Clothing Theft/Loss/ Misappropriation on the Camino

[Nanners]

In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?

 

[henrythedog]

In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?

Perhaps unsurprisingly; my gender and physique renders my clothing undesirable unless in truly dire need.

Previous recommendations have included using diaper pins as opposed to clothes pegs, or having distinctively coloured garments to avoid casual errors.

How one guards against deliberate theft is a mystery. It does happen.

 

[C clearly]

Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?

It happens occasionally. If you are concerned, then you'll need to watch it. Using safety pins or even ties that need to be undone will reduce the risk.

 

[Anhalter]

I guess theft of valuables might happen, while still unlikely. Theft of your clothing... well, i would go so far as to say that its extremely unlikely. Yeah, modern times, and i guess for someone out there your half clean socks from the wash line are something valuable but come on.. nope. You'll rather get struck by lightning.

Now on the other hand... for someone to mistake your dark grey wool socks for their own dark grey wool socks when packing at 6am after two bottles of Tinto the night before... that can happen and it does.
When purchasing my items it did put some effort into chosing some that are in all likelihood not chosen by many others. Be it colour or brand. Plus, my hooped socks have been a great conversation starter.

 

[lovelyshell]

I always hang my stuff from safety pins I bring rather than the clips provided by the albergue. I do this because I assume most people would remember whether they used safety pins or not. I think though you are more at risk to lose or leave something behind than to have something stolen.

 

[good_old_shoes]

I think the bigger risk is forgetting to take everything off the clothes line (sometimes the shirt is already dry, the wool socks are not, so you think "I'll take them off later/in the morning" and, well, you forget it, and when you finally remember it, you've already walked ten kms, and don't want to walk back all the way for a sock or two. That happens often. Or maybe only to me, who knows!

I've also found many socks, underwear and towels directly on the camino path that had fallen off their owner's backpack, where they were supposed to dry, pinned to the outside of the pack. I have lost a few socks that way, and a leather boot. So, everything that dangles from your backpack needs to be tied/pinned securely.

So I'd be more concerned about losing something accidentally or forgetting to take it off the clothes line. A good routine helps. Check in the morning, did I pack everything? Like a mental checklist (food you might still have in the fridge, phone charger that might still be in a power socket, flip flops still stored under your bed, socks still drying on the clothes line ect.). Same after a rest stop. Poncho? Walking stick? Hat? Water bottle? Ect.

And even in case something is lost, it's annoying but not the end of the world. I've survived for a few days with one pair of socks or one shirt. At least on the Francés there's usually a town not far away where you can buy replacement, or maybe you find something in a donation/"left behind" box in an albergue.

One of the things I learned on the camino is, don't get too attached. One shirt leaves me, I'll find another!

Buen Camino

 

[Pathfinder075]

Wear colours no sane person would ever wear and the chance of theft drops to zero. Or put your name on them. Basically those garish cycling tops that almost every cyclist insists on wearing. Wear stuff like that and they won't touch them with a barge pole, although you might need to watch out for the bike riders nicking them to add to their collections of bad fashion.

Like Henrythedog, I have a physique which makes theft of clothes highly unlikely. Some of my t-shirts will fit at least two people.

 

[David with new Kit!]

If you were to consider all of the risks involved in doing a Camino then its likely to put you off.

Things go wrong occasionally at home too, but we just get on with things.

Same with a Camino, sometimes things go wrong, but mostly they go right.

The advice above is good, but I suggest focus more on the positives and enjoy your Camino

 

[dougfitz]

And remember that if there are washing machines and clothes dryers that you use, there are spiteful little elves working in the back of them that help any smaller items of clothing to defy gravity so that you cannot see them in the top of the drum when you unload your wash.

