Safe to leave gear at base / camp?

[Jibba]

Hi!

New to the board and to 14ers. I am coming out to CO in a month and plan to hike and possibly camp and climb my first 14er. I will take a day too acclimatize and take all suggestions to heart.

My primary question is, if i were to backpack in and set up camp (ex Mt of the Holy Cross) and climb the following morning, will my gear be safe to leave behind or is thievery and concern? Should i just pack up and haul it up with me (I'm hoping the former).

thanks!

Jamie

[painless4u2]

Welcome to 14ers! As far as thievery at base camps, in all of my years backpacking, the only "thief" have been marmots! Stinking little buggers! Enjoy without worry.

[LURE]

In all my life it's never happened to me. Even at rowdy car camping places in areas where thievery is more likely to occur. In those situations I often lock valuable stuff in the car. But backpacking, it's never happened to me, nor have i heard of it happening. That's not to say it never happens.

Camping down at the designated sites for Holy Cross? I wouldn't worry about it. Bring the phones, wallets, and keys on the hike, but really, there should not be a problem. Even if there were people that wanna steal things they still have to hike those things out, not to mention that statistically the type of people that hike back into those places are not the thief types. There's just a lot of things to say the odds are in your favor.

[Brad2]

A few summers ago a member called Sunshineof1985 asked this very same question prior to her quest to complete the 14'ers in one summer. Rather than try to find that thread, I'll just summarize and tell you that the general consensus is that theft is rarely an issue at most Colorado trailheads.

Try not to leave much food though, bears can break in and mice can infiltrate.

edit--- Oh I guess you're also concerned about your gear left in a backcountry campsite. That too, would be quite rare but take your phone and wallet.

[Rollie Free]

Hi!

New to the board and to 14ers. I am coming out to CO in a month and plan to hike and possibly camp and climb my first 14er. I will take a day too acclimatize and take all suggestions to heart.

My primary question is, if i were to backpack in and set up camp (ex Mt of the Holy Cross) and climb the following morning, will my gear be safe to leave behind or is thievery and concern? Should i just pack up and haul it up with me (I'm hoping the former).

thanks!

Jamie

Others with more experience I am certain will chime in but the few times I've overnighted a 14er I was neither worried nor did anyone mess around with my stuff. Keep in mind these were not heavily marmoted areas such as Holy Cross. For someone to go to the trouble they could have to take great effort to haul it out. However,I don't carry a lot of expensive stuff with me. 99% of the people climbing wouldn't think of it, its that 1%. Now camping at a trailhead would be a much different risk but you'd have your car there so you could just pack it up. Good luck. Holy Cross is an awesome area and broken up into two days is a nice idea.

"Enjoy without worry." (Painless4U) That's what I'd do. But I don't let things like that defeat me twice usually.

[Exiled Michigander]

Most break-ins/thefts seem to happen to parked vehicles at trailheads (as I recall, the Huerfano trailhead for Mt. Lindsey was particularly prone to this for a while). But I think even these are still rare in Colorado. I haven't heard of someone's tent or tent-stashed gear getting robbed in the backcountry, and even if this has happened I would think it would be exceedingly rare. Even thieves are looking to minimize effort as much as possible ("The Economics of Theft" would be a good Economics Ph.D. dissertation) , and I don't see them hiking up a trail, scouting out the area to find possible tents, and then risking getting caught/shot by someone who might be napping in the tent instead of hiking. You should be fine to leave your camp set up while you summit. Your biggest threat will be marmots nibbling on your gear.

But if you are going to leave anything really cool in your tent, post the exact dates of your trip, planned tent location, and color of your tent on here for me. I could use a new ice axe, some crampons, and a second down sleeping bag!

On a separate topic, I strongly suggest the Halo Ridge route if you have the time and legs. The views of the cross from the Notch Mountain shelter are pretty epic.

[Jibba]

Thanks everyone for the feedback / advice! This is a obviously a great community! I feel much safer now about my upcoming adventure.

Cheers
Jamie

[LURE]

I feel much safer now about my upcoming adventure.

Oh don't get too ahead of yourself, the skeeters at the holy cross campsites are wack

[nsaladin]

People have reported having items stolen out of their tent at the South Colony Lakes Area (not the trailhead, near the lakes). Last year there was at least one attempted "armed" robbery of someone sleeping in their car at the La Plata Trailhead.

[BerkeleyBuff]

Jamie, are you doing Holy Cross? That was my first 14er, and I swear still the best summit view I've seen.

[TallGrass]

People have reported having items stolen out of their tent at the South Colony Lakes Area (not the trailhead, near the lakes). Last year there was at least one attempted "armed" robbery of someone sleeping in their car at the La Plata Trailhead.

Yep. Hide and lock up valuables in your vehicle, keep those you take to camp with you on your hike, and take proper food precautions. Even if there's no history of problems, don't hang your cheese to be the first. In addition to human pilferers at SCL, there are varmint ones too. Friends' tent was slashed not once but twice by a rodent, second time after we taped up the first.

For Holy Cross, I'd go the Halo route via HM pass. See my TRs for a description of traversing the Notch.

[mtnkub]

The Halo route of Holy Cross is awesome... but less so for backpacking. And probably not an ideal route for a first time 14er outing (especially if done via HM pass)... to say the least!