Island Camping Update

**John_Yu** · 07-29-2017, 02:20 AM

Hey guys it's John Yu again.
Sorry for the long delay, I had a lot of stuff to take care of before I could finally make my trip.

The good news is that I survived and had a good time.
The bad news is that my wallet got stolen and some jerk is trying to max out all my credit and debit cards. So right now I'm trying to get through the process of cancelling the cards, getting new ones, and reclaiming the lost money. Today is not my day.

Aside from that, it was a fun trip. Swimming, exploring the island, sleeping under the stars, working on fire skills, constructing a hobbit hole, deer and wild geese, and eating lots of blackberries.

I guess the lesson to be learned is that even on seemingly deserted islands there are thieves lurking about. In the future I'll probably look back on this trip with fondness, but at the moment I'm just too upset. Hope things are going better for the rest of you!

**1stimestar** · 07-29-2017, 05:53 AM

Aw sorry that your wonderful trip had such a sucky ending to it.

**hunter63** · 07-29-2017, 10:06 AM

Thank for the up date.......glad you had a good time...

Getting a wallet stolen can happen anywhere.....just another part and consideration of
surviving. ....What would I do if...??

**kyratshooter** · 07-29-2017, 11:36 AM

LOL, theft in camp is nothing new, the Mountain Men had the same problem.

The Indians would steal their furs, steal their horses, wreck their camps.

Daniel Boone was mugged for a year's worth of work twice in KY, the Bledsoe Brothers in TN had 2600 deer hides stolen and the worst violent incident that occurred on the Lewis and Clark Expedition involved Indians trying to steal their horses and guns.

Thinking the "great outdoors" is going to be free of crime is an illusion.

**John_Yu** · 07-29-2017, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by kyratshooter

LOL, theft in camp is nothing new, the Mountain Men had the same problem.

The Indians would steal their furs, steal their horses, wreck their camps.

Daniel Boone was mugged for a year's worth of work twice in KY, the Bledsoe Brothers in TN had 2600 deer hides stolen and the worst violent incident that occurred on the Lewis and Clark Expedition involved Indians trying to steal their horses and guns.

Thinking the "great outdoors" is going to be free of crime is an illusion.

That's good to know!

**Seniorman** · 07-29-2017, 01:00 PM

Sorry to hear about your wallet being stolen. How did it happen??

As Kyratshooter posted, no matter where you are, the thieves are around.

S.M.

**John_Yu** · 07-29-2017, 02:32 PM

It is a huge island, 2000 acres of woods, fields, beach, and wetlands. Accessible only by boat, and almost no people, except on summer weekends. So I just set my pack under a tree and went out hiking for miles and miles. Did they get it when I was out? Or when I was sleeping? It's just creepy to think that you can look out for miles without seeing anybody, yet somebody is there lurking in the woods waiting to steal your stuff when you leave.

**DSJohnson** · 07-30-2017, 01:28 AM

John,
If I may, (because it is just the way I think) What have you learned from this trip? How long did you get to stay in the woods/wilderness? What do you mean when you say a Hobbit Hole? Glad you got to spend some time out in the woods. Did you use a tent at all or sleep under the stars the whole time? Was good clean drinking water easy or did you bring water with you? Did you cook on a stove or use a wood fire? Is it legal to cut live trees there? State or Federal property? So you did some foraging (The blackberrys) did you do any fishing? If so what kind of tackle did you use? Were you successful fishing?

Just as aside, when I am camping I do not take my wallet/billfold with me. I , typically will take whatever ID I feel I may need, whatever permits are required and some cash money in a small "stash" that I keep on my person. I keep the money separate and even if I intend to carry very much money I carry it in small denomination so that I never "flash" even a $20 bill. I will get it all in 5s and 1s usually and keep part of it on my person and the other part in my pack/kit/gear. I have learned, from losing my billfold in the wilderness, and on the water that carrying a billfold or even taking it with you is not necessary or, in my experience, smart. You dang sure can't use a debit card in the woods. Just my 2 cents worth, after 45 or so years of camping in the woods and trying to learn to do better each time so I can have more fun and enjoy it more each time! Losing your bill fold when you are 4 states away from home sucks. Really sorry for that. Did they not take anything else? If not then you are pretty lucky in that regard. I was with a friend one time in the Rocky Mountain National Park. We were back packing, started at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, and on the third day of our trip we walked off the ridge down to Aspenglen campgrounds. My friend, dropped his pack at the base of a tree by the restrooms and went inside the restroom. I walked about 30 yards further down, in plain sight of the restrooms and started a conversation with some campers. Several vehicles were parked by the restrooms and also in the camping spots. When Bob came out of the restroom his pack was gone. Gone...everything he had for the trip was just gone. His billfold, sleeping bag, stove, asthma medicine, inhaler, all his clothes, EVERYTHING was gone. Some folks gave us a ride over to the ranger station. Bob filled out a report. We were supposed to have 4 more days of camping but we just went back to the pickup and pretty much drove home. I would never have believed that someone would have the nerve to just grab up his pack and walk off with it but they did. He had about $250 in his billfold besides his drivers license and his student ID from college. Pretty much ruined the whole trip for both of us. We had been planning that trip for a whole year of course...lessons learned... Now I never leave my gear unattended or out in the open. I do not carry my billfold in my pack and I always ask my doc for extra meds now that I take meds every day. I pack two sets of my meds in case one gets wet or lost or whatever.

