+CowboyX Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 This is my second experience with this. Since I cache alone and am generally pretty absent-minded, I usually don't notice what is going on until it is too late. I am used to people being interested in what I am doing while caching, but when the starring and following starts it gets pretty creepy and scarry. My second experience was at a local wetland reservation where I wanted to place a cache. It irks me that I can't enjoy these places without being bothered.
+wimseyguy Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Generally I mind my own business, find the cache, and move on. I'll add the pickle alert icon to my cache log to let anyone else know what to expect. Also I never back into a parking space.
+dkwolf Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Generally I mind my own business, find the cache, and move on. I'll add the pickle alert icon to my cache log to let anyone else know what to expect. Also I never back into a parking space. Call me ignorant, but why is that? With my truck I frequently back into spaces, both in urban areas and rural, especially in crowded lots--it's easier to back in than back out. Just curious if the backing into a space has something to do with the pickle alerts..?
+clearpath Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Also I never back into a parking space. Or anything else for that matter ...
+Team Teuton Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Generally I mind my own business, find the cache, and move on. I'll add the pickle alert icon to my cache log to let anyone else know what to expect. Also I never back into a parking space. Call me ignorant, but why is that? With my truck I frequently back into spaces, both in urban areas and rural, especially in crowded lots--it's easier to back in than back out. Just curious if the backing into a space has something to do with the pickle alerts..? Backing into parking places in such areas is considered a sign that you are interested and available.
+Kacky Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) I don't mind PDA's (none of my business actually) but my tolerence ends at the same phase it would for heteros. The police need to hear complaints often. A letter to the editor of the newspaper might be in order too. That's what it took to get a crackdown on our local one. It only takes one day a year for the cops to do a sweep and publicly i-d the ones they catch. You'd be SURPRISED at some of the names. Being gay has nothing to do with it. Why should anyone enjoy a Cloak of secrecy and be allowed to hijack public places? Edited May 1, 2006 by Kacky
+Wandering Bears Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Generally I mind my own business, find the cache, and move on. I'll add the pickle alert icon to my cache log to let anyone else know what to expect. Also I never back into a parking space. Call me ignorant, but why is that? With my truck I frequently back into spaces, both in urban areas and rural, especially in crowded lots--it's easier to back in than back out. Just curious if the backing into a space has something to do with the pickle alerts..? Backing into parking places in such areas is considered a sign that you are interested and available. Ack. I wondered about the guy parked at the parking area deep in a nearby state forest all by himself midmorning on a weekday. He wasn't doing anything, just sitting there. I went into the woods hunting for a few hours, and when I came out, he was still sitting there. I waved, got in my truck and took off. He was backed into his spot. I thought it was odd, but it never crossed my mind that that was why he was there. You'd think by the time you're 30, you'd have all these things figured out.
bogleman Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Just bring some relish and mustard next time. Hard to the the law involved unless they are doing something wrong or there after hours.
+tozainamboku Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Gay cruising spots, homeless camps, needle parks, teen party spots, illegal dumps - this is what I like about geocaching
+drat19 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Generally I mind my own business, find the cache, and move on. I'll add the pickle alert icon to my cache log to let anyone else know what to expect. Also I never back into a parking space. Call me ignorant, but why is that? With my truck I frequently back into spaces, both in urban areas and rural, especially in crowded lots--it's easier to back in than back out. Just curious if the backing into a space has something to do with the pickle alerts..? Backing into parking places in such areas is considered a sign that you are interested and available. Yeah, I never knew about this, uh, calling card either, until I started Geocaching. I owned a Suburban for years and as any Suburban-owner knows, you always try to back in to the parking space when you get there, to make egress much easier. When I learned about the calling card, I never backed into a parking space in a secluded area, or Wal-Mart parking lot (I heard that this was a popular rendezvous point as well...go figure - lampskirts and other skirts!), again.
+Kacky Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Just bring some relish and mustard next time. Hard to the the law involved unless they are doing something wrong or there after hours. Following is NOT ok. And imagine if they knew his nickname was Cowboy X!