 

[markie6]

you would go bonkers thinking about the possible things that could go wrong. From my pov I have left behind more than has been stolen (0) and I keep my own pegs to hang my stuff off my bag if needed

Don't buy expensive stuff you would be too concerned about losing. There are shops on the way for any mishaps.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I think your biggest worry should be someone accidentally taking your shoes and leaving their smaller sized ones behind. It has happened. Put on fancy shoe laces or something. If you are walking with someone do what Peg and I did, tie the laces of our left boots together and the same for the rights and place the mismatched pairs away from each other.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Once I had hung my great wicking "baby" size flannel towel spread out on the bottom end of my bunk. When I came back an hour later it was gone. I started grumbling under my breath and was disappointed to lose it. I later saw it hanging on the clothes line outside; come to find out the nice hospitalero had moved it...I had to "eat my grumbles".
Another time I left my towel behind on the meseta next after Castrojerez and I was very disappointed. At the next place we stayed; a bar with albergue above, I was able to communicate with the owner through charades that I wanted to pay to take one of his towels with me. He sold me a small, but thick hand towel for €5. Although it wasn't my preference, It worked well in a pinch and I finally left it in Santiago.

 

[Nanners]

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. You are right in that I'll probably misplace or lose something before someone willfully takes something. Good point about pairing mismatched shoes or using shoelaces that stand out. My husband and I do this with our skis and poles after someone mistakenly took his skis instead of their identical but smaller skis.

 

[JMac TO]

In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?

I did have a shirt and pair of shorts stolen on day 28 of 30 on the Camino. I would say it is rare but not unheard of. Just to be clear I wasn’t the only one on that day in that albergue; it wasn’t a case of mistaken clothing. I would not worry about diaper pins or anything like that. If they are going to steal it they are going to steal it. I survived and you will too. Don’t fret about the risk. Odds are definitely against it happening.

Ps a few clothes pins are handy as there are often not enough available.

 

[muddy-mama]

I wear bright coloured trousers and sew buttons onto my tops and anything that could be mistaken for someone elses. This seems to work. I don't worry to much about my shoes as I have got very small feet and anyone taking them by mistake would soon find out they weren't theirs.

 

[t2andreo]

This is all just stuff. Stuff can be replaced. The few times it has happened to me over the years, I just offer it up, and rationalize that someone had a need that was greater than mine.

That said, I do exercise all precautions to not lose the items I bring on Camino.

Karma - it's what life and the Camino are made of.

Hope this helps the fialog.

Tom

 

[Gringazolana]

One place I stayed at last month had lots of clothes lines but few clothespins / pegs and many people had simply draped their clothing over the line to dry them. It got pretty windy and I saw several items of clothing blow off the lines on to the ground. Maybe some of those items even blew away. Bring safety pins!

 

[Rmarkob]

I think your biggest worry should be someone accidentally taking your shoes and leaving their smaller sized ones behind. It has happened. Put on fancy shoe laces or something. If you are walking with someone do what Peg and I did, tie the laces of our left boots together and the same for the rights and place the mismatched pairs away from each other.

This is exactly what happened to a guy in Livinhac (Via Podiensis) this past May! He made it about 20 paces out of the gite thinking his feet had really swollen since the previous day. It soon dawned on him that he was wearing a smaller size of the exact same shoe as his, only it was a Woman's size. One couple had left 30 minutes earlier, and the gite owner fortunately had a mobile number from their reservation and was able to call them to find out where they were and drive out to meet them to make the swap!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Bring safety pins!

I always bring safety pins for tht same reason. No matter if it's windy, or I have precariously hung something ouside a window on an upper floor(see photo) if I am able to secure it with my safety pins I do not worry. They are also great to hang wet socks from my pack for extra drying if needed.
Negatives: If the clothesline is not taut, the clothes may slide together and bunch up taking longer to dry, and you sometimes need to be careful to not make a small hole or a snag in some fabrics when poking in the pin.
Overall I prefer the safety pins and they take no extra room in your pack.

 

[david g]

I just walk naked. Nine caminos and I’ve not lost any clothing yet.

 

[Flory]

I think your biggest worry should be someone accidentally taking your shoes and leaving their smaller sized ones behind. It has happened. Put on fancy shoe laces or something. If you are walking with someone do what Peg and I did, tie the laces of our left boots together and the same for the rights and place the mismatched pairs away from each other.

I use electrical tape yellow/green on my laces and also om my electric cords, plug and power bank. And at the back of my shoes and sandels i put some purple dots with nail polish ( purple being the only collor i have)

 

[PatrickTex]

regarding pricey smart wool. My pack ruined my shirt within the first day. So instead of rotating my shirts per day, I rotated walking and evening shirt so only one got ruined and washed daily. It was like abrasion bumps all over where the pack rubbed.