**Antonyraison** · 07-30-2017, 08:00 AM

Glad to hear you did it! Any pics? It's a shame things where stolen, but that is a reality people are more dangerous than the bush

**John_Yu** · 07-30-2017, 09:39 PM

Hey Johnson thanks for the advice and I'm sorry to hear about that last trip of yours. It sounds worse than what happened to me. I only had a wallet and camera stolen. Although it has been a hassle because the thief went out and tried to max out my debit and credit cards. You're probably right that it would be better to not to bring such items camping. Perhaps isolated camping areas are more dangerous than populated ones. In any case I'll probably leave valuables with a friend, or bury in a hidden spot, should I visit the island again.

I spent 4 days in the woods and had a good time, with the exception of being robbed. I slept out in the open the whole time. It's hot in the day and cold at night! For drinking water I brought one of those filtration straws and just sucked right out of the river. It's a big hassle to be boiling water every time I get thirsty. For cooking I built a fire hole, which was surprisingly efficient. There are so many dead, fallen trees in the area that you could probably build a house out of it, let alone have to worry about cutting firewood. The land belongs to the Parks Department.

As for my hobbit hole, it is currently just a pit covered with logs and vegetation...it'll be awhile before it looks like Bag End. And as for hunting and fishing, I had no luck. I brought a tiny fishing kit but have never used it before and have no idea where the fish congregate. Sadly, the extent of my fish knowledge is that they live in water. I did get a slingshot and maybe if I get good enough I'll get a squirrel or something. In any case, I'm heading back to the island in a couple days, so we'll see what happens.

**Alan R McDaniel Jr** · 07-30-2017, 10:36 PM

Set a coyote trap at the entrance to your tent.

Alan

**Rick** · 07-31-2017, 08:05 AM

With my luck I'd come back and there were be a very upset coyote trapped at the entrance to my tent. Not only would I lose my wallet but my tent and everything else inside that he had thrashed.

**Antonyraison** · 07-31-2017, 08:23 AM

Hmmm... Next time, I would like either leave those items home, but if you need to bring them
Have a smaller bag that you take with you whenever you leave your camp spot.
I generally go with so little when I am out it's easy to actually take everything with me in a very small bag.
stuff1.jpg
stuff2.jpg

I fit all of this into bag as shown, and put my camera in this bag, plus 7 boxes of smokes.
Full a full 7 day trip.

**crashdive123** · 07-31-2017, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by Antonyraison

Hmmm... Next time, I would like either leave those items home, but if you need to bring them
Have a smaller bag that you take with you whenever you leave your camp spot.
I generally go with so little when I am out it's easy to actually take everything with me in a very small bag.
stuff1.jpg
stuff2.jpg

I fit all of this into bag as shown, and put my camera in this bag, plus 7 boxes of smokes.
Full a full 7 day trip.

Wait a second!!!!!! You collect water in the wild. You forage for wild edibles. You hunt wild game.

You don't forage for your own smokes?!?!?! I'm shocked I tell ya...shocked.

**John_Yu** · 07-31-2017, 01:59 PM

Antony you're right about taking a small bag with you whenever you leave the campsite. But I was trekking across miles of blackberry-infested fields and swimming through streams and creeks, so it was difficult to carry to any pack. Maybe I'll have to get some sort of small waterproof thing for next time.

**kyratshooter** · 07-31-2017, 02:09 PM

Good grief Charlie Brown!

Man up. Put your wallet in a zip lock bag, stick it in your pocket and quit whining like a west coast yuppie.

**hunter63** · 07-31-2017, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by kyratshooter

Good grief Charlie Brown!

Man up. Put your wallet in a zip lock bag, stick it in your pocket and quit whining like a west coast yuppie.

LOL....That's kinda what I was thinking......
Sandwich bag goes along way in keeping stuff dry...Boat, canoe, river, lake, rain storm, snow, falling thru the ice........

AR works with smokes as well...LOL.\

My very first PSK was a plastic cigarette box....after I dropped my pack into the river while fishing from a bridge.

Smokes and matches.....TOP of smokers list......Need fire...hang out with a smoker....they always will have light.

BYW my Tilly hat has a pocket on the inside of the top....room for $20 bucks, ID, and my Med list.....and a BIC...old habits die hard.