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Muggles


Ichabod

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I was once asked if I was recording the bird songs and, just yesterday when caching with my wife, a couple came by and said, "You must be doing research." Neither time did I try to hide or act suspicioius. Folks just made up their own explanation for what I was doing. It works great like that sometimes. :blink:

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Don't even worry about muggles. You'd be surprised by how many people just don't care what you're doing.

We meet up with another couple in NYC and ended up spending the afternoon with them geocaching. It was great fun. But when we couldn't find a cache, I took a moment to sit down and think about the hunt. I didn't figure out where the cache was but it was amazing watching my new friends hunt...and no one seemed to care that they digging in the bushes and making a big mess.

 

It was rather funny to watch! :blink:

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Lacking kids and dogs, in urban/suburban areas I make do with cell phone/pda and camera. I am a responsible citizen who stops to talk on the phone sitting on that rock there. And you can get into amazingly strange positions if you look like you're taking a picture of something. I love the tree inspector idea. I may use that one. <_< And measuring the fence is priceless!

 

In the woods I often play "elven chess" which is moving natural objects into patterns. Then I can explain elven chess to someone who wants to know what I'm doing moving that rock or picking up that stick. I was playing elven chess long before I started caching anyway.

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Someone in an earlier thread said they carry a clipboard and have a tape measure on their belt.  This makes them practically invisible while looking for urban caches.  Muggles could ask what you are doing so you better have a good line ready ...

As a real estate appraiser I'm always walking around with a clipboard and measuring tape in places that I wouldn't otherwise belong.

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Use the cell phone, inspect power lines. (also a great way to take shortcuts across otherwise inaccessable land) planning erosion control projects on trails. Planning field trips for my classroom.. or my scout troop or whatever. Looking for rare or endangered species of plants...... there is a long list.

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It always concerns me when people say that they are not concerned worried about being seen caching. I think that this attitude is disrespectful to the cache owner and your fellow players.

 

In my opinion, it is our responsibility to be as stealthy as possible to not give away the cache to the view of non-players. By not being stealthy, one risks having a curios person walk off with the cache. This ruins the game for all that come after you.

 

If cache hiders insist on placing caches in high visibilty spots:

Lamppost in a busy parking lot.

Cache hidden in front of a housing tract.

Cache hidden in the bushes of a restaurant.

 

They should expect there cache to be expendable. I'll try my best to be discreet, but for some caches, this impossible. My rebuttal to this is hide caches in places where you don't have to worry about being seen by muggles (like I do.)

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One thing I learned from my "urban adventure" days: If you look like you belong there, you become invisible. Clipboards, hardhats, safety vests and the like all give a sense of credibility, as do fake cellphone conversations "What do you mean this is the spot? There's nothing here but brush! You'd better not be screwing with me or I'll..." or "yes i'm here, but I can't find your keys anywhere, ok, I'll keep looking" If you're at a park, nobody questions someone with a dog or a child about what they're doing off the trail or nosing around in bushes or whatever, particularly when said bushes are the recipient of a well-placed "wild" tennis ball toss. People do, however, notice if you look suspicious or out of place. Surveyors, building inspectors, tree inspectors (i love it) don't care who sees them doing their thing, and as long as they don't notice you specifically retreiving or replacing the cache there's little danger of them stumbling on it if its well hidden.

 

That being said, I prefer the direct approach: answer honestly when asked what you're doing, who knows, today's muggle could be tomorrow's cacher. Unless they see you in the act of fetching or hiding the cache you can always tell them about the activity and give them the website address, then depending on their response and what your instinct tells you about them either give them demonstration, or grumble something about entering the coordinates wrong and politely excuse yourself. I've converted a few this way, all fathers with youngish kids at various parks.. hand'em the gps, give them a brief instruction in how to use it if they need it, and send'em off to find that micro hidden in the sprinkler head. As I see it, they're less likely to come back and plunder a micro if my instincts are wrong about them so the risk is low, but its a good demonstration and if they honestly seem interested you can brag about some of your more interesting finds and send'em off to the website for coordinates. I guess its a judgement call based on your individual situation and feelings on the matter, but I personally see myself as an ambassador for the sport, doing what I can to promote it while at the same time watching out for the safety of the caches.

 

Just my two bits

 

Jeremy

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Point the GPSr at them; tap a spot on your chest and say,

 

“Riker to Enterprise, tricorder reading show this world is comprised of an immature civilization without warp technology.”

 

(pause like someone is talking to you)

 

“ Yes Captain, Riker out.”

 

Put the GPSr in your pocket and try to look inconspicuous.

:huh:

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Just wondering what strategies you all use to deal with muggles?

A fish bonker works best on them. Plus, the fish bonker is easily concealable in your sleeve, so approaching them without making your intentions known is easy.

 

Yes, I know, there is a school of thought out there that advocates shooting muggles. I'm not part of that school of thought. I advocate knocking them unconscious, not slaying them.

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That being said, I prefer the direct approach: answer honestly when asked what you're doing, who knows, today's muggle could be tomorrow's cacher. Unless they see you in the act of fetching or hiding the cache you can always tell them about the activity and give them the website address, then depending on their response and what your instinct tells you about them either give them demonstration, or grumble something about entering the coordinates wrong and politely excuse yourself. I've converted a few this way, all fathers with youngish kids at various parks.. hand'em the gps, give them a brief instruction in how to use it if they need it, and send'em off to find that micro hidden in the sprinkler head. As I see it, they're less likely to come back and plunder a micro if my instincts are wrong about them so the risk is low, but its a good demonstration and if they honestly seem interested you can brag about some of your more interesting finds and send'em off to the website for coordinates. I guess its a judgement call based on your individual situation and feelings on the matter, but I personally see myself as an ambassador for the sport, doing what I can to promote it while at the same time watching out for the safety of the caches.

 

After all, Isn't that why the brochures are available to download and print?

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