Jim

 

[billconner]

I had read of gear being stolen at one end of a NFCT portage, north of Saranac. Mostly AT and PCT trail heads. One recently at a trail head in the high peaks. Mostly gear.

It is my feeling that it started increasing in the past 2 or 3 years, perhaps reflecting a growing anti-social trend. Not related to outdoor rec, but another sign:

Going In Reverse: After Years Of Improvement, New Research Shows A Troubling Increase In Admitted Risky Driving - The Lakewood Scoop

A new report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds unsafe driving behaviors, including speeding, red-light running, drowsy driving, and driving impaired on cannabis or alcohol, rose from 2020 to 2021. The most alarming increase was among drivers admitting to getting behind the wheel...

thelakewoodscoop.com

 

[billconner]

Here's the article that got me thinking about this and being more careful:

I Had My Gear Stolen On A Thru-Hike - The Trek

It’s when we’re at our worst that the generosity of others really means the most.As I was finishing up my hike in Oregon I decided to take a detour, you see I had brought my car out to the west coast with me.

thetrek.co

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

I haven’t had any issues in the ADKs personally, but it is concerning.

I have been known to pull a coil wire or rearrange a couple when parking a classic vehicle unattended. I have a hidden “kill switch” on my ignition wire in one. It would take someone less than 30 seconds to start an older vehicle that knew what they were doing.

I have heard that my craptacular commuter Hyundai is a breeze to punch out the ignition cylinder and start too.

Sad, but I will seriously consider an outfitter parking lot in the future.

Bob

 

[MrPoling]

One of the reasons I don't drive a nicer vehicle is because of break-ins.
I had my old pick up broken into twice, once along the Haw River in NC, another along the Bluestone in West Virginia. I never left anything of value in the truck, but it always frustrated me when I had to replace a window or fix something. Both of these incidents occurred between 2000 and 2005.

The fine mountain boys who ransacked my truck along the Bluestone sprayed my fire extinguisher in the cab. Of course that was partially offset by the other group of fine mountain boys who gave me a lift back and offered to help me confront the people hanging out at the put in. I declined, since there's no reason to start trouble without some proof.

I had my van broken into along the Eno River last year. They broke the lock, but that was all. This was in Hillsborough, not out in the country.

I think the risk varies a lot by location. I haven't seen any data that convinces me break-ins are getting better or worse in North Carolina. For me there has never been a time I didn't expect problems occasionally.

 

[Alasgun]

Up here there are places you never leave a vehicle over night. A couple different ethnic minorities will break out all the windows before setting it on fire. From my place to Chitna is roughly a 4 hour drive, passing thru only 2 towns along the way. While going down to the fish wheel 2 years ago i quit counting at 14 vehicles along the road, totaled.

At my destination i commented to my buddies that i’d just witnessed more damage along the road in that 4 hour period than i saw the whole year i was in Viet-nam!

And not just out of town, we see it on our local roads as well. Last winter i saw 2 trashed and one rolled over and over in a 6 mile stretch; on my way to Church!

i have some strong opinions about this subject and would most assuredly get 86’ed from this site for divulging them!

 

[duNord]

In 30+ years of tripping, I've had a couple of tires slashed and windows broken once, but fortunately nothing was stolen.

I do a lot of solo trips using a small motorcycle to self shuttle. I do worry somewhat about somebody messing with my motorcycle or truck while I'm paddling, but I'm willing to take the risk because the alternative is staying home and not paddling.

My bigger concern is somebody stealing my canoe (Hemlock SRT) or camping gear while I'm running the shuttle.

 

[Gamma1214]

Wow, I feel blessed. I've abandoned my old Ranger at trailheads / put-ins without ever giving it a thought except to leave it unlocked so nobody would break the windows if they wanted in. I don't leave anything of much value in it and I figure nobody would care to steal it (assuming they could even drive a 5 speed) but I usually put the keys in the bushes nearby so I don't lose them while out. (The keys stay in the car [and usually hanging in the ignition] anywhere else it's ever parked).

Maybe I need to start being more careful; maybe God simply watches over fools and small children.

 

[memaquay]

In Canada, the price of gas is outrageous. Gas thieves don't syphon anymore, they drill a hole in your tank and drain it. My buddy had this happen to him two years ago at a place where I have parked my truck countless times.

I blame it on the meth. It's everywhere, even our little town is riddled with it, and meth addicts will steal anything.

 

[Boatman53]

My tripping friend had his gas tank drilled and drained at a hotel lot in Portland ,Oregon when he was visiting his kids/grandkids. It was going to take so long to get a new tank the flew home to Idaho.
I also remembered that I had a smash and grab 40 years ago in Wyoming. Not a canoeing trip but a cross country trip. We stopped a a small pulloff to exercise the dog before we got to our final stop for the day. We were walking along the road and I guess the thieves saw us then came upon our truck just out of sight. They broke the back door of the cap and grabbed two bags and were gone. They got our tent and a bag of dirty clothes.
Jim

 

[Paddlinhal]

Common sense precautions is all. So far I've lost a pair of binoculars, a carabiner, and saved a million hours of worry.

 

[ScottS]

And then, one day, I went out for a 4 hour day trip. When I returned, my binoculars, which I had accidentally left laying on the ground when I launched, were hanging on the side mirror of my car. I like where I live.

 

[lowangle al]

Luckily there are more good people than bad, but don't let your guard down Scott.