I grew up in a camping / backpacking family and in hundreds of nights on the trail, including car-accessible campgrounds, we have never had anything stolen or felt threatened. We've left gear unattended in campgrounds and been gone all day. We've left vehicles at trailheads for up to a week at a time.

Are there any crimes reported in the Ely papers over the years or by the Forest Service that show the BWCA to be safer or more dangerous than other popular parks or wilderness areas?

I just read today that some folks had a canoe disappear off their car while they were eating at Trails End recently. Anyone up there have any news on the incident?

Unfortunately yes--- http://www.startribune.com/467/story/1341961.html
There appears to be a recent crime spree--I am not sure if the thefts occured in the BWCAW or if the thieves waited at entry points and stole unattended gear. I remember earlier this summer there were posts where people had bait stolen from their site--I don't think it is common, but it happens.

Tim

99 percent of "crime" reported in and around the BWCA ends up being stupid people losing their stuff and then coming to the conclusion that it has been stolen.

The other 1 percent is the once every five year break ins at entry point parking lots.

Stolen bait? Haha... Absurd.

There is a post on craigslist about a stolen Thule rack from the Moose lake parking lot.

When we exited Lake One last weekend, another group reported that someone had siphoned all the gas out of their vehicle. If you are leaving your vehicle at an EP parking lot, I'd be sure to have enough gas in the tank to get back to town, be don't fill 'er up before your trip.

i just today heard about break-ins at the bower trout, ram and morgan lakes parking lots.

That happened earlier this year, luckily no one left anything of value in their vehicles.

Just take all the good stuff out and leave your doors unlocked, that's the best way to go.

I think most thieves are lazy. They might break into cars in the parking lots, but I doubt if they will paddle and portage deep into the back country to steal something that they then have to carry out. The biggest crime I have seen is messy camp sites.

Dan

I think there is some theft at EP's. I was warned about it in mid- 90's and have just used the out of sight, out mind policy. I take any thing valuable with me and double bag it and stash it in my pack so it doesn't fall out somewhere along the trip. Knock on wood no trouble yet. That would suck to come out and find your gas siphoned out.

Have never had it happen to my vehicle, but one year saw a vandalized truck in the Angleworm parking lot. The sheriff had his card taped to the inside window and had placed garbage bags over the broken out passenger side window to protect the inside from the elements. We did come upon the owner in the BWCAW who we informed of the incident. He had been in the wilderness for two weeks.

I usually take my canoe racks off and store them in the trunk-out of site, have only enough gas to get back to town and have no food or valuables in sight. These precautions hopefully make any vandals think twice as there is nothing they gain by getting access to the inside.

I still feel it is really rare but it does happen. We saw what vandals had done to the forest service signing at the Stuart River EP in early May of this year. Dissappointing.

I heard of a trailer that was stolen at EP 16 in the mid 90's. There seems to be vandalism though. I was up at EP 16 in May and someone let the air out of a tire on one of my vehicles. Was a pain to change a tire after a long trip.

My bag still hasn't turned up. See earlier post on "lost bag".
In a sense someone stole it from me since it was on the rock with our other gear, while we were assisting the guys that lost their canoe on Curtain Falls.
There was over $500 worth of gear in it.
I guess it depends on how you look at it. I just wish that whoever "found" it would have been honest enough to return it to the Forest Service or an outfitter.
As far as other crime. I am always careful to leave nothing in my vehicle. My "good" canoe is always locked to the rack on the truck. With the cost of gear, canoes etc. I can see that someone would be tempted.
What we have to do as a group is maintain our honesty and credibility by looking out for each other. If I see someone unloading gear from one vehicle to another I ask them politely where they are headed or if they need help or if their vehicle is broken down. I have on occasion asked them if they needed assistance from the forest service or law enforcement. Usually that will deter someone. My experience with these types of thefts in our area (caving in remote areas) is that it usually is the same folks, who are local to the area, usually teens to mid-twenties and usually the local law enforcement catches them by setting up a sting.
My bet is they will catch whoever it is.

Crime has it's degrees. The empty cans in the latrine, the pile of dogfood and fish guts in front of camp, the sawed off white pine on the edge of camp, the birch tree stripped of bark....all crimes! Sometimes I hate those more than the parking lot vandalism.

This past May my son (35 y.o.)went solo into Snowbank for fishing opener, than the rest of the group camp for the Memorial weekend to meet him. While solo and camped on Dissapointment, he had a group of three guys enter his camp when he was just down the lake fishing. He watched but was too far away to call to them. He thought they were just looking for a site since he had a very small tent and compact equipment they might not have noticed he was there until they got on shore. When he got back he found that they had gone through his tent, took personal and fishing gear. He saw where they headed and which camp site they stopped at so, followed them and found his belongings in their canoe still at the shore. Their camp was a littered mess with empty beer containers everywhere. They were back in the woods cleaning the fish they had taken on his stringer. They hollered at him but seemed too drunk to give chase. He took his things from their canoe and fled. Our guess is that they were just in to fish for the weekend and have a party. It makes us really think twice about how vulnerable campers are and the solo experience.

Good point cowdoc. I can replace my gear. I can't replace the tree someone cut down!
Just read a great book called "The Last Season" about a ranger in Sequoia Kings Canyon it really makes you think about what impact we have by just being in the wilderness.

Grandma L--your son showed more restraint than I could of in that situation and I commend him for not resorting to doing something lets just say more aggressive :) He should have taken down their canoe registration at least and reported them to the local Sheriff Dept. and the Forest Service.

Now if it was me--at the very least thier canoes would not be floating the next day---unless it was an outfitters of course.

Tim

I absolutely think there is some crime up there. I know you all may think I am crazy and that a bear took my food, but I just took my first trip to boundary waters with my brother and his nine year old son. We entered at lake one and ended up camping at horseshoe. We did everything right, had our pack hung about twenty feet in the air and had the rope wrapped and tied in a knot. In the morning when I woke pack was gone, knot was untied and unwrapped from tree. No evidence of a bear, no scratching, prints, no imprint from a falling pack. The other funny thing is that there was garbage in our fire pit in the morning. Was not there the night before, I am the one that put the fire out. Unfortunately with a nine year old the trip was over before it started. We only had 4 days 3 nights, turned into one day and one night. This just last week. It's a shame. I wish I felt it was a bear but it just does not feel right.

Sorry that happened to you. I think I would have paddled to popular lake, purchased more food and made the best of the trip.

thats terrible!

boomshiky,

I read the account of your trip, and find it hard to imagine that any human would have the courage (or stupidity) to enter the campsite, steal your pack, and leave garbage, as you slept.

Many campers bring a firearm on their trips, and I cannot think of one thing that a human would need from you to take a chance that your crew might just be one of them that had one.

Unless they were morons.

I personally like to leave two or three dead bodies laying around, just as a warning to others! :)

Maybe it was just a polite bear putting his trash in the pit instead of just tossing it all around like most the rest of them slobs.

Yeah,

Maybe it was Smokey Bear, the USFS mascot, leading by example to "leave no trace!" (including fingerprints:)

I have heard through the grapevine that Smokey is getting a pretty extensive rap sheet, and his employment is in danger.

He has been warned that one more theft conviction will result in Smokey Bear becoming Smokey Woodchuck!

this thread is making me sad...

This thread is making me angry. I pack a .38 snub- guy takes my gear and there's gonna be a fight.