We've been hearing a lot about car prowls in the Gorge lately. One of the reports I read said that car prowls are up 8%, but it seems that worries about car prowls are up 1000%!   It worries me when a newspaper reports that people are staying away when it's quite possible the risk is overblown.


I'm wondering if people would be willing to share their personal stats. How many times has your car been broken into in the last year at Gorge Trailheads and roughly how many times you've parked at those trailheads. Let's use the dates of June 1, 2007 to now.

I'll lead off.   I've done 68 Gorge hikes in the last year and so far, I'm lucky, no breakins.

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What do you suppose is around that next bend?

I've parked there at least 25 times since June and have had no problem.  I have seen broken glass though.

I think every lot in the Gorge has broken glass in it.  I don't know if anyone ever sweeps it up, so I don't know how much that tells us.

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What do you suppose is around that next bend?

I hope we're not stretching our luck here!

I must have parked in the Gorge 40-50 times in the past year. So far (knock on wood), no problems. My car is always empty except for my dog crate and sometimes an old pair of sneakers to change into. I take my registration and any other documentation that could be used for identity theft with me. I leave the glove compartment and center console open just to demonstrate that they are empty. I also have a couple extra layers of discouragement--a car alarm (it came with the car; I'm not that sold on the thing and wouldn't have bought it as an add-on) and a "Club" on the steering wheel. I realize that neither of these will deter a determined thief for more than a couple of minutes. However, anything that adds to a thief's time and trouble tends to send him towards cars that are more easily broken into. At least that's the theory....

I have no idea if any of this works, but so far I've been lucky. I refuse to let these jokers detract from my hiking enjoyment, so when my luck runs out, so be it.

As I mentioned on another thread, the ideal hiking car would be an old beat-up sedan with seats in shreds, the exterior dented and with crumbling paint, left unlocked with nothing inside but a pair of dirty, smelly sneakers. However, I don't have the mechanical skills should such a car break down on the way to/from the trailhead, so that won't work for me.

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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey

I've probably parked in the gorge 10 times in the last year with no break-ins

And another 20 times on Mount Hood, Olympics, Goat Rocks,... with no break-ins

None

Then again I have a sticker on my vehicle that says "the owner of this truck owns firearms and knows how to use them.......do you feel lucky?"

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"There is this to be said for walking: It's the one mode of human locomotion by which a man proceeds on his own two feet, upright, erect, as a man should be, not squatting on his rear haunches like a frog." --Edward Abbey

I hike in the Gorge at least twice a month and so far have not had any problems. However, when hiking at Eagle Creek last August the two cars next to mine had been broken into the previous night. Both had broken passenger windows as well as parking permits that clearly indicated the cars would be there for a couple of days. I don't think twice about parking for day hikes, but for overnights I use the lower lot by the camp host and have not had a problem.

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http://www.nwwalkabout.com

20 to 25 times.  No break-ins at trailheads - ever - just in town.  I don't worry about parking for day hikes in the popular spots.  For overnighters, I try to park in areas such as Cascade Locks and hike to the trailhead.  I am trying to incorporate biking as well.  Bonneville Resort works well for overnighters on Table Mtn.  This limits my choices times but at least I can enjoy the time out on the trail a lot better.       

I've only hiked in the Gorge about five times in the last year.  Two of those were overnighters to Eagle Creek though and all of them were at major trailheads.  No break-ins.

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Dan - Site Cartographer

No breakins to my car, but:

My friend Doug, who hikes circles around me, arrived at Horsetail Falls early one morning last summer to see two cars with smashed windows.  He was so dispirited that he turned around and drove home.

The hikers who got stuck on Tanner Creek last year left their car at the Wahclella Falls trailhead.  It was broken into during the night.

I got nothing either. Been up and down the Oregon and Washington side of the gorge and nothing has happened, yet. I even was an idiot and forgot to lock my truck once, and still nothing. Like it was stated above, I have a few stickers on my truck relating to guns. Down here in Corvallis, I have seen 1 car with broken glass. The driver had left a laptop in a leather briefcase on the passenger seat, along with his Nikon camera. So, hopefully nothing happens to my truck.

Going back to the beginning of '07 even, I've parked with the intention of hiking (rather than just hanging around taking pictures along the road) at maybe a dozen locations, been hit once - in May this year.  Saw evidence that another car was hit in the same spot (Oneonta Gorge) that I was within a week of when I got hit.

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Bryan Swan
http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com

Maybe 15 times or so, but no overnights, no problems. 

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- Lindsay

I've been to the Gorge at least 20 different times in the past year and I've never had a break-in, and I have an easily-targeted Honda Accord. The two break-ins and one outright theft of car that I've experienced with this Honda in the last seven years have all happened in the city.

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Cheryl