Posts Tagged ‘gps’

Having My Car Broken Into and Stuff Stolen with Tips

Posted: January 5, 2014 in Automobiles, Emergencies, Everyday Carry (EDC), Gear, SB Tips
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By Katnip

2013 Chevy Camaro

How the Grinch stole MY Christmas. Two days after Christmas my beautiful, 2013 Chevrolet Camaro was a victim of crime. I thought I lived in one of the safer apartment complexes here in town. My bedroom is directly over the top of my carport on the second floor. I have a direct view of my car from the window. While I was sleeping, these thieves somehow managed to unlock my car without the alarm going off. (Apparently they make remotes to do so these days…thanks hackers of the world.) Why they chose MY car I will never know. One would naturally assume that a brand new car like mine would have a perfect lock and touchy alarm on it like Fort Knox. Well, my precious vehicle wasn’t well protected.

I’ve had my previous car broke in to before, and seen my things rummaged through. I’ve felt what it’s like to have your documents strung all over your car, and find your gear M.I.A. It’s awful. I should have taken the extra precaution like I have every other night and removed my valuables from the vehicle before locking her up for the night. I didn’t. I did have EVERYTHING out of sight. If you were to walk past my car, you couldn’t tell it’s a daily driver. I know better than to leave valuables out for prying eyes. I thought my stuff would be safe for one more night. Here’s a list of things I am kicking myself for, prepare to cringe:

– Canon Rebel EOS DSLR Camera with Lens, accessories, LowePro Camera Bag, and Cameron’s beloved camera tripod.

– iPhone 4S with car charger

– TomTom GPS with car charger

– Tool Box (Wrenches, Screw Drivers, Ratchets, etc)

– Jumper Cables

-My prized Bug Out Bag (As mentioned and pictured in this previous post)  Now I will create a new Everyday Carry bag with emergency supplies, and bring it inside no matter what.

In addition, who knows if they could steal my identity, as I had some sensitive documents in the glove compartment that they rummaged through too.

I’ve since taken proper measures to protect myself since, and hopefully regain my property again. I would like to share these tips with you so this same thing doesn’t happen to you.

– Keep ALL valuables in your home. Don’t take the chance like I did and assume that things are safe in the trunk and out the vision of creepers.

– Download the “Find Your iPhone” application and TURN ON YOUR LOCATION! (I had previously turned the location off the day prior because I felt it was nuking my battery. Dumbest thing I’ve ever done, because I had this app on my smart phone, and because I turned the location off, it wouldn’t lead me or the local police to where my possessions were.)

– If you find yourself in this predicament of having your things stolen from you, contact your local police department, file a police report.  Note: They wouldn’t come out, and recommended I fill one out online.

– Write a list of the items that were stolen from you, with serial numbers if available, and take this list in to the second hand shops, cellular stores, and local pawn shops.

– Contact your phone provider and register your phone as “Lost or Stolen.” If someone is dumb enough to try to activate the phone, the provider should confiscate the cell immediately and turn it over to either the police department or contact you to let you know your device had turned up.

– Scour all outlets of items for sale, such as eBay, Craigslist, Facebook sale pages, etc. Eventually, your stuff may turn up on one of those.

– Keep receipts of ALL expensive purchases that you have in your possession, my home owners insurance wouldn’t cover the items stolen from my car at my apartment, as I didn’t have proper sales receipts for these items….(They were gifts.) Things can’t be replaced if insurance can’t prove you never had them to begin with. 

I can recommend from personal experience that having your stuff stolen is not a pleasant thing to have happen. It detracts from valuable time I could have spent using my nice things to make my life easier. If you’re a car thief, I would like to leave you with this final note: You should be ashamed of yourself.  Work hard for your money so you can purchase quality belongings for yourself. Why steal from others that have actually earned their way in life? Karma is a bitch. Happy Travels!

Climbing Saddle Mountain In Oregon With My Dog

Posted: September 1, 2013 in Adventures, Parks, Pets/Animals, Products, SB Tips
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Saddle Mt Summit Photo

Ready or not, my chubby puggle Mocha was going hiking with me.  I took the pug/beagle combo to the top.  She made the summit by herself, but it was a struggle.  It was a sweltering 80 plus degrees out.  My poor dog hasn’t been training hard lately.  Her exercise routine consists of going from the couch to food and back.  But Mocha and I have hiked, so I knew the 5-year-old mutt still had it.  I remember the first time I let her off the leash on a trail.  She was running back and forth, up and down it.  The puggle was so excited to be out of the apartment.  I couldn’t contain her.  Once she even fell off a cliff as the bank eroded and I had to quickly swing her up by the leash and collar to save her.  Mocha is much fatter now, but we are working on it.

