eenusa

I meant to post this earlier, but neglected to do so.

We were at Peyto Lake very early on July 22 and there were two cars broken into - windows smashed in; not sure what, if anything, was taken. We ran into a Canadian Couple at Waterfowl Lakes a little later in the morning and they mentioned the police had been at the Peyto Lake parking lot the day before for another incidence of theft - another car window smashed in. The consensus seemed to be that maybe someone was staking out the early arrivals and breaking in when they left to go to the overlook. Hopefully, the culprit(s) have been caught by now.

Anyway, I don't mean to alarm anyone, but I thought forewarned is forearmed. Incidents like this can happen anywhere and taking common sense precautions is important no matter where we are.

cmcfong

A good reminder that common sense precautions are important everywhere! Thanks for posting.

Judy_in_Calgary

Thank you for the warning, eenusa. The summer of 2006 was the first time I heard of this type of thing in the Rocky Mountain national parks. It happened to two different friends of mine in two different locations in the parks on two different occasions last year.

I was very disappointed to hear about this development. However, it is what it is.

Now I advise people to secure their passports, etc., in their hotel safes.

On days when they are forced to take everything with them, for example, if they are transferring from Lake Louise to Jasper, I recommend that they carry with them their passports, credit cards, money and cameras when they leave their vehicles and walk to scenic lookout points.

I also recommend that they do not leave obvious things lying on the back seats of their vehicles. They should leave their luggage in <b>locked</b> trunks.

cmcfong

Judy, have you heard similar reports about vehicles left for several days in the Lake O'Hara parking lot? We plan to leave a good deal of the heavier luggage in the trunk and just carry overnight bags in.

BAK

INTERIOR TRUNK LOCKS -- your car probably has a lever or button inside the cabin that unlocks the trunk.

Make sure this interior lever or button is locked; it is easy to smash a window to get inside the cabin, and then push the button to get the valuable stuff you carefully locked in the trunk.

BAK

Judy_in_Calgary

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Judy, have you heard similar reports about vehicles left for several days in the Lake O'Hara parking lot? We plan to leave a good deal of the heavier luggage in the trunk and just carry overnight bags in.&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

Cmcfong, one of my friends had her car broken into at night in the parking lot of Mosquito Creek Wilderness Hostel (just off the Icefields Parkway). The parking lot is some distance from the hostel, and she only discovered the break-in the next morning.

I have not heard about car thefts in the Lake O'Hara parking lot. But I'm sorry to say that, if they can happen in the Mosquito Creek Hostel parking lot, I do not believe it's outside the bounds of possibility for them to happen in the Lake O'Hara parking lot.

cmcfong

Thank you, Judy. It is a concern and I think we should probably assess how best to deal with it.
Thank you, BAK, for the information.