Bad experience on the Peace River

[Shellseeker]

My week started off poorly. There are lots of hunters heading for the Peace River. Not all experiences are enjoyable.

On Monday , I had a trip planned with a Canadian friend who had a location for Megs and Horse teeth located above Heard Bridge access in Wauchula. I usually respond to the "call of the Meg".

We arrived at Heard Bridge at 12:30 and launched a canoe around 1 PM. I noted that Fred Mazza had vehicles in the parking area for his PaleoAdventures tour and we passed Fred and his group heading toward the location. We actually did not find very much... much less than our dreams. It was very hectic when we got back at 4:30 pm with cell phone calls and loading the equipment, running late. We quickly packed up and headed home. As I was gassing up my pickup truck back in Fort Myers, I was stunned to find both my taillights were gone, along with 6-7 inches of the wire harness clipped off cleanly. In the end , I have to replace both taillights, 2 wire harnesses , plus labor == $480. I just got the call that the car is ready again..

So, some observations, advice

I was parked on a high bluff, You can see my vehicle easily from the road. Any one can hear oncoming traffic 30 seconds before it arrives at the bridge.

It is safer on the weekends with a lot of activity at the access points.

Some access points are isolated. Arcadia, Zolfo, Fort Meade, Payne Creek Parks are ALL preferable locations to launch if you are concerned about safety of your vehicle,

Enjoy the Peace River.. I do... but be careful out there...

[bierk]

SS,

I am very sorry to hear your truck was vandalized! I get very very angry when people take things that do not belong to them. I personally have not had any issues at Heard Bridge or any other spot but I have known people who have had an issue or two. Not that this helps, but at least you didn't come back to a truck sitting on blocks as they stole tires and rims!

Humor aside, thanks for bringing this up. As much as we all wish people to be, not everyone is honorable and upstanding. Be safe out there. Unfortunately things like this cause us to not feel as safe when we go out to have a good time and enjoy the peace(no pun intended) and quiet on the river. This is why I go out there armed, you never can predict what will happen. Property crime is one thing, but what would happen if one stumbled into the wrong person at the wrong time? It sours me on society.

Edited May 14, 2016 by bierk

[digit]

Yikes! That's a bum deal. You meet all kinds of people out on the river and (luckily) the worst I've had to deal with are the loud and rowdy types who tie their canoes together side-by-side and float down the river without much paddling in order to keep their hands free for two-fisted beer guzzling while shouting, laughing and singing along (poorly) to the blaring Rap music on their boom box or maybe the guy with his airboat who is annoyed by all of the people in canoes or standing in the water with shovels and sifting screens in "His" river as he zips through at a quick clip clearly ignorant of the concept of "no wake" or that often erroneously named "common sense".

Knock on wood, I've had no vandalism yet on my trips to the Peace but recently I'm mostly limited my trips to renting canoes at Canoe Outpost and parking in the relative safety of their lot. It would have ruined my day and lowered my general opinion of greater humanity had I found my pickup truck partially field-stripped as you did. Sorry for your loss. I know this will not deter you from going back to the river and parking in out-of-the-way places in the future but I'm sure it will be on your mind when you lock the truck and launch the canoe.

-Ken

[jcbshark]

Man Jack, sorry to hear that

[Fossildude19]

That stinks, Jack.
Makes me want to believe in Karma.

Sound advice, and thanks for the cautionary tale.

Regards,

[joshuajbelanger]

Dang....

[erose]

Ouch! I am always anxious when I walk away from my vehicle in a remote location. So far no problems, knock on wood. When I first moved to NYC in the 80's the local "kids" would get you what ever car parts or stereo you wanted. Just had to tell them what, and they would get it...Good prices but no receipts offered....

You were not vandalized. You were robbed.

[Pagurus]

That's just awful. I'm glad it wasn't even worse, but that sure can spoil a week. I try to be cautious but there's never a guarantee. Even police cruisers are stolen, more often than I realized (I just googled "stolen cruiser". One was stolen in Miami about a month ago and found in a lake. As Randy Newman sings, "It's a jungle out there."

[Shellseeker]

Thanks for all the kind responses.

As those who know me realize this will not keep me from remote stretches of my favorite River. I did open a report with the Hardee Sheriffs office. Friends have noted that there are tailgate locks that would prevent this specific crime by blocking access to the screws in the taillights, and there are movement cameras that are motion triggered. Not sure what I'll do to ease my mind.

I also left out Brownsville as a park that adds vehicle safety and that was my purpose in starting this discussion. There are many access points on the Peace River that are much safer than ,more remote access points.

As Bierk implies, there are many other issues beyond the occasional gator or water moccasin. Be safe out there.

[mnuser]

That is a huge bummer. I parked my boat trailer at an access once and came back to the fenders laying in pieces on the ground. Talk about being upset. Some people just really can kill a trip!!

[JohnBrewer]

Low lifes/losers... Sorry to hear about that Jack.

