Trailhead theft

[robert]

I know that none of you are as dumb or lazy as I am, but just in case someone out there might be, I thought my recent experience could serve as a warning. Don’t leave your wallet containing your debit and credit cards at the trailhead. Not even if you think it is well hidden. I did and copies of my cards have been getting used all over the eastside. You might not even know that anything is amiss because they don’t need to keep the cards. They just need to swipe them and put them back. Either put it in your pack or leave it at home. It is just not worth the grief.

[specialed]

What trailhead?

That will never happen to me b/c I hide my wallet where no one will ever find it - under the car seat. Brilliant.

[robert]

Hey that is where mine was.

I was at the Lake Annette trailhead.

[korup]

Damn, I had the same experience in the parking lot at Snoqualmie (West) in mid-Jan! Serious pain in the neck to cancel all the cards, after $2000 of electronics in Wenatchee....

[dbb]

after having my cards stolen this last summer (first time ever leaving them in the car no less) I just smear the wallet with poop and leave it on the dash. that'll teach 'em! bwuhahahahaha

[specialed]

Fuckin meth addicts.

 

I blame the Republicans.

[spicoli11]

Dem prezident bush gonna free us all for dem terrorists....can i get another hit?

[Thinker]

I know that none of you are as dumb or lazy as I am, but just in case someone out there might be, I thought my recent experience could serve as a warning. Don’t leave your wallet containing your debit and credit cards at the trailhead. Not even if you think it is well hidden. I did and copies of my cards have been getting used all over the eastside. You might not even know that anything is amiss because they don’t need to keep the cards. They just need to swipe them and put them back. Either put it in your pack or leave it at home. It is just not worth the grief.

 

Well....In all my days I've NEVER heard of such a sneaky, underhanded, and just plain unethical thief. At least they could do you the favor of smashing a window so you'd know they'd been there.

[chris_w]

I don't trust anyone anywhere. Sometimes I don't even trust my belayer I think I carried my wallet to 17k on Denali.

[specialed]

I don't trust anyone anywhere. Sometimes I don't even trust my belayer I think I carried my wallet to 17k on Denali.

 

He He. Which would be a good topic for another thread - what silly shit like your wallet have you accidently taken to wild places like the summit of Denali?

 

I took my cell phone to the top of Mt. Hunter 'cause I heard it would work up there. It didn't.

[spicoli11]

I've taken my home cordless phone out towards the pickets once..It makes you feel enlightened. Humans are dumb

[Squid]

I don't trust anyone anywhere. Sometimes I don't even trust my belayer I think I carried my wallet to 17k on Denali.

 

He only did that 'cuz he's had that condom in there since high schoo..

He thought he might get lucky in a bivy

[catbirdseat]

He only did that 'cuz he's had that condom in there since high schoo..

He thought he might get lucky in a bivy

[chris_w]

If you knew about it, you sure didn't lead on. I didn't know how to bring it up.

[Couloir]

I was running in Forest Park one time and I snuck off on a side trail to pee and low and behold there was a huge pile of poop. Well, the person didn't have any toilet paper so they used a dollar bill!!

 

I returned a week later and went to the same spot. Low and behold the dollar bill was gone! Wow!

[robert]

I was running in Forest Park one time and I snuck off on a side trail to pee and low and behold there was a huge pile of poop. Well, the person didn't have any toilet paper so they used a dollar bill!!

 

I returned a week later and went to the same spot. Low and behold the dollar bill was gone! Wow!

 

Watch out Dave you wallet may not be safe after all.

[tread_tramp]

Well....In all my days I've NEVER heard of such a sneaky, underhanded, and just plain unethical thief. At least they could do you the favor of smashing a window so you'd know they'd been there.

When I came down from climbing the North Face of Index North Peak the driver side window of my car was smashed in. The irony is there was nothing in my car to steal. They didn't even see the key to my car which I had hidden under the rock they used for smashing my window.

[Dru]

I saw Beckey "hide" his key and wallet under a rock 5 feet from his subaru in the Apron parking lot with half of Squamish watching him do it.

[Blake]

I saw Beckey "hide" his key and wallet under a rock 5 feet from his subaru in the Apron parking lot with half of Squamish watching him do it.

 

Yeah, but imagine if someone tried to mess with it. A whole mob of angry climbers would beat them up with slung hexes and tricams.

[thelawgoddess]

if your wallet's too heavy to carry on your climb, perhaps you need to reassess wtf is in your wallet.

[snoboy]

Or you can leave it with me for safe keeping...

[flashclimber]

Im curious..How much did your wallet weigh? 6, 7, 8 oz? What compelled you to stash your wallet instead of putting it in your pack? Darwinism at its best...no wonder we need so many cops around. Sorry dude...keep your valubles in your pack no matter how much they weigh...we aint livin in Leave it to Beaver World anymore. They were probably watching you as u stashed ur wallet...Damn Meth heads...Damn Democrats...Its all Christine Gregiores fault!

Edited April 15, 2005 by flashclimber

[forrest_m]

these days i leave town with a driver's license, a credit card and a $20 bill in a ziplock and carry it with me, at least to high camp. my keyring has a house key and a car key on a separate ring, so i can pop them off. the big ring with the other keys stays home with the rest of my wallet. it's a minor inconvenience, but i know too many people who have had their car's tossed. in alaska, i leave my wallet in the safe at TAT.

 

a big problem is what do you do in, say, peru? you've got your passport and a wad of cash, basecamp is an easy hike from town for acclimatized locals, it's a recurring nightmare of mine to end up stranded in the third world with no id and no $.

 

even in the cascades, high camp isn't necessarily safe. i have a friend who watched with binoculars from high up in monte cristo basin as some bastard packed up his sleeping bag and tent into his own backpack and hightailed it downhill. i think about that story in popular places like boston basin.

[robert]

Like I said in my post, I was stupid and lazy. You can call it Darwinism, but I think Capitalism is more accurate. I didn’t want my wallet to get wet and I should have just put it in a Ziploc bag, but I didn’t. Will I do it differently next weekend? Yes. Is there a huge cost to me for my mistake? No. One of the problems with this type of fraud is that there is very little incentive for anyone to do anything about it. I am not out anything. I canceled my cards and all of my transactions will be credited back to me with no fees assessed. My bank said it is cheaper for them to just eat the $1950 they debited out of my checking account; my credit card companies said basically the same thing. Safeway, where all but one of the charges took place said that people make purchases similar to those made by these people all the time and there is nothing they could do to distinguish thieves from any other shoppers. The K.C. sheriff may look into the crime, but I doubt it. When I had my wallet stolen out of my locked gym locker a few years ago the Kirkland police took my report and said very frankly that they would not be investigating the issue. In the end it is the tragedy of the commons. There is not enough incentive for people to solve the problem because the costs are spread across the whole population.

[j_b]

a big problem is what do you do in, say, peru? you've got your passport and a wad of cash, basecamp is an easy hike from town for acclimatized locals, it's a recurring nightmare of mine to end up stranded in the third world with no id and no $.

 

hide it somewhere safe between trailhead and basecamp?