Mocha The Puggle

When we got to Saddle Mountain State Natural Area her nose was working overtime.  There were lots of people hitting the trail, and camping.  I brought water, and gave the puggle breaks.  I made her sit, and she would lay in the shade when she could.  The hike is 5 miles round trip,  but the elevation change is brutal. It’s 1603 feet to be exact, with the top at 3283 feet. Mainly I was concerned about her paws bleeding.  There is lots of metal fencing on the ground to contain the loose rocks, and I didn’t know if that would bother her.  On the way up I kept Moc on the leash, 1 because there’s cliffs, and 2 because lots of people were coming down the trail with dogs.  I wanted to protect her.  However, on the way down I decided it would be better to let her follow me off leash.  She didn’t want to walk on the trail because the gravel was hurting her.  So she waddled along side the main path, and didn’t hurt anything.  Plus, it was getting late, and we were basically the last down.

Mocha Survival Puggle

On the way we checked out a geocache hidden on a side trail.  I’ve found it before, but I wanted to see all the new stuff inside, and sign the log book again.  Not many people locate it each year.  I traded in a emergency paracord bracelet for a CD with clues to another cache.  I’m getting into geocaching because it’s something fun to do while hiking, or when you’re just out and about.  There’s more than 2 million geocaches planted around the world.  This hobby also forces me to analyze and use maps too.  I filmed Mocha and I checking out what was inside the ammo box this time.

After a few solid hours of hiking, Mocha, my cameraman, and I reached the peak.  We all sat down and took in the majestic views of the North Coast.  You can see the whole coastline, from Seaside well into Washington State.  Poor Mocha was beat.  She was gasping for air, and I was a little worried about her.  We had just enough water left to quench her thirst, but more would have been nice.  Usually there is a spring about halfway up that I feel is safe to drink from.  My dog did lap up the puddle there, but I wasn’t getting on all fours.  In the end, Mocha killed it.  I was so proud of her.  I kept her motivated with words of encouragement, smacking her butt, and tossing turkey jerky in her mouth.  On the way back I told Moc we were going back to the car and home for ice cubes (her fav).  My legs were jello, and Mocha was walking funny, but we accomplished the mission.  Next time we will be even stronger, and smarter about it.  

Cam and MochaMocha knew we were going to the top.  If you want to rock a paracord bracelet for emergency preparedness made by Survival Bros, send $8 to cameronmckirdy@hotmail.com via PayPal.  Thanks and best wishes from us both.

Friends Find Geocache Treasure Box Hiking Saddle Mountain

Posted: October 7, 2012 in Adventures, Comedy and Art, Health & Nutrition, Parks, SB Tips, Sports, Survival Bros Challenges
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What’s good? Yesterday my peeps and I smashed Saddle Mountain. I’ve hiked the beast before. I’m local. This is what we discovered, including hidden treasure via geocache. Keep reading.

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Saddle Mountain photo by Cameron McKirdy

The park was popping. Crawling with life. We took our sweet time getting higher. I tracked our progress with the Nike+ GPS running app on my iPhone. Along the way, we found all sorts of shortcuts, and obscure trails. On one path we paused, only to spot a large ammo can hidden behind stacked rocks, under a rock formation.

Inside the treasure box was tons of toys, a logbook to sign, and even a riddle! We each left something in the box, and took a gift home. I got sticky hands!!! We didn’t even know there was a geocache on Saddle Mountain, but we found it. As for the riddle, we decided to listen to the Audio CD clues together, when we can find treasure again.

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Along the way we took a bunch of photos, and video. I will update this blog when the video is online. I recorded us opening the hidden treasure.

It felt great being blasted by the sun. Even though it was pretty windy, it was still warm. In total we hiked 5 miles. That’s from the parking lot, to the summit and back, with minor detours. According to the Nike+ GPS app we did it in 5 hours. I told ya we enjoyed the trip. Tourists would have gone faster, and missed more. More shenanigans soon from Survival Bros. Keep it real today.

– Cameron McKirdy
Survival Bros President