+clearpath Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Wal-Mart parking lot (I heard that this was a popular rendezvous point as well...go figure - lampskirts and other skirts!) Gives new meaning to the name Wally World.
+deimos444 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 As a longtime resident of the Peninsula south of San Francisco I have learned to ignore the gay stuff entirely. I find that as a hetero dude I am pretty much ignored by the gays. Live and let live. However, hijacking a public spot by any group is really uncalled for and rude.
+BlueDeuce Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 If you want to meet like minded people in your community start a local forum. It works for us geocachers.
+briansnat Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 When I meet a stranger at a cache site who appears to be a geocacher, I'll often ask "are you looking for what I'm looking for?". I can see how this approach can be problematic in certain parks.
+Woodbutcher68 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 There's a few Forest Preserves near Chicago that have this problem. I was even propositioned in one once. I told the guy I wasn't interested and he left me alone. Might not be a bad idea to carry some pepper spray just in case.
+YuccaPatrol Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 When I meet a stranger at a cache site who appears to be a geocacher, I'll often ask "are you looking for what I'm looking for?". I can see how this approach can be problematic in certain parks. That is just about exactly what I asked a fellow down under the boardwalk at a bay side park while looking for a cache. Apparently he wasn't looking for the same thing, but seemed to think that I was the thing he was looking for.
+TEAM RETRIEVER Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) Well, I have had the same problem. I parked at a trailhead at our local DNR property (didn't back in though), got out of my truck and started walking. A guy pulled up, rolled down his window and started talking in a very direct way. I kind of ignored him and started walking in on the trail to find the cache. The guy then got out of his car and started following me. I simply turned around and walked back to the truck, totally ignoring him as I walked past. That should have been the end of the story, right? Well, I drove down the county road a bit towards another cache location. As I was driving, I looked up in the rear view mirror and the dude is following me! He was driving a small car so I floored it and put some space between us. After about five or six miles, he finally got the hint (or so I thought), stopped and turned around. I drove around a bit and thought he was gone for good, so I headed back to the original trailhead to find that first cache. As soon as I got out of the truck, who do you think came pulling up in his little car? Yep, Mr. Happy himself. At this point I was beyond uncomfortable and just plain p*ssed off. I got back in the truck and left some tread from my tires on the pavement as I left. I would like to think he got the hint, but I doubt it. Now I am sure to carry one of two (if not both) things. I have my handgun permit and sometimes take it with me when going by myself. But I ALWAYS carry my home made walking stick with me. It's made of seasoned hickory and would do quite a number on anyone. I do hope that any gay cachers won't take this as being homo-phobic (sp?). That's not it. Nor am I for/against that choice or lifestyle. I just think these people could figure out a better place than public locations for this stuff. Gee, I have an idea...how about AT HOME? Okay, I'm done ranting now! LOL! Edited May 1, 2006 by TEAM RETRIEVER
+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 I avoid these areas. There is a nice local park, an historic one, with the zoo there too. A crackdown on a nearby cruiser park has chased them into this park. Since they are in 2 different cities yet the parks connect, the one that chased the cruisers out dont care that they are now in the park that the zoo is in. Subsequently, there have been sexual attacks on some people in that park. I started to do one cache at that park in a very public area but found a used condom in the parking lot. Now, I avoid the park.
+wimseyguy Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 That sounds more like predatory stalking no matter what the sexual preferences are.
+drat19 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 But I ALWAYS carry my home made walking stick with me. It's made of seasoned hickory and would do quite a number on anyone. I am SO resisting the urge to post the PROPER response to this one in the context of this thread...
+TEAM RETRIEVER Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 But I ALWAYS carry my home made walking stick with me. It's made of seasoned hickory and would do quite a number on anyone. I am SO resisting the urge to post the PROPER response to this one in the context of this thread... LOL! I walked right into that one, huh!
