places to stash your gear?

[mkirby]

I'm not sure whether this belongs in how-2 or not, but I couldn't think of anywhere better to put it.

Do you ever have the problem of being in an unfamiliar city and wanting to go to a show or something, and being screwed because it sucks slam dancing with a giant backpack on? I'm always so paranoid about ditching my stuff in the bushes or whatever.

Better places to stash gear?

I've thought about getting a membership to 24 hour fitness or something so I could shower there whenever I wanted...would it be safe to lock up my shit in a gym locker?

 

[Shoestring]

(I thought we just did this thread)???
Depends on where I'm at........Large city, if I need to do lots of walking I stash inside a Greydog depot locker for a day. If it's a smaller town, I'll walk out and scout the woods really well next to the tracks if there are woods, then I'll take and pile limbs on top of my gear against a log that's laying on it's side.
If there are no woods, then I'll "tough-it" and take it with me everywhere!

 

[Angela]

I've also stashed shit in the woods and still had it be there a few weeks later when I come back for it. But I don't think I would want to do this with stuff that I really couldn't do without. In cities that don't have anywhere like a Greyhound depot I've asked folks that I trust if I can leave stuff at their place or just packed it with me. I always figure I'm not really going to feel like I "fit in" weather I have a pack or not so why bother loosing my stuff.

 

[mkirby]

It's not really about fitting in, or even lugging the thing around, really. There's just some places where it's really difficult to bring a giant backpack.
Like an amusement park, for instance. You can't ride a roller coaster with a backpack on.

 

[Bendixontherails]

I usually either find a stand of some kind of evergreen tree, or use the ballast.

with thick pine trees and the way the limbs layer each other it's hard to see to the trunk. I will tie my pack to the trunk with bungees about 7 feet off the ground depending on the size of the tree. just wherever the branches are thickest and the pack is pointing away from buildings. the pack I have now I love but since it is red I carry a black trashbag to cover it with when I stash it.

lacking that find a plate and dig a bag sized cathole in the ballast for your gear.

 

[eatmonksus]

i put my shit under those giant dumpsters, or find a secluded alley way, and pile shit on top of it. why would you want to shower?? dirt can't hurt. ( yeah, i just made pigpen reference, so what?!?!)

 

[finn]

Stash the food in your pack somewhere which isn't in your pack, so when you come back for it, you won't have holes that you have to patch up because of hungry rats/squirrels/bears.

 

[mkirby]

In regards to the shower, I have the occasional impulse to be clean that ill befits a crusty kid.

 

[dirty_rotten_squatter]

I look for an abandoned house that looks like it's been untouched for a long time, then I hide it someplace like the attic or something, Ive also done the pine tree thing which really does work, left my buddys pack there while he was in jail for 3 weeks and came back and it was still there. just be sure to weatherproof it.

 

[spud]

most places that you dont want to take ur pack in like show, amusement park, even resturaunts u can check your pack at the front desk like a coat i always leave even my small pack at the front of most grocery stores so it looks like im legitimatly buying shit even if i walk out looking 30 pounds heavier

 

[veggieguy12]

Warning

I always stash my backpack when I go shopping for items. But once, early Jan or late December just passed, I dropped my bag in a cardboard-only bin at the back of a store - something I've done 50 times before, which I was sure wouldn't suddenly be a problem - and of course when I emerge 10 min. later the bin was... not emptied, vanished.

To make a longer story short, the store had pulled it back into their basement, a worker noticed my pack, took it to Lost & Found folks, who had looked superficially for some identifiers or contact info (there is none), and then I came along to report/claim it.
But getting it back had me talking to the Loss Prevention dude, which was a hairy situation, given the whole reason for my stashing the pack upon visiting the place. I made it out by just a bit of safe-planning and quick thinking, luckily. And I learned a lesson!

 

[Dameon]

Really, stashing your gear is just a matter of imagination. There's all kinds of nooks and crannies and little hidey holes in any city, if you just get in the habit of being constantly on the lookout for them. If you want it to be really safe, lots of bus stations/train stations/airports have lockers you can pay to use.

 

[roadbike]

The lockers at hostels (HI mostly) that I've been to are dirt cheep or free if you bring your own lock at times. May be a good place if you're really paranoid about it.

 

[macks]

In San Fransisco I checked my bag in at a shopping place downtown to walk around the city. When I came back like 8 hours later they weren't incredibly happy with me but hey, didn't have to lug it around for a day. Might not work if you're uber-crusty.

 

[wartomods]

It's not really about fitting in, or even lugging the thing around, really. There's just some places where it's really difficult to bring a giant backpack.
Like an amusement park, for instance. You can't ride a roller coaster with a backpack on.

This post put a smile on my face

 

[Dirty Rig]

Scope out the city for fire-escapes. If you can be a ninja about it, I've stashed my pack of rooftops plenty of times. No one's goin' up there to steal yer shit, and it's a lot less likely for rats and varmits to get in yer food. It's a lot safer than just tossing yer shit in a bush, but also a bit trickier.

My pack is usually on my back around 80% of the time. The only places I really hate walking in wearing my gear is libraries. They know I'm going to be in this building for the rest of the day since it's 90 fucking degrees outside, and I'm just gonna lay around and stink up the place, so they tend to keep a closer eye on you and are a bit more eager to kick you out for whatever reason they can find, if you look like a dirty squatta. That's really the only time I feel that stashing my shit might benefit me.

 

[Poe Boy]

I did the gym membership thing.
Locked my shit up in the locker room, got a free shower (also washed my clothes in the shower), filled up my water bottles from the water fountain.

Oh yeah, and got a workout, so the cute chickies would pick me up on the highway.

 

[shitbagdanny]

i'm not one to stash my gear, i have a good sized molle pack with a bunch of accesiories and shit but all thats really in there is food, water, freshies, maybe some hitchin clothes, a tarp, random fabric and a badass turkish sleeping bag. i dress and pack warm enough for the winter and light enough for the summer, and follow the weather around. if it comes down to something where i cant bring my gear i prolly wont wanna go anyways, kind of a social recluse i suppose. house/squat/sewer/wilderness shows are the shit... venues are the kind of places i go when im housed up.
anyways, i stash my pack on my back.

 

[Avon Drunquist]

I stash my shit in wooded areas or a field with tall grass I can just kind of push over my pack. Any place that isn't homebum frequented, I guess. A lot of times I just lug my shit around all day, makes ya good and strong! haha. Winter gear is a bitch to haul around with you, but I'm cool holding on to my shit all day in the summer.

 

[RideMoreTrains]

My pack is usually on my back around 80% of the time. The only places I really hate walking in wearing my gear is libraries. They know I'm going to be in this building for the rest of the day since it's 90 fucking degrees outside, and I'm just gonna lay around and stink up the place, so they tend to keep a closer eye on you and are a bit more eager to kick you out for whatever reason they can find, if you look like a dirty squatta. That's really the only time I feel that stashing my shit might benefit me.

there really egar to kick you out if your in a bigger city with a noticable homeless population especially if your bedroll or sleeping bag is visable. i was nearly kicked out of the library in philly for having a bed roll on my pack, but thankfully i convinced the security guard to let me stay after i promised to hide it, and i told him it was 100+ degrees outside.

i dont know if anyone else does this either but i have shit buried all over the place. i just line it with multiple trashbags and dig a hole. i've let you lose anything so far. of course not everything can be buried but i manage to get away with a lot of stuff