Break-ins on Lake Como Road

[mtree]

Just to get back on track, any overnight area with unattended vehicles can be a target for thieves. I haven't heard of anything up the Como road, but I have heard of break-ins at the Willow Creek trailhead and Mt Yale trailhead. It seems the easier access with low turnover are most common. Especially if its a hike requiring an all-day or overnight trek. Leaves an area pretty empty for a few hours.

Due to RVs it sounds like the area the OP is referring to would be down towards the desert and could be easy targets to spot from the road. I camped in a pop-up down there once. No issues.

[seano]

^ "ick, make it go away!" is a terrible response to seeing a poor person"

Opinions may vary, but I for one consider fecal matter, garbage, and trash dumped on US Forest lands a crime.

When was the last time that you saw a homeless encampment that was free of that crap?

Most people don't want to poop on the ground and leave their trash lying around, and will do the right thing if you make it easy. The first time I visited Canada, I was blown away by how they put trash cans at every roadside pullout. If trailheads had trash cans instead of "pack it in, pack it out" signs, there would be a lot less trash left around. If there were fewer locked vault toilets, fewer people would surreptitiously poop behind them. Just think.

[justiner]

I'm speculating, but I'm also worried that what we're starting to see is the already stretched out USFS employees coming to a breaking point this summer due to the reported funding cuts from the current administration. I'm not trying to Chicken Little these issues, but I am worried about such things as SAR missions, responses to forest fires, etc. Maybe those closer to this issue can chime in -- interloper?

The "Sky Is Falling" scenario is that funding cuts lead to continued problems like abuse of public lands -> which restricts public access -> take that to any nightmare scenario.

[cedica]

-> take that to any nightmare scenario.

Yes, only air-drops and pickups to/from peak - 3k contour line will be allowed from now on in CO peakbagging.

Question for FKT experts: would using Summon feature with Jetson ONE for pickup count as unsupported or self-supported attempt?

[interloper]

Maybe those closer to this issue can chime in -- interloper?

I'm not sure there's much else to be said here. Break-ins and theft are becoming more common there and law enforcement knows about it. Like most issues here in the SLV, we're limited by local resources and funding. Posting someone there to patrol regularly isn't practical. Closing down the land to camping isn't legally feasible nor desirable. I don't think there's much else that can be done, honestly. You just have to take your chances and be mindful of this.

Homelessness, poverty, and crime aren't new to the valley. They're part of life here. Sometimes it gets worse, sometimes it gets better. The city of Alamosa has a designated camping site for the homeless where people can stay provided they follow the rules, but it's constantly on the verge of being shutdown by the city. And from the people I've spoken with that live there, it's not a great place to be and it's hard to trust others. Theft and violence are common. Most would rather set up their camps away from others. Local organizations like La Puente do their best for outreach to help get people off of the streets and into transitional housing, but again, resources are very limited, and not everyone wants help. It's complicated.

As far as any advice I can offer to visitors, just be mindful of where you camp. The further up the road you go, the less likely you are to have problems. And stay off our helipad, please.

[justiner]

Appreciate you filling in some more of the picture,