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Weirdos in the woods


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Had the strangest thing happen today... made me realize that I'd better make sure my husband knows where I am when I run off to do some random cache on the way to or from work, just in case something horrible happens.

 

I was in our local county park which is over 2000 acres of woods and lakes, and had just located a cache only about 1/10 of a mile from the parking lot. It was about 4 in the afternoon on a sunny but chilly day. As I was looking through the cache, I saw a guy off in the woods about 250 feet away, he seemed to be adjusting his pants, so I assumed maybe he took a dump off the trail. A few minutes later, he was still there hanging around. I thought perhaps he was another cacher and was waiting for me to leave the area. As I was putting the cache back (pretending to tie my shoe), I looked in his direction again to see if he might have seen me put it back and geeez... the guy was standing there facing me with his pants down. He was far enough away, but he definitely had no pants on. I got the hell out of there as fast as I could. Gave me the creeps. The next cache I went to, I was looking over my shoulder every other minute. I can't believe there are people who are that messed up and desperate for a thrill to do that sort of thing!

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Seems like that happens here every so often. Usually some guy will expose himself in the public parks. One time the person that the guy exposed himself to hurried off but not before noting the license plate on a car they passed, the same car the pervert got into. That made it real easy for the police.

Best to get the heck out of there and call the police.

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Had the strangest thing happen today... made me realize that I'd better make sure my husband knows where I am when I run off to do some random cache on the way to or from work, just in case something horrible happens.

 

I was in our local county park which is over 2000 acres of woods and lakes, and had just located a cache only about 1/10 of a mile from the parking lot. It was about 4 in the afternoon on a sunny but chilly day. As I was looking through the cache, I saw a guy off in the woods about 250 feet away, he seemed to be adjusting his pants, so I assumed maybe he took a dump off the trail. A few minutes later, he was still there hanging around. I thought perhaps he was another cacher and was waiting for me to leave the area. As I was putting the cache back (pretending to tie my shoe), I looked in his direction again to see if he might have seen me put it back and geeez... the guy was standing there facing me with his pants down. He was far enough away, but he definitely had no pants on. I got the hell out of there as fast as I could. Gave me the creeps. The next cache I went to, I was looking over my shoulder every other minute. I can't believe there are people who are that messed up and desperate for a thrill to do that sort of thing!

Did he know that anyone could see him? I've been in situations where I've felt a tick crawling on me in a sensitive spot, and felt an urgent need to try to remove it quickly and discreetly..

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I've always felt that the appropriate response in that situation would be...

 

"If mine was that small I sure wouldn't be out here waving it around!"

 

:rolleyes::unsure::laughing:

 

On a more serious note, I agree with the folks above that said to report it to your local police. This used to happen along a jogging path near where my mother worked and the moron in question did it repeatedly, in front of numerous women, for months, in the exact same spot.

 

Let him wave it around somewhere (semi) private, like County Jail.

 

DCC

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AddZappers----Do you have a dog you can take with you when caching?

 

I'm a pretty big guy but I usually have a weapon (i.e. knife and a pretty sturdy walking stick to whack someone with) or I take Daisy, my 91 lb. pit bull/boxer mix with me. You just never know anymore.

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Geocaching will expose you to more strange things than a more sedate hobby, to be sure. And it is certainly much trickier for a woman. Best advice is to look out for your safety first and foremost.

Flashers are generally just that: flashers. Ignore them, and get out quickly. Report to the police if you wish.

I've seen any number of strange things whilst geocaching. Homeless camps. Homeless sleeping on trails, or park benches. Men having sex on park trails. Bears. Needles. Condoms.

But I've also seen some spectacular things! Great views. Snow geese. Pink Lady's Slippers. Great Blue Herons. Bears. I've got a great collection of photos of NYC bridges (from underneath).

Flashers are relatively harmless. Well, except for offending your sensibilities.

Ignore the weirdos, but most importantly take care for your safety.

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Yes, it is much safer to stay at home and watch t.v. Nothing makes me feel more safe out in the woods alone than a concealed carry permit and a nice heavy fanny pack. "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller, The Open Door (1957)

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Have heard of similar things happening in one of our local parks that is the home of four caches... Shouldnt have to have a body guard to walk in the park... Thats one reason i got my carry permit.. Shouldnt have to fear the things i enjoy... hate to hear :(

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...Flashers are generally just that: flashers. Ignore them, and get out quickly. Report to the police if you wish.

 

...Flashers are relatively harmless. Well, except for offending your sensibilities.

Ignore the weirdos, but most importantly take care for your safety.