+drat19 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 But I ALWAYS carry my home made walking stick with me. It's made of seasoned hickory and would do quite a number on anyone. I am SO resisting the urge to post the PROPER response to this one in the context of this thread... LOL! I walked right into that one, huh! Or backed into it...
+TEAM RETRIEVER Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 But I ALWAYS carry my home made walking stick with me. It's made of seasoned hickory and would do quite a number on anyone. I am SO resisting the urge to post the PROPER response to this one in the context of this thread... LOL! I walked right into that one, huh! Or backed into it... Eewwwwww...
+drat19 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 But I ALWAYS carry my home made walking stick with me. It's made of seasoned hickory and would do quite a number on anyone. I am SO resisting the urge to post the PROPER response to this one in the context of this thread... LOL! I walked right into that one, huh! Or backed into it... Eewwwwww... Somebody stop me! My comedy rifle is trigger-happy!
+K0BKL Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 I have a couple of caches in public roadside parks that seem to invite this sort of thing. I have gotten some looks from a couple of individuals, and inquiries on what I was doing. Best trick is to get out a pair of binoculars and start looking at treetops. If that does not seem enough, open an Audubon bird book. Birding is another of my hobbies, and it seems to work for most people, to throw them off the track, even the straight ones.
Team Kryptos Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 We have a couple caches at one of the local cruising spots. While there for some disc golf one time we saw someone in their work truck, with a friend whose head would only appear once in a while. We walked over with camera, smiled and waved and watched them high-tail it out of there. Momma Kryptos won't let me go out there to check on caches alone anymore, seems she's jealous! Also, while reading this thread i got the idea to fill all the caches in these areas with $3 dollar bills.
+YuccaPatrol Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 The trick to protecting the cache and your geocaching activity is to blend into the environment so that you look like you belong there. That is why my caching kit includes a pair of sparkly hot pants and a tight tank top for these kinds of caches.
+Vinny & Sue Team Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Generally I mind my own business, find the cache, and move on. I'll add the pickle alert icon to my cache log to let anyone else know what to expect. Also I never back into a parking space. Call me ignorant, but why is that? With my truck I frequently back into spaces, both in urban areas and rural, especially in crowded lots--it's easier to back in than back out. Just curious if the backing into a space has something to do with the pickle alerts..? We placed an extreme Psycho Urban Cache in an urban park a few months ago. Based upon the log entries from past finders of a virtual which has been located in that park for years, and also based upon our direct observation, it quickly became obvious to us that the park was not only a big hotbed for gay cruising, but there were also all kinds of other denizens as well, and some of them were engaging in obvious drug dealing, drug use, alcohol use, (straight) sex prostitution, tagging (graffiti), paintballing, and about a million other things that you encounter in an urban park. Although the cache listing page for the virtual cache located in the same park did not mention any of these phenomena which might easily be witnessed by a visitor, we quickly decided, after hearing really hilarious stories from the first few finders, to add a comprehensive cautionary note to our cache listing page, advising prospective cache hunters that this was a busy urban park, and that they might thus encounter any of a dozen differerent phenoomena common to urban parks, and then each of those phenomena are listed in bold orange font (I know, I know, I used red here, because red text is more readable) on the cache listing page. Several cache hunters and prospective cache hunters have thanked us for the comprehensive and proactive up-front cautionary note! If you are interested in reading the resultant accidentally-hilarious cache listing page, the cache which I have mentioned is Psycho Urban Cache #10 - Derelict Grunge Acropolis Oh, and regarding your question about the significance of backing a vehicle into the parking spot: it seems to be well-known in both the straight and the gay sex cruisng worlds that backing your vehicle into a parking spot in such a location is a signal that you are, uh, ahem, well, you know, available. . . Amazingly, although I have been in some rather wild and bizarre places in my life, I had never known that little tidbit, and it was my ever-curious and vigilant wife Sue who quickly discovered that convention during a web search on sex cruising after we had returned from one of our cache placement visits at the cache site mentioned above. My own feeling regarding each of the fifteen behaviors listed on our cache listing page, and the people engagin in them, is that these people (and other nonhuman creatures, as you will see from the cache listing page) are all God's creatures, and it is not my job to judge anyone, nor to take any of this stuff too seriously, but rather my job is only to witness and love them all (ahem, that is, I do mean unconditional agape-type love. . . ), and so I just smile at it all. And so it is. God bless them all.