 

[SYates]

Well I 'stole' a pair of underpants once by mistake, since then I always give fellow pilgrims the benefit of the doubt -)
SY

 

[Pathfinder075]

This is all just stuff. Stuff can be replaced.

Unless you are walking on a serious budget, then it might not be replaceable, or you might have to curtail your trip due to it. I've met people on camino who definitely couldn't replace stolen/lost items due to lack of funds, some that had very little money to survive on, for which having say shoes stolen would be the end of their camino.

I was thinking the obvious way to avoid your shoes/boots being taken is to make them smell particularly noxious in some way. Maybe throw a piece of camembert in side them (in a plastic bag) for a day and get them smelling really cheesy. No one will ever touch them, let alone steal them if they smell bad. Asparagus has a particularly pungent smell or garlic might work as well.

 

[Daddyfrog]

Unless you are walking on a serious budget, then it might not be replaceable, or you might have to curtail your trip due to it. I've met people on camino who definitely couldn't replace stolen/lost items due to lack of funds, some that had very little money to survive on, for which having say shoes stolen would be the end of their camino.

I was thinking the obvious way to avoid your shoes/boots being taken is to make them smell particularly noxious in some way. Maybe throw a piece of camembert in side them (in a plastic bag) for a day and get them smelling really cheesy. No one will ever touch them, let alone steal them if they smell bad. Asparagus has a particularly pungent smell or garlic might work as well.

And then your feet will smell like that forever......

 

[Saint Mike II]

I adopted the habit of writing up my daily diary whilst the washing dried. I also use those " English or diaper" pins. They do hand on longer in the wind and yes you can also use them to pin your damp socks to your backpack. My other routine - my forum handle is what is recorded on the iron on labels. But the overriding point is - its your property keep and eye on it.

 

[dougfitz]

I just walk naked. Nine caminos and I’ve not lost any clothing yet.

I'd like to think that I would like to meet you on the Camino, but perhaps just a glimpse would be sufficient!

 

[Janetlawson]

One place I stayed at last month had lots of clothes lines but few clothespins / pegs and many people had simply draped their clothing over the line to dry them. It got pretty windy and I saw several items of clothing blow off the lines on to the ground. Maybe some of those items even blew away. Bring safety pins!

I have wondered if the safety pins put holes in hanging clothing?

 

[trecile]

I have wondered if the safety pins put holes in hanging clothing?

I haven't had much luck with using safety pins on clothes lines because of gravity! Unless you can also pin through the line itself, the clothes will slide down.

 

[whiteblaze]

Safety pins Nice solution. Simple.

I will be there in a few days.

 

[AidaYYC]

In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?

While it happens, if it does, it occurs rarely. You are never too far from a pilgrim store where you can replace it.

 

[C clearly]

I haven't had much luck with using safety pins on clothes lines because of gravity! Unless you can also pin through the line itself, the clothes will slide down.

Yes, but the safety pins slow down any thieves, and keep things from falling in the dirt.

 

[hecate105]

Nappy pins! More robust than safety pins.
I had my (even after washing) disgusting socks nicked off the washing line at a campsite returning from a Camino - they must have been desperate...

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Nappy pins! More robust than safety pins.
I had my (even after washing) disgusting socks nicked off the washing line at a campsite returning from a Camino - they must have been desperate...

We call them diaper pins in the US. I wanted them, but was unable to find any locally on my first Camino, so opted for safety pins instead. The nappy pins seemed to be a dinosaur, but someone mentioned you could find them on Amazon...ofcourse!

 

[Bothydave]

I think your biggest worry should be someone accidentally taking your shoes and leaving their smaller sized ones behind. It has happened. Put on fancy shoe laces or something. If you are walking with someone do what Peg and I did, tie the laces of our left boots together and the same for the rights and place the mismatched pairs away from each other.

Good reply. With large slim feet I can never get shoes to fit me in Spain and loss of shoes/ boots for me would be a Camino finishing event. As you say tying shoe laces together, adding small clips like carabiners to the laces, writing your name in indelible pen etc will all help.
I also brought a pair of closed toe walking sandals just in case, heavy but gave me peace of mind should the worst happen and my shoes disappear.