Are you kidding? Flashing can be harmless, however it is a crime, a sex crime, and typically in such a way as described by the OP, leads to more aggressive actions when the offender loses the thrill of the act, and thus needs to take it to another level to get the same (forgive me) "jollies off". This absolutely should be reported to the local police, and care should be taken to avoid contact with this individual. Pepper spray has saved more than a few lives, and not just from criminals, but the startled animal attack as well. I carry it all the time.

BTW, great situational awareness by the OP.

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I had something similar happen last spring. I was about 250 feet from a cache and spotted a rather portly guy standing behind a tree about 100 feet off the trail. Now in our parts, you will run into bird watchers from time to time so seeing someone standing very still in the woods isn't always odd. However, when I moved to within 50 feet, I noticed the guy was not wearing any pants. I froze and said "What the #$%^ are you doing?" The guy turned and ran off with his pants in his hand. At least he was smart enough to keep his shoes on. From my vantage, the guy was "getting in touch with himself in nature."

 

I've also walked straight into a pot growing operation while caching. The darn cache was within 100 feet of the "gardener's camp." I looked up and saw this large and dirty guy giving me the "evil eye." I just turned around and got the heck out of there. I called the police and they said the property was privately owned and the owner would need to call. I called the owner of the land, the Milwaukee School District, and was told they didn't want to get involved. The pot growing operation was within 200 feet of the District Office and within 300 feet of a school playground. Go figure!!

 

On another excursion, a strung-out junkie came after me. Luckily, I made it to the relative safety of my car only seconds before the junkie got to me.

 

I've run across two large porn stashes in remote sections of urban parks. The police officers, to whom I turned in the porn, thought it stranger that I found the porn than the fact it was there in the first place.

 

Then there was the time I walked straight past the HOT, young, topless female sunbather. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that caching experience. I wouldn't mind running across this type of weirdo again.

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There was the guy sitting on a rock near the "First Creek Falls" cache outside Las Vegas, when my sister and I came by.

 

We *think* he was practicing burro calls, or something like that.

 

We took a different path back.

Oops! ....sorry to have spooked you! I was emitting that auditory call so that my alien friends in the flying saucer could home in on me; they were due to pick me up for a quick joyride.

sorry...

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There was the guy sitting on a rock near the "First Creek Falls" cache outside Las Vegas, when my sister and I came by.

 

We *think* he was practicing burro calls, or something like that.

 

We took a different path back.

Oops! ....sorry to have spooked you! I was emitting that auditory call so that my alien friends in the flying saucer could home in on me; they were due to pick me up for a quick joyride.

sorry...

 

Oh, that explains why my Coke was flat when I got back to the car... it was the aliens!

 

I THOUGHT he looked familiar!

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I hate to say it, but I have to agree with the few that carry gun permits. It's just become that type of world where you need to protect yourself in isolated places. Too many stories of hikers/backpackers getting killed while out in the woods. Mind you, I'd probably would have still just left the area also. But, just in case, it's always nice to have a firearm with you.

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1) taking a pic could get you persued, so maybe not best idea.

 

2) get out cell phone, act like you are talking to someone- and ignore pervert or call police, BUT---do this as long as there is a fair amount of distance between you. Perv will most likely flee from a phone rather than try to stop a call, vs camera pics.

 

3) keep pepper spray handy (and learn how to use it!!!!) local PD might even have classes. (buy 2 or more, use one for practice, ask a few friends over and all of you can familiarize with its use, AND see what effects are... it does suck, but once you know what it is like you will know its limits and what to expect. It wont kill you so just buck up and take it)

 

4) maintain a good distance between you and perv.

 

5) make a noticable reaction (of embarassment)..." tehehee" "OMG giggle giggle" fain blushing, NOT "ooooooh-ahhhhh" LOL but not in a "come-hither way" and move off.

 

6) point and say "awww how cute, its like a p__nis, only smaller"

 

ok #6 maybe be picking the fight but it is still funny.

 

But as the OP mentioned, YES give someone and idea of where you are going to be. OR --- text it to a few people, your own e-mail address, you can set it up where ICE (in case of emergency) others can look at e-mail account and see if there is a recent addition.

 

as for firearms--- OP, myself, and a few others live in NJ where only the criminals can CCW. (but I will NOT get into that )

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I've also walked straight into a pot growing operation while caching. The darn cache was within 100 feet of the "gardener's camp." I looked up and saw this large and dirty guy giving me the "evil eye." I just turned around and got the heck out of there. I called the police and they said the property was privately owned and the owner would need to call. I called the owner of the land, the Milwaukee School District, and was told they didn't want to get involved. The pot growing operation was within 200 feet of the District Office and within 300 feet of a school playground. Go figure!!