+Vinny & Sue Team Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) By the way, when I am in such parks doing cache maintenance on those occasions when I am in the kind of grim evil antisocial mood where I do not even want people looking at me, before I exit my car, I simply don my hardhat, safety vest, tool belt, and gloves, and carry my clipboard and GPSr prominently. Everyone disappears; the park empties out in less than two minutes. Edited May 1, 2006 by Vinny & Sue Team
+Adrenalynn Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Who cares? Dragging your kids into an urban park after dark is consent for them to see all kinds of stuff. Don't do it. As far as consenting adults go? If it bothers you - watch your GPS instead. Most people do anyway... Sheesh, just go find the cache and mind your own business...
Pto Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 By the way, when I am in such parks dong cache maintenance on those occasions when I am in the kind of grim evil antisocial mood where I do not even want people looking at me, before I exit my car, I simply don my hardhat, safety vest, tool belt, and gloves, and carry my clipboard and GPSr prominently. Everyone disappears; the park empties out in less than two minutes. Must be one scary Dong
+Adrenalynn Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 By the way, when I am in such parks dong cache maintenance on those occasions when I am in the kind of grim evil antisocial mood where I do not even want people looking at me, before I exit my car, I simply don my hardhat, safety vest, tool belt, and gloves, and carry my clipboard and GPSr prominently. Everyone disappears; the park empties out in less than two minutes. A hardhat, toolbelt, and clipboard - instant invisibility cloaking. As well as a master key to just about everything in the world! My favorite!
+Bill & Tammy Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 The second best scenic overlook in my area also happens to be a magnet for illicit activity. I have wanted to place a cache there for quite some time but I don't consider it a very family friendly area of course. I agree it is not a very considerate thing for a segment to hijack an area as mentioned before.
+Vinny & Sue Team Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Who cares? Dragging your kids into an urban park after dark is consent for them to see all kinds of stuff. Don't do it. As far as consenting adults go? If it bothers you - watch your GPS instead. Most people do anyway... Sheesh, just go find the cache and mind your own business... Adrenalynn, very well put! Thanks for saying it that way!
+Bill & Tammy Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) By the way, when I am in such parks dong cache maintenance on those occasions when I am in the kind of grim evil antisocial mood where I do not even want people looking at me, before I exit my car, I simply don my hardhat, safety vest, tool belt, and gloves, and carry my clipboard and GPSr prominently. Everyone disappears; the park empties out in less than two minutes. A hardhat, toolbelt, and clipboard - instant invisibility cloaking. As well as a master key to just about everything in the world! My favorite! Right, that might help to be ignored, go to a GCS dressed as one of the The Village People. Edited May 1, 2006 by Bill & Tammy
+Vinny & Sue Team Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 The second best scenic overlook in my area also happens to be a magnet for illicit activity. I have wanted to place a cache there for quite some time but I don't consider it a very family friendly area of course. I agree it is not a very considerate thing for a segment to hijack an area as mentioned before. Well, in the park where our PUC #10 cache is located, there are about fifteen different segments of society -- or subcultures -- which have each partially hijacked the park, but, you know, all you gotta do is ignore them!
+Bill & Tammy Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 The second best scenic overlook in my area also happens to be a magnet for illicit activity. I have wanted to place a cache there for quite some time but I don't consider it a very family friendly area of course. I agree it is not a very considerate thing for a segment to hijack an area as mentioned before. Well, in the park where our PUC #10 cache is located, there are about fifteen different segments of society -- or subcultures -- which have each partially hijacked the park, but, you know, all you gotta do is ignore them! I agree it would be nice to ignore them, but unfortunately I have been approached on several occasions, once while I was even holding a scanner. And as far as bringing the family, the "extracurricular activity" doesn't seem limited to after hours.
