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Hiding From Society? We'll Find You Soon Enough.


BillsBayou

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There are many reasons to hide things. Buried treasue comes to mind, but buried bodies are not too far behind. Given the things I've found in my lifetime, I'm now involved in a hobby that's helping me find more and more. So I'm wondering: What do we hide from society and why do we hide it?

 

Criminals have an obvious reason to hide stolen items. It's the ones who are hiding them on their own premises who end up in jail the quickest.

 

Pirates, too, had a need to hide their loot. Stories of buried Pirate treasure has sparked the imagination of many a young boy, me being one, who has headed out to the nearest shore with shovel in hand.

 

Car thieves were the source of the first hiding spot I discovered as a child. As many as a dozen cars were found by myself and my friend James as we wandered far into the woods near our homes. The cars had been stripped to the bone. We had fun playing in this hidden area. We were lucky to have never found the source of the cars.

 

Along the roads which cut through the bayous, someone was hiding dead prostitutes. I've been lucky enough to have never found one of these hides.

 

Through biking and hiking, I've discovered more automobile burial grounds, illegal dump sites, drug paraphrenelia, and people who didn't look like they wanted me around. I've learned to steer clear of these areas, those people, and things that may have put me in harms way, or in the least, under suspicion.

 

Now, I'm the one seeking out the hiding spots.

 

My very first questionable find was a trysting spot. I'm minding my own business when I come upon a man and a woman hiding behind a shelter in a far corner of a nearby park. They were so occupied with each other they didn't notice me go speeding by on my bike. I later returned to the area to find numerous phone numbers on the walls, questionable stains on the cement, a wet bag of pornographic videos, and certain articles best used to prevent impregnation or the transmission of diseases.

 

Last week, I thought I found a homeless hiding place. Turns out the sachel I found was a mattress cover for lawn furniture. Inside of it I found heavy motorcycle boots, leather chaps, a leather jacket, some surgical scrubs, pants, and shirts. None of it was dirty or very well worn, but it got me to thinking of some cross-country biker looking to hide his luggage. And THAT got me to thinking about putting all that stuff back in the satchel and getting myself out of there quick.

 

Since I've started Geocaching, I've read stories of finding people in the act, pot farms, guns, and more. I've realized that there is an inherent danger in what we do by virtue of what we seek. Sure, we're playing a game, but others are not. When looking for a place to hide an ammo can, we look for places infrequently visited by the general public, out of site from a distance, and sheltered from the weather. It's no wonder we have so many cachers with stories of encounters with the police. Our ideal spots match the ideals of people who might literally kill to keep their secrets. Depending on the location (legal public location), our encounters with the law may meet with a simple "Oh, well be careful" to "You really shouldn't be here." Sometimes, we really shouldn't.

 

Hey. It's just my 2-cents. Thanks for letting me ramble.

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WE shouldn't be there?!

 

What about the freaks hiding stripped cars and dead prostitutes?!

 

Not that I want to infringe on anyone, ya know.

 

If I found something such as this in the woods, I'm certatinly not going to stick around very long, however, I'm not going to let it curb my enthusiasm (for geocaching).

 

:laughing:

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Please note: To use the services of geocaching.com, you must agree to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

 

Don't be a-scared.

 

Most accidents occur in the home. This is due to the fact that most people spend most of their time there. I like my home and surely enjoy my lounge time but I agree with RK. The whole point is to get out of the house and see new things. This freedom does not release the participant of the responsibility of using a little common sense.

 

Cache on.

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Over the years, there have been many threads which warned the cacher not to go to certain areas of town or certain parks because illegal activity goes on in those places. My response to this has always been the same.

 

I will feel free to go to any public place that I want. Avoiding areas because people use them for illegal purposes is basically giving up on them. I have no desire to give up on them. If I have reason to do so, I will go to any public place, for whatever reason I want to. The more the public accesses these areas, the more likely it is that those that do wrong will move along to a less travelled place.

 

Let's not live in 'Escape from LA' world, OK?

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