Last week I read a story on a forum thread about a guy who had his backpack stolen while camping out on the trail one night. Apparently the pack wasn’t *technically* stolen - it was just traded. When the unsuspecting camper awoke in the morning his backpack containing all his food and cooking gear was gone, replaced with a worn and broken backpack containing just a poncho and a can of Dinty Moore stew. Nice. The camper turned the trip into an ultralight / survival mission and fortunately made it out ok after a few more days on the trail.

Most of us (myself included) give little thought to what we do with our backpacks when we camp on the trail but this story got me thinking. It’s always a good idea to place backpacks containing food off the ground to make it tougher for critters to get at your stuff and if rain is in the forecast I usually try to fit my pack inside the tent with me. But what if the real threat to your stuff isn’t animal or precipitation but rather other hikers?

I suppose we could all start carrying bike locks with us on the trail to lock our packs to trees but if you’ve ever used a bike lock you know those suckers are heavy. Even then, most of us use internal frame packs with few solid surfaces to lock to - nylon straps are pretty easy to cut after all.

Fortunately in the case of the ripped-off backpacker the thief didn’t get away with two big ticket camping items - his sleeping bag and tent. Perhaps the best way to keep your backpack safe is to empty it out and use it as a pillow inside your tent