+tozainamboku Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 By the way, when I am in such parks doing cache maintenance on those occasions when I am in the kind of grim evil antisocial mood where I do not even want people looking at me, before I exit my car, I simply don my hardhat, safety vest, tool belt, and gloves, and carry my clipboard and GPSr prominently. Everyone disappears; the park empties out in less than two minutes. Why does this make me think of The Village People?
+Vinny & Sue Team Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 By the way, when I am in such parks dong cache maintenance on those occasions when I am in the kind of grim evil antisocial mood where I do not even want people looking at me, before I exit my car, I simply don my hardhat, safety vest, tool belt, and gloves, and carry my clipboard and GPSr prominently. Everyone disappears; the park empties out in less than two minutes. A hardhat, toolbelt, and clipboard - instant invisibility cloaking. As well as a master key to just about everything in the world! My favorite! Right, that might help to be ignored, go to a GCS dressed as one of the The Village People. Y'know, when I first wore that outfit, I actually wondered if that might actually accidentally be an attractant for some of the park denizens due to the Villag People thing, but I gambled on a gut sense that most observers -- particularly any who were a bit nervous about their intentions or their activities -- would assume that I was some kind of city employee or contractor and that I was there on official business, and would therefore keep their distance. So far, my gut sense has been correct, and ALL the various inhabitants of the park -- from across about a dozen different subcultures or segments of urban society -- have left me alone, and the majority of the park visitors immediately walk quickly to their vehicles and leave the park. Course, it might actually be due to the fact that I am exceptionally ugly, and balding and gap-toothed to boot!
+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 It isnt easy to just ignore them. Often they leave "litter" around which is disgusting and biohazardous. I wish they wouldnt take our parks over like that.
wmas1960 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Reading this thread has gotten me to thinking. First, a few caches in my area are in or near places that are reputed for some of this activity. Second, there are other areas where my girlfriend and I often pick up some dinner, say at a fast food place, and go sit and have a little picnic. They are wooded areas with limited traffic and kind of out of the way. Sometimes with a nice open field or small lake and wildlife around us... We have noticed some suspicious activity in these forest preserves in the past. Thought it had more to do with some sort of drug activity or something in the secluded out of the way areas. Perhaps drug transactions going on. We often see taxi drivers and people in other work type vehicles driving back and forth. Sometimes older gentlemen in non descript vehicles. I go into some such areas from time to time to take wildlife pictures and in the middle of the afternoon will see people parked there in delivery vehicles... I figure a lot of them are just grabbing some lunch and taking a little rest while doing their routes. But, there are often those who have looked suspicious. Most of these areas are roads that lead to parking slots and will loop around with no outlet. So, when you see the same car go back and forth about 5 times, you know something is up as the person is obviously cruzing or looking for someone or something. It can get a little uncomfortable at times, especially in some of the more off the road and secluded areas but we tend to just chuckle it off. There are a couple areas now that are just so creepy and uncomfortable that we don't go there. In reality, we have never been confronted or seen anything disturbing or anything but it often comes down to just a comfort factor. Then, there is the time when I was at a small lake in the Cook County Forest Preserves, not far from O'Hare airport. I was on my way home from a video job and had stopped at a nearby McDonalds to pick something up to eat. Being that I had all my camera gear with me, I decided to drive over to this park and watch the airplanes and take a few pictures. I was there for about 20 minutes when a forest preserve cop came by and asked what I was doing. Taking pictures of airplanes, I told him as I stood there with my Nikon D100 and 200mm 2.8 lens. He suggested that I go over closer to the airport, near Irving Park Road. In this day and age, post 9-11, I didn't think that was smart as the attention was more heightened over there. I just told him that I had been to McDs and that the current place was convenient. He had no problem and was on his way. About 2 minutes later, he was back. This time saying that there was a specific complaint about me as a suspicious person. I took it in stride as he said he was now required to check me out because it was in response to a specific complaint. He checked my license plates and ran my drivers license. I couldn't imagine who would have called me in though. There were basically 3 sides (triangle) to the parking area. One was a wide open lake with, I guess, a dog park. The other was some Railroad Tracks and the third was the hill leading up to the tollway. Not a house or building anywhere around. There were only a couple other cars in the parking lot and a few people way out in the park walking their dogs. Maybe my camera and my long lens got someone nervous or something. I thought maybe someone who should be at work, napping in their car or something, afraid that I might have been casing the area or something. But, perhaps it was someone concerned that I might have been driving away their action?
