So much for honest backpackers...

[Cross Country]

Every day I went fishing (3 to 4 hundred days) I was a little bit worried that someone would steal somthing. It never happened. My real fear was that when I was 2 days in that someone would steal my BP or my bag. It never happened. imagine how bad that could be. That of course would not be a thief but someone demented.
I almost never met a BPer I didn't like.

[SSSdave]

The subject of gear theft in the backcountry has been well discussed in years past on several outdoor boards. It is not a simple subject. GENERALLY one's gear is safe in the backcountry especially with more distance from trailheads beyond day hiking. And there is a huge difference in safety between the wide range of trailheads. Obviously a trailhead down some 4WD dirt road in the Eastern Sierra is going to be vastly more safe than a trailhead along a major paved highway in Angeles National Forest close to the enormous urban world. Hetch Hetchy Backpacker camp is somewhere in between. It does see a wide range of Yosemite visitors because it is also has the restroom for the dam area. Most visitors are not backpackers or even day hikers but rather vehicle oriented people that rarely walk more than 100 yards from their car and tend to drive many park roads just to see what is there.

Most backpacking gear is only going to be of interest to people that backpack or camp and backpackers as a diverse group tend to be at least modestly well to do and not thieves. Our most expensive gear are high end sleeping bags and tents. It would be stupid to leave a really top end multi hundred buck tent or bag set up at some front country camp with no one about to watch over it while one spent a day hiking. But lower down the value list, even the most expensive backpacking stove left out on a front country campsite table is likely to be ignored while one is away for hours. On the other hand expensive camera gear or at least camera gear to the unfamiliar that looks expensive is obviously going to be tempting to some with low moral thresholds. Likewise leaving a wad of dollar bills out in the open on a public campsite table with other gear while one is off day hiking would be sure to tempt many.

[Iriscaddis]

Good topic. Yes I was wondering about this. Living in California, there’s a lovely group of losers out here. Question: Saddlebag Lake area- anyone have an opinion that leaving the campsite for a day hike/fishing would not be a good idea? I feel it’s safe and not a concern. My wife thinks the opposite. Thanks for any replies.

[Captain Slappy]

I've known a couple of people who were able to recover stolen cameras using an EXIF data finder. It uses the unique picture ID from a sample photo you've provided and compares it against other posted photos. It might be worth a try:

https://www.stolencamerafinder.com/

[giantbrookie]

Good topic. Yes I was wondering about this. Living in California, there’s a lovely group of losers out here. Question: Saddlebag Lake area- anyone have an opinion that leaving the campsite for a day hike/fishing would not be a good idea? I feel it’s safe and not a concern. My wife thinks the opposite. Thanks for any replies.

Like many I've backpacked for decades with more camp days than I can count and never had anything stolen and I've camped at a lot of popular places over the years in addition to the remote ones where I never seen anybody. My only losses have been when I've left things somewhere. So I wouldn't have any qualms at all about leaving my camp to go dayhiking if I was in the Saddlebag area, but I wouldn't leave valuables behind my tent.

It's sort of the same mindset one would have about car camping for more than a day. I think most folks don't have a problem leaving their camp set up, but whey wouldn't leave valuables in their tent while they are away. Over the past 15 years I have camped (university) student field trips at a campground within a few minutes driving time of the urban Bay Area. Many of these are multiday trips where tents are up for as long as week. It goes without saying that folks don't leave valuables in the tent while they're away during the day. We have not experienced any theft of our camping/sleeping/cooking etc. equipment during these trips and they collectively add up to a lot of person-camping days over these 15 years.

[Iriscaddis]

@giantbrookie , thanks for your response. I am with you and still think the best of people, especially hiker/fisher types .

[PointeAuBaril]

I think the main reasons why backpacking theft is less common than in urban environments are because the density of people in the backcountry is lower,

Not true. Crime rates per capita (which is what we’re after) are not the same after adjusting for population. The values and culture of a population have a far greater effect on rates of theft.