[Past Hunter]

Remember POGO. Pants on gun on.

[mrieder79]

Very sorry to hear about the tail lights. I hope you score some nice finds on your next trip to compensate for the frustration and cost.

[JarrodB]

Sorry to hear this Jack.

[jlar7607]

Any one who wants to lock their tailgates can go to popandlock.net and check out there stuff i think you can find it cheaper at other outlets though. They have a do it yourself install video on youtube just do a search on "pop and lock power tailgate lock install" and you can see how to do it. When you see the video it looks pretty easy

[megaholic]

Sadly Jack, that is not the first story like that from Heard Brdg access. Break ins are fairly common there. They don't mind smashing windows to get inside either. The sheriff's dept is aware of it, but can't do much to stop it. Watch for a truck with damage around the undamaged taillights...

MH

[tmaier]

Hey, Tacoma... you got good taste. I just backed up my Tacoma and a tree jumped into my way, and it bashed the lens on my driver's side tail light. The lights still work and are the right colors, so I haven't replaced it yet. I've met into a few bad characters at parks and wildlife areas. A couple of drunken bums at the Green River formation threatened to kill me with a pick axe if I reported their illegal excavations. But incidences are few and far between. I find that the yahoos usually show up in the late afternoon, not morning people.

[Koldsimer]

Remember POGO. Pants on gun on.

Lol. How would this have stopped someone from stealing his taillights?

[Ridgehiker]

It's a plus that you are thinking this through. Good attitude.

We can't do much about preventing jerks from being jerks...fortunately other things eventually happen to them a lot worse than stealing tail lights. There's bits of advice but at the end of the day it mostly comes down to the unneeded anxiety of wondering if a vehicle is okay next time.

Fortunately just about everyone out in Nature who is hiking, fossil collecting, birdwatching etc is a decent guy...sometimes weird but decent. I don't really think about my vehicle being vandalized. Never lock it. If in a remote area I keep it unlocked...less concerned about someone going through it ( has never happened in 40 years) than damage from breaking in.

On a funnier note. We access some really remote areas. Often before turning the key I give a little prayer to the fossil gods...'Please, please, start'. Feels so good to hear the engine turn over. One time I told my friend 'nothing is happening, it won't start'...he had that oh-oh look on his face. Then I said 'just kidding' and turned the key. He was ready to take his rock hammer and ...

Edited May 16, 2016 by Ridgehiker

[mrieder79]

Lol. How would this have stopped someone from stealing his taillights?

He's talking about the truck. If your truck is wearing pants, vandals/thieves cannot easily access its tail lights.

[Khyssa]

I've been out to Heard bridge a couple times with friends but we hadn't thought to worry about vandals. We worried more about whether or not we were going to damage the under carriage of the Honda Fit we were in. The area right as you get on or off the main road was in fairly rough shape when we went there. We also haven't gone too far from the bridge as we haven't had the opportunity to use the kayak since my hunting partner bought a tandem one. She broke her wrist before we got the chance.

Sorry to hear about your truck being damaged.

[digit]

Ouch! Broken bones and thieved tail lights. I think I'll give Heard Bridge a pass for now. I see rain headed for the Gulf Coast of Florida so I may be giving the Peace a pass for a while.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Dirtdog]

Thanks for the info, sorry about your truck. Planning my first Peace River trip, looks like I will park at Canoe Outpost first time around just to be safe, my friend will be driving, would hate a vandalized vehicle to be his first fossil hunting experience. Any other tips on a productive and safe trip is appreciated. Good luck and happy hunting.

[Bone Daddy]

I went to Wauchula once to hunt. We found more broken glass than anything else. I was not impressed with the area. That stretch of river was the dirtiest I have seen so far. Lots of trash floating on the surface, trash laying on the banks, and trash on the riverbed. I would reach into the depressions in the limestone riverbed and pull out handfuls of broken glass - thankfully I was wearing cut-resistant gloves. We hauled out more trash than we did fossils. It was sad and it angered me that people can be so filthy.

I also noticed that many of the houses along the river had large dogs running loose on their property, barking at us as we floated by in our canoes - definitely not welcoming and it gave me a "Deliverance" feeling.

We won't be returning to the Wauchula stretch any time soon.

I locked my tailgate and always do now - I had read an article days before about a rash of tailgate thefts. Apparently tailgates cost a lot of money and thieves are stealing them to sell on Craigslist and elsewhere. My Ford F150 is one of the most popular targets and I did worry about the safety of my truck while we were on the river.

I've heard that Gardener gets a bad rap, but I have been there twice and never worried about my truck. It was loud, crowded, and a bit rowdy there, but the locals seemed harmless and there was a lot of people and vehicles around. That stretch of the river was not nearly as trashy as Wauchula.

[sixgill pete]

Just remember locks and other such things only help keep honest people honest. A crook will find a way to get it if he wants it. Or destroy it. Such a shame that so may in our society have digressed into such behavior.