So, according to the Milwaukee police, you can grow pot on your own privately-owned property and get away with it as long as you (as the property owner) don't complain about yourself? :unsure:
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1) taking a pic could get you persued, so maybe not best idea.

 

2) get out cell phone, act like you are talking to someone- and ignore pervert or call police, BUT---do this as long as there is a fair amount of distance between you. Perv will most likely flee from a phone rather than try to stop a call, vs camera pics.

 

3) keep pepper spray handy (and learn how to use it!!!!) local PD might even have classes. (buy 2 or more, use one for practice, ask a few friends over and all of you can familiarize with its use, AND see what effects are... it does suck, but once you know what it is like you will know its limits and what to expect. It wont kill you so just buck up and take it)

 

4) maintain a good distance between you and perv.

 

5) make a noticable reaction (of embarassment)..." tehehee" "OMG giggle giggle" fain blushing, NOT "ooooooh-ahhhhh" LOL but not in a "come-hither way" and move off.

 

6) point and say "awww how cute, its like a p__nis, only smaller"

 

ok #6 maybe be picking the fight but it is still funny.

 

But as the OP mentioned, YES give someone and idea of where you are going to be. OR --- text it to a few people, your own e-mail address, you can set it up where ICE (in case of emergency) others can look at e-mail account and see if there is a recent addition.

 

as for firearms--- OP, myself, and a few others live in NJ where only the criminals can CCW. (but I will NOT get into that )

In the early 1990s, my first wife Lisa and I were in grad school in Western PA. Lisa was a runner and worked out a lot; she was quite athletic and was able to take care of herself. One night, we went out for a dinner at an Italian restaurant at the far end of our university town (Indiana, PA). We both ate way too much, and so, Lisa told me she wanted to walk home (it was about a 1.5 mile walk through an area filled with frat houses and sorority houses and small businesses; a walk we had both done may times before at night) to get her blood moving again after eating too much food, and asked if I would mind driving the car home. So, I drove the car home, and about a half-hour later, Lisa arrived home, grinning broadly. Much as was recounted in #6 above, as she passed an alleyway just past the grad school HQ building and between two frat houses, there was a college-aged boy wearing nothing but a trenchcoat, posing and trying to get her attention. Lisa reported that she looked at him closely and then burst out laughing, telling him in a loud voice that it was the tiniest thing she had ever seen! She said that the guy turned and ran, crying!

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Then there was the time I walked straight past the HOT, young, topless female sunbather. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that caching experience. I wouldn't mind running across this type of weirdo again.

 

And people say there is no difference between men and women :blink: A female is naked in the woods, GREAT caching experience... A male naked in the woods, get out the pepper spray :unsure:

 

I demand equality!!! I wonder who the police would arrest if you pepper sprayed the HOT, young, topless female sunbather? :blink:

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Nothing helps the police make a case better than a digital picture and a witness.

 

I had my camera with me, but I just wanted to get out of there. If he saw that I took a picture of him, he'd possibly have reason to come after me and I was alone.

You do realize that with his pants down around his knees (or lower), he's going to take a moment or two to get ...rearranged... for pursuit. :unsure:

Not that I'm condoning unsafe action; I'm just sayin'...

 

...A female is naked in the woods, GREAT caching experience... .

Not always, my friend, not always. I've seen some pretty scary women out there in my day.

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Thinking more on this post it seems to me that most times I have prolly come off as the weirdo to various people that have seen me lurking around... having had long hair and a scruffy look in the past,, it seems that no one in todays world likes to see anyone stepping out of the norm... seems to make them nervous... i know a couple of people that have carry permits here in Tn where i live, they unlike me choose to open carry, but have purchased badges that say handgun carry permit that they wear on their belt next to their gun... seems to ease people at a glance to see the badge next to the gun... cant see what it says unless your close, but would be nice to have a forestry dep, ranger, or city works hat, sometimes while geocaching :unsure::blink: :blink: might ease some harsh or suspicious looks ..... ;)

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And people say there is no difference between men and women ;) A female is naked in the woods, GREAT caching experience... A male naked in the woods, get out the pepper spray :blink:

 

I demand equality!!! I wonder who the police would arrest if you pepper sprayed the HOT, young, topless female sunbather? :blink:

It is a really valid point, in jest or not.... We live in such a weird society.

