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ubotch
Jan 5, 2006, 9:01 PM
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I am planning on going to Red Rocks soon. I will be doing some mountain biking as well as climbing. I would like to stay at the 13 mile campground (if I can find a site) but am worried about theft. When I am biking my climbing gear will be in the car and while climbing there will be bikes on the roof of the car. The bikes of course would be locked but not sure how reliable those Yakima rack locks are. I will not actually be biking in Red Rocks canyon but down the road. Anyone have experience with break-ins? Is it realatively safe on the weekends because of the crowds? I was even wondering if I could leave my rack at the climbing gym for safe keeping while I was biking. Thanks for any advice.
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jt512
Jan 5, 2006, 9:09 PM
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Red Rock has always had a reputation for high theft rates, especially car break-ins. Jay
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vegastradguy
Jan 5, 2006, 9:14 PM
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It does seem that the out of town folks seem to have a problem with theft- mostly because they leave so much stuff in their cars and theives can see it. As a local, I've never had a problem, but then, I never leave anything in my car. One thing to note: thieves here apparently will go through folks wallets and only take cash or one credit card, so its best to take your money and wallet with you when you go into the canyons.
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bluedubbed
Jan 5, 2006, 10:14 PM
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I've been to RR many times over the past few years had have never personally had a problem with people stealing stuff. I've been when the campground has been packed and also when it has been empty. We would always leave food, stoves, chairs, cookware, etc. at the campground, but would always put more valuable gear like tents and climbing gear in the back of the truck. As it has been said before, just keep stuff locked up and out of view. If you have a ton of stuff, another idea might be to park your car at the visitor’s center when you’re biking? That being said, the last time we were in RR (a few months ago) there were maybe 3 other groups staying at the campground and campground host were not there and some pretty weird stuff happened. First, some Aussies had all there stuff stolen from the campground. I think they had left everything in their tents and when they came back from climbing, it was all gone. I felt terrible for these guys since this was their first stop on a long trip. A couple days we got back early and noticed some shady characters (obviously not climbers or campers) hanging around the campground. Some guy looked like he had just picked up a lady friend and were having fun, another day there were some people just parked and waiting in their cars for hours. The best was when a pimped out Lexus pulled into the campground, drove the loop, pulled up to our campsite and rolled down their windows. The two guys looked like they were straight out of Compton. There is no way they were looking to camp. They just looked at us and took off. I thought they were going to pop some caps in our arses! Ha! Weird. It is Vegas, though. Since the camp ground is fairly secluded, I think it brings out non-campers when there is no one around. It’s fine by me, along as people my shite alone. Good people watching and who knows, you might even need their services.
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ubotch
Jan 6, 2006, 5:22 PM
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Thanks for the tips. I won't leave a whole lot in the car and it will all be out of sight.
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davidji
Jan 6, 2006, 5:35 PM
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In reply to: The bikes of course would be locked but not sure how reliable those Yakima rack locks are. Not at all, since the entire rack, bikes and all can sometimes be removed by thieves in a few seconds locked or not. Better to run a cable through the bikes and through the car (with slightly opened windows). At least that's what I've done.
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ubotch
Jan 6, 2006, 6:00 PM
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Hmm. Thats a good idea. Thanks for the tip.
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v_nuthin_ace
Jan 6, 2006, 6:15 PM
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Wow, this thread will certainly change how i pack the jeep to go down there! Are these problems occuring all the time, even during events like Red Rock Rendezvous? Is it just the campground, or are there breakins anywhere you park? We have a pretty big group going, and i might need to bring a fair amount of gear, any ideas? Are the free spots like Lovell canyon the same??
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billl7
Jan 6, 2006, 7:10 PM
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This will sound primitive but might be effective (haven't tried it) ... Maybe the idle gear could be cached somewhere out of sight? I mean, away from the cars that attract thieves. Haven't been to Red Rock but maybe if there are some deep, out-of-the-way, secluded arroyos not too far away? I guess I've always held the caching idea in reserve after reading "Into the Wild" where it seemed effective but for less bulky valuables of course. Bill
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luke_flowers
Jan 6, 2006, 7:39 PM
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I just returned from a trip down to Red Rocks last night after spending a couple of weeks climbing down there. Although the campground was packed I didn't notice a whole lot of theft or shady characterism going on. I was pretty comfortable leaving my valuables in my vehicle; however, that was more due to the fact that I was driving the most beat up looking vehicle on the west side of vegas.....any wouldbe thieves would have been breaking in to leave a donation. One thing to be aware of though is that the greatest potential for lost gear is more from wind than theft. while driving along the access road from the group camping to the highway I had to pull over so my passenger could get out and catch a tent rolling across the road....no sign of the owner all day. After we went and secured all the gear that was in danger of ending up at the shooting range we continued on our way. I hope that everyone got their stuff back ok....some of the sites had been scoured clean by the wind so it was a bit of a jumble. One final point: peg out your tent before you leave for a day of climbing, mountain weather does change quickly. Have a great trip.
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