+Renegade Knight Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 Never had a problem with this. The transportation department though has a problem. It seems that certain rest areas keep having holes drilled through the stall walls. The closest thing I've seen is on a sign on a sportsmans access that says in spray paint "This is a gay park" or something like that. Usually I cache in a group.
wmas1960 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) It isnt easy to just ignore them. Often they leave "litter" around which is disgusting and biohazardous. I wish they wouldnt take our parks over like that. While I haven't actually encountered any of it yet, personally, I have seen a few signs of it, as posted in my previous post. I am not against people going to the parks or forests to find a friend and hang out... Heck, I wouldn't even care if they shared an embrace, hug or whatever. However there is a limit to what is appropriate in a public place. Especially one where one might go and take family and children. If someone stalks you around, like one other post mentioned, if they leave "Biohazardous" Trash around, or if they are engaging in their extreme intimate acts in public than I would be on my cellphone immediately. Heck, I might even use the camera phone for some evidence in case the sheriff (forest preserve cop) or other authority arrives and they are gone. When it gets to these points, I don't care if it is hetero or same sex. It is inappropriate and the proper authorities need to be contacted and charges of stalking or public indecency need to be enforced. As for the litter, there may not be a lot that the police can do to take care of that. But, if you let them know about it, and the other stuff that you see or witness, than if they take action to get rid of the main activity, the trash should go away with it. Same thing also with drug use and such. I do a lot of metal detecting also. Haven't come accross any of this yet but if I came accross a needle infested area, I would notify the authorities. They can, at least, send someone down to try and clean up some of the stuff, for the public health and safety issues and start to monitor the area. If I noticed people actually engaged in any such activity, I wouldn't interfere at that moment. I would, maybe, discreatly hit the enter button on my GPS and register that location. Then keep going till I was out of site. Then I would call the authorities to report the situation. Lastly, it is sad that I say this, Perhaps we all need to start putting special containers in our caching or metal detecting packs for when we encounter these types of things. That and some good sturdy rubber gloves. When detecting, I wouldn't feel right leaving this stuff around, especially the needles lying around for some child to get pricked with. The right thing to do, as difficult as it may sound, is to be prepared to dispose of this stuff properly. Used condoms could be burried several inches down perhaps. However, something like needles could be found by another Metal Detector and someone could get hurt digging them up. They should definately be properly disposed of. As I think of it, Extreme care and caution needs to be exercised when digging these things up or when encountering them and any attempt should be made to properly dispose of them and notify the authorities of the actions that are leading to it all. Edited May 2, 2006 by wmas1960
+drat19 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 It isnt easy to just ignore them. Often they leave "litter" around which is disgusting and biohazardous. I wish they wouldnt take our parks over like that. Lastly, it is sad that I say this, Perhaps we all need to start putting special containers in our caching or metal detecting packs for when we encounter these types of things. That and some good sturdy rubber gloves. When detecting, I wouldn't feel right leaving this stuff around, especially the needles lying around for some child to get pricked with. The right thing to do, as difficult as it may sound, is to be prepared to dispose of this stuff properly. Used condoms could be burried several inches down perhaps. However, something like needles could be found by another Metal Detector and someone could get hurt digging them up. They should definately be properly disposed of. As I think of it, Extreme care and caution needs to be exercised when digging these things up or when encountering them and any attempt should be made to properly dispose of them and notify the authorities of the actions that are leading to it all. Noble sentiment, but ain't no way I'll be picking up used needles, biohazardous undergarments, used condoms, or the like, with gloves or otherwise. CITO's one thing; that's quite another. Call to the authorities notifying them of the location is as far as I would go. But that's just me.