 

[David Tallan]

Good reply. With large slim feet I can never get shoes to fit me in Spain and loss of shoes/ boots for me would be a Camino finishing event. As you say tying shoe laces together, adding small clips like carabiners to the laces, writing your name in indelible pen etc will all help.
I also brought a pair of closed toe walking sandals just in case, heavy but gave me peace of mind should the worst happen and my shoes disappear.

You could also take out the insoles. I've heard of people doing that. A. It allows the insoles to air out. (Some people bring a spare set and alternate them.) B. Someone putting on shoes without insoles will know immediately that they are the wrong ones.

 

[JustJack]

The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line back home are remote. The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line on the camino are much more remote.

 

[C clearly]

The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line back home are remote. The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line on the camino are much more remote.

What? I don't live in a communal house where strangers can come and go. Someone would have to come onto my property and around to the back of my house to steal my clothes at home. Much more likely on the camino! The Camino is remarkably low in crime, but let's not overstate it!

 

[JustJack]

What? I don't live in a communal house where strangers can come and go. Someone would have to come onto my property and around to the back of my house to steal my clothes at home. Much more likely on the camino! The Camino is remarkably low in crime, but let's not overstate it!

I have zero stats to back up my comments, but I'd be willing to wager that statistically you are more likely to have clothing robbed from your home than from the camino. And that's most likely due to the fact that pilgrims in general are a more law-abiding group of people than homeless drug addicts etc that you find living in cities. I'd be willing to wager that all categories of crime - assaults, robberies, thefts, etc - are lower on the camino than they are off the camino.

 

[chinacat]

Perhaps @JustJack lives in a more urban setting than you do.
It happens …

 

[C clearly]

Of course - if you live in a high crime area, you are more likely to be the victim of crime at home than you are on the Camino, which is not a high-crime area.

For the purpose of giving advice about managing your clothes on clotheslines on the Camino, this comparison with inner city homeless drug addicts is odd, to say the least.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

My clothing at home could only be stolen from my closet or clothes dryer. I do not have a clothes line in my yard, but I have enjoyed hanging them on outside lines on the Camino.

 

[C clearly]

In fact, I would say that misappropriation from clotheslines and from inside albergues is something that pilgrims should be aware of, as it does occasionally occur. This is probably the worst "crime" that you will likely come close to, which says a lot about the overall safety on the Camino!

 

[JustJack]

Of course - if you live in a high crime area, you are more likely to be the victim of crime at home than you are on the Camino, which is not a high-crime area.

For the purpose of giving advice about managing your clothes on clotheslines on the Camino, this comparison with inner city homeless drug addicts is odd, to say the least.

The comparison was made to illustrate a point. You suggested that the chances of having clothing stolen on the camino is higher than at home. I completely disagree. Without stats there's no way to know which is correct. But I think even anecdotally it's pretty clear that clothing theft on the camino is relatively rare, and probably not worth being concerned about. Personally I've never had clothing stolen from home or the camino.

 

[SabsP]

I remember on my first Camino a lady who was really upset because someone had taken her towel. It was a blue one. Our two blue towels hung together on a clothesline as were many other items from other pilgrims.
Some kilometres further on the road she blocked my way and hysterically demanded that I opened my backpack so she could inspect the content and check my towel.
Pfew was I happy that before the start of my Camino a dear friend ( and good seamstress) had sewn my nametag. I almost wanted her to give my towel so she would calm down!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

The comparison was made to illustrate a point. You suggested that the chances of having clothing stolen on the camino is higher than at home. I completely disagree. Without stats there's no way to know which is correct. But I think even anecdotally it's pretty clear that clothing theft on the camino is relatively rare, and probably not worth being concerned about. Personally I've never had clothing stolen from home or the camino.

A plethora of pilgrims will be using albergue clotheslines, and if not they will at least see them if staying at the same place. That could be ten to forty people taking a look at the clothes lines. Odds at home in a back yard probably nearly no potential thieves would ever see your laundry hanging out, even if you lived in a city.
I'm with @C clearly on this.

 

[JustJack]

I'm with @C clearly on this.

