Never leave your pack alone, not even for a minute! | Squat the Planet

Never leave your pack alone, not even for a minute!

japanarchist

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I’m at the airport in Barcelona and I just got my pack stolen. I made a poor decision and went to the bathroom for about 5-7minutes and left my pack under a chair, when I came back my shit was gone. I was sitting right in front of a camera, and I foolishly thought it might be safe.

Don’t make this mistake, never let your stuff leave your sight. No matter how tired you are, how quickly you’ll be back, even if you think no one is around, don’t do it. I’m pissed as hell about it but luckily it wasn’t anything that can’t be replaced. They got my sleeping bag and clothes and pack but that was it, no money or valuables.

I suppose its good that I didn’t catch the person who did it, because I would probably bet in jail now for slitting his fucking throat.
 

Crazy Hobo Johnny

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That's why I always take my pack with me at all times when I travel.

Even when I sit at the coffee shop or public library, I take my stuff.

I see people leave their laptops and packs when they use the restroom, not very smart!

I even remind people not to leave their stuff behind and they look at me like, duh?

Thanks for sharing your story Japanarchist! Hope everything goes fine with you.
 

Coywolf

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Motherfucker. May Karma be swift upon the perpetrator, and faster than normal to you, in the terms of getting your shot back.

I've learned this the hard way more than once over the past 2 years. Fucking Santa Fe.....
 

Django

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My 4 panniers were stolen from my bike a few months ago in Brawley (a day before I went to slab City). Everything I had was in those bags; water, food, sleeping system, clothes. Cool stuff from other countries. EVERYTHING.
What a shitty feeling.
I really hope you'll be able to retrieve your stuff or just slowly replace them with new ones.

Don't be upset at the thief too much, it's probably a looser junkie that is in a bad place in their life, they're already at the bottom if they go and steal things from others. I wish all of us to be in the position where our belongings are stolen from us, and to never have to steal from others.
 

Anagor

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That's why I always take my pack with me at all times when I travel.

Even when I sit at the coffee shop or public library, I take my stuff.

I see people leave their laptops and packs when they use the restroom, not very smart!

In general, I totally agree!

Said that, in one Starbucks in Bristol I left my backpack and even Laptop (as I still carried one with me) on my table while going for a cigarette outside (no problem, cause a thief would have to pass me) or even while going to the restroom. Never got anything stolen.

But I was a regular there (often went there in the morning to charge my phone and to be online), all the staff knew me, it was not crowded in the mornings and the other customers were mostly people working in the offices nearby, families or elderly people. So my gut feeling was it will be okay.

Would not have done the same in the McDonald's down the road, though.
 
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WyldLyfe

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Cameras ain't gonna stop people, me and roughdraft where talking about this just before hey BROTHER!!!!! when I've shop lifted idgaf about cameras.. But ay man, OP if it makes you feel better I once had my car stolen with shit inside it too. Now you know for next time..
 

japanarchist

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Thanks y’all for the support. I’ve calmed down and realized that everything I lost is replaceable, and this is just another lesson from the universe to not slip up like I did.

I’ll survive with what I have until i get back to the US. I’m not going to let this ruin my trip either. On the brighter side i have less shit to cart around now😅.
 

Hudson

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Never left my pack anywhere but the only place I had my pack stolen was Mill Valley, California by the police.

They picked me up as a suspected runaway and brought my gear to another location while they brought me to a jail 100 miles away just to let me out at 1am without my gear. Cocksuckers took a leatherman my dad gave me when I was 16. When I got to the place where my gear was they said it never showed up. Probably thrown in a dumpster somewhere. A brand new Kelty pack. Ahhhh. My distrust of police.
 

Preacher

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When I'm with a pack or a bag with handles and I'm sitting and it is on the ground, I have my foot through a strap/handle. I've had something snatched from at my feet at a bus stop when I was a kid. Never again.
 

dingee

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You know, Ive left my pack so many times. Sometimes stashed somewhere, sometimes just in the open in front of a store. I convince myself that if I don't care that it's stolen, then no one will want to steal it and I just stop worrying about it. It's a form of glitter-flage, I suppose. The only times I've had trouble are when I was trying to guard it. Once when I was sleeping on it in Vegas (Alice pack waist straps are my favorite pillow) a crackhead tried to steal my gear from under my head. (we stabbed each other, I kept my gear and his broken screwdriver)
Another time my partner and I had hitched a ride with a tweaker whom we knew not to trust. We stopped at a rest area in Ontario Oregon and got distracted making out in the bushes. By the time we realized we'd forgotten to get our packs out he was gone. That actually turned out great. You can walk on the highway in Oregon and we were heading to Portland so we just carried plastic bags full of beer and snacks along the beautiful river valley, commenting on how nice it was not to have a heavy pack and keeping an eye out for a canoe to appropriate. For some months after that I happily traveled with no backpack, and often think of doing so again.
Cops have taken my shit a few times too.
The point I'm failing to make here is that no matter how vigilant you are, sometimes you still get got. So I just refuse to worry about it and hope things work out for the best. This generally describes my attitude towards everything, come to think of it.

Edit: Grammar and typos. Fat finger syndrome.
 
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Crazy Hobo Johnny

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Important to remember this even when you're leaving your gear in a car that you've hitched a ride from. I've known lots of people whose ride has driven away with their gear and even their dog while they were in the bathroom.
Dameon, that happened to a friend of mine except he didn't have a dog. His stuff was stolen! (7 years ago) He went to the local Target and Wally-Mart to replace what he lost.

Always keep your cash, pre-paid and or debit cards hidden on yourself for emergencies and a phony bogus wallet and expired cell phone in case being robbed. You can
purchase fake flat screen cell phones online. (Amazon) These are great in case being held up!
 
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MFB

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Ive certainly stashed/concealed my pack so I dont have to carry it around if exploring a town or city, or needing to go on a run. Im always confident w the hiding place, but accept possibly loosing it. Keep the debit, phone, passport, cash in a ghey little running vest that is prolly my number 1 travel necessity.
 
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Preacher

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Important to remember this even when you're leaving your gear in a car that you've hitched a ride from. I've known lots of people whose ride has driven away with their gear and even their dog while they were in the bathroom.
A dawg told me about once when he was picked up by a pickup truck. Pack was in the bed, they were in the cab. They got out and before they could even close the door the guy was off with his pack.
 

japanarchist

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The security guard told me it happens all the time there. People come there (especially at night) to steal from tourist then go back to central bcn to sell what they stole. Barcelona is like the theft capital of europe. It happens so much the pigs don’t really give a fuck.
 

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