+The Leprechauns Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) Who cares? Dragging your kids into an urban park after dark is consent for them to see all kinds of stuff. Don't do it. As far as consenting adults go? If it bothers you - watch your GPS instead. Most people do anyway... Sheesh, just go find the cache and mind your own business... The activity takes place at all hours of the day and night. I was chased down and assaulted right at mid-day, near the cache I was logging in a well-kept suburban park. Watching the GPS and minding my own business was a BIG mistake. I've since learned to become more aware of my surroundings, and less trusting that people will leave me alone. I also carry pepper spray. Edited May 1, 2006 by The Leprechauns
+drat19 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 One instance where I ran across it Another instance where I ran across it Yet another instance where I ran across it In 3 different states.
+NotNutts Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) Who cares? Dragging your kids into an urban park after dark is consent for them to see all kinds of stuff. Don't do it. As far as consenting adults go? If it bothers you - watch your GPS instead. Most people do anyway... Sheesh, just go find the cache and mind your own business... Adrenalynn, very well put! Thanks for saying it that way! I respectfully disagree. If these parks were filled with heterosexuals backing into each other's parking spaces, I'd still say it's wrong. Just because they're gay doesn't give them carte blanche. And it's not just 'after dark'. I have no problem minding my own business until followed, or I have to explain to my kids what the 2 naked men were doing on the trail. Let's not let our common sense be clouded by political correctness. If someone was blatantly littering, we'd be up in arms, as most geocachers care about the environment. If the litter in question is condoms, beer cans and needles left behind at a cruising site, we should not 'mind our own business' for fear of offending a homosexual. Edited May 1, 2006 by NotNutts
+kentuckygirls Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 If the litter in question is condoms, beer cans and needles left behind at a cruising site, we should not 'mind our own business' for fear of offending a homosexual. I don't think you meant this the way it sounded, but it seems you are lumping all these activities together with being a homosexual. I truly doubt that is the case. That being said, if these areas are just cruising sites I would have no problem at all visiting them. First because gay men typically mind their own business. Second, gay men are typically nonviolent. If there was sexual activity going on it should be turned in. No one has to put up with that from homosexuals or heterosexuals. If there is drug use going on that should also be reported. No one group should have exclusive use of a public park. It is there for everyone to enjoy. There is a park near where I live that is a known gay cruising spot. I have been here for other activities and in no way felt threatened, nor was I followed or watched. I tend to worry more about the heterosexual teenagers than I do homosexual men. This is just my opinion, I am not trying to flame anyone or start trouble.
+drat19 Posted May 1, 2006 Posted May 1, 2006 If the litter in question is condoms, beer cans and needles left behind at a cruising site, we should not 'mind our own business' for fear of offending a homosexual. I don't think you meant this the way it sounded, but it seems you are lumping all these activities together with being a homosexual. I truly doubt that is the case. That being said, if these areas are just cruising sites I would have no problem at all visiting them. First because gay men typically mind their own business. Second, gay men are typically nonviolent. If there was sexual activity going on it should be turned in. No one has to put up with that from homosexuals or heterosexuals. If there is drug use going on that should also be reported. No one group should have exclusive use of a public park. It is there for everyone to enjoy. There is a park near where I live that is a known gay cruising spot. I have been here for other activities and in no way felt threatened, nor was I followed or watched. I tend to worry more about the heterosexual teenagers than I do homosexual men. This is just my opinion, I am not trying to flame anyone or start trouble. Not necessarily an accurate generalization. In some locations, especially more urban areas, the activity and solicitation is more, shall we say, aggressive.
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