It isn't a debate, and if it is it's a silly one. Crime along the camino is statistically small, and that's a fact. That's the point, not how many people are looking at a clothes line.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

It isn't a debate, and if it is it's a silly one. Crime along the camino is statistically small, and that's a fact. That's the point, not how many people are looking at a clothes line.

I fully agree...it is unlikely to have something stolen on the Camino. My only point was that due to the numbers of people, the odds are greater, but definitely quite slim.

 

[JustJack]

I fully agree...it is unlikely to have something stolen on the Camino. My only point was that due to the numbers of people, the odds are greater, but definitely quite slim.

I think we're pretty much all saying the same thing, and it's incredible how crime-free the camino is compared to the non-camino world.

But just for fun, I would suggest that the increased number of people that can access your clothes on the camino is very much countered by the good will and positive disposition of those same people. In other words, a group of pilgrims, statistically, would be less prone to criminal acts than a random group of non-pilgrims of the same size. That's really the point I was clumsily trying to make.

 

[C clearly]

We all agree that crime is low and the Camino is very safe. However it is not lalaland where nothing bad ever happens and all people magically become wonderful. Clothesline theft is a rare "crime" of opportunity, and a more frequent "mistake" of carelessness. It is an absurd thing to compare with other crime stats.

 

[dougfitz]

We all agree that crime is low and the Camino is very safe. However it is not lalaland where nothing bad ever happens and all people magically become wonderful. Clothesline theft is a rare "crime" of opportunity, and a more frequent "mistake" of carelessness. It is an absurd thing to compare with other crime stats.

I don't know how the statistics for the Camino might compare to elsewhere in the world, nor am I inclined to better inform this discussion by finding out. But I agree with @C clearly that the camino isn't some 'lalaland' where nothing bad never happens. On every long Camino I have walked, I have met people who have suffered some form of clothing or equipment loss that might more realistically be attributed to theft than to simple loss. Boots and poles have gone missing, in addition to items of clothing from drying lines. There weren't large numbers of these, but items where it would be difficult to contemplate this is just carelessness on the part of a pilgrim in leaving something behind.

 

[VNwalking]

I've never had anything stolen on the camino
But I've occasionally left things behind.

Lack of mindfulness is much more of a concern than mistaken or intentional misappropriation.

 

[JustJack]

I guess I was lucky then, as I didn't see or hear of any incidents of clothing theft. Hopefully my luck continues.

 

[trecile]

I guess I was lucky then, as I didn't see or hear of any incidents of clothing theft. Hopefully my luck continues.

I wouldn't say that you were particularly lucky. Clothing theft is exceedingly rare. Accidentally taking someone's identical socks or forgetting something on the line is more common (but still rare).

 

[David Tallan]

The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line back home are remote. The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line on the camino are much more remote.

I almost took someone's shirt from the clothes line on the Camino I just finished. It was the same colour as mine and I pulled it off by mistake. Fortunately, I realized my error in time.

I'm with C Clearly on this. Intentional theft from a clothes line may be rare, but the possibility of misappropriation is significantly greater than at home where we are the only ones using the line.

 

[dick bird]

In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?

Not really. It happens rarely and there are lots of places to buy new stuff.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I almost took someone's shirt from the clothes line on the Camino I just finished. It was the same colour as mine and I pulled it off by mistake. Fortunately, I realized my error in time.

I'm with C Clearly on this. Intentional theft from a clothes line may be rare, but the possibility of misappropriation is significantly greater than at home where we are the only ones using the line.

Similar story but not on Camino. I am colour blind esp. black and dark blue. A long time back when most men wore suits to offices, I twice put my wallet in someone elses jacket when I just reached into the closet, with about 10 jackets close together, and put my wallet into the inside pocket of what I thought was my jacket!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Theft of clothes is extremely rare, boots/shoes a bit less rare, but sometimes stuff can be picked up by mistake.

Even theft of money and valuables has become much rarer than it used to be.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I've never had anything stolen on the camino
But I've occasionally left things behind.

Lack of mindfulness is much more of a concern than mistaken or intentional misappropriation.

I agree

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

The Primitivo is short, nonetheless one fellow pilgrim had the same shoes as I. Almost.