 

:unsure:

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Nothing helps the police make a case better than a digital picture and a witness.

 

I had my camera with me, but I just wanted to get out of there. If he saw that I took a picture of him, he'd possibly have reason to come after me and I was alone.

You do realize that with his pants down around his knees (or lower), he's going to take a moment or two to get ...rearranged... for pursuit. :unsure:

Not that I'm condoning unsafe action; I'm just sayin'...

 

...A female is naked in the woods, GREAT caching experience... .

Not always, my friend, not always. I've seen some pretty scary women out there in my day.

 

Note how I included the word HOT!! Then again, hot is rather subjective and what I consider HOT may be scary to some.

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I've also walked straight into a pot growing operation while caching. The darn cache was within 100 feet of the "gardener's camp." I looked up and saw this large and dirty guy giving me the "evil eye." I just turned around and got the heck out of there. I called the police and they said the property was privately owned and the owner would need to call. I called the owner of the land, the Milwaukee School District, and was told they didn't want to get involved. The pot growing operation was within 200 feet of the District Office and within 300 feet of a school playground. Go figure!!

So, according to the Milwaukee police, you can grow pot on your own privately-owned property and get away with it as long as you (as the property owner) don't complain about yourself? :unsure:

 

I never said it made any sense.

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Yes, it is much safer to stay at home and watch t.v. Nothing makes me feel more safe out in the woods alone than a concealed carry permit and a nice heavy fanny pack. "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller, The Open Door (1957)

I wish someone would convince our bleeding heart, far left governor of that. Every time a carry law comes up he vetoes it and the Democrats wont help the Republicans that bring the bill up override his veto.

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Yes, it is much safer to stay at home and watch t.v. Nothing makes me feel more safe out in the woods alone than a concealed carry permit and a nice heavy fanny pack. "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller, The Open Door (1957)

I wish someone would convince our bleeding heart, far left governor of that. Every time a carry law comes up he vetoes it and the Democrats wont help the Republicans that bring the bill up override his veto.

Over thirty thousand lines of gun control law, yet crime rates involving firearms don't go down.... If everybody carried, there'd be a lot less. Look at the Isreali/Palistinian shooting a couple weeks ago, the news actually reported that it would have been a wholesale slaughter of the Jewish students, if not for several of them carrying and returning fire on their assailants. I'm not a real big NRA guy or extremist, I just wonder how different VTech would have been had someone in class had a CWP. (sorry to drift off topic)

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Here is a log from one of our local caches:

 

"I was happily walking up the trail and was about 400 feet from the cache, when I saw this guy ahead of me. He was fairly tall, slim, probably in his late 60's, and was wearing a faded green jacket. The first weird thing I noticed was that he had his right hand splayed on the back of his head, thumb on his neck, little finger on the top of his head. Ummmm...ok. And he was hiking with his hand there. I though he must have hurt himself. As I got closer he started looking back at me suspiously, but kept walking. When I rounded the corner, I said "Are you ok?" ....."Are YOU ok?", he retorted. We then had a strange staring match for a couple seconds, at which point I sheepishly smiled and said, "I thought maybe you were hurt, because you had your hand that way." So he says, "You're one of those *#^*$% meatheads that's been chasing me, aren't you?" "No", I said, "I'm just....hiking." "No, you ARE one of those ^&%#&%$# #&*$^#&$&*^ $&*^#*$@&^; well, if you're hiking, keep on hiking.", he said, gesturing sarcastically up the trail. I decided this was a potentially dangerous situation, and turned around and headed back down to the road. "I'm not chasing you, man" I said as he continued to mutter swear words and stuff apparently aimed at whomever he thought was chasing him. I did not like having to have my back to him as I left, thinking any moment he might pull a gun or knife. But he didn't, just kept going up the trail after a while. I won't forget that paranoid angry stare that guy gave me. Either he had mental issues, or he was a convict who was trying to keep away from the law, and my bike helmet, all-black outfit, and GPSr spooked him. I feel pity for such a person, anyhow. *** I don't recommend anyone try to hike up Bear Hill today until this guy is out of the area. A friend did phone the police and as I waited at the Sayward bus stop, I saw two police cars turn up Sayward Road together toward Bear Hill. *** "

Edited by Huntcliff
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Then there was the time I walked straight past the HOT, young, topless female sunbather. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that caching experience. I wouldn't mind running across this type of weirdo again.

 

Resisting the temptation to "stop and chat" and then become someone else's weirdo creep story is very commendable in this situation. I know I would have done the same thing (walked on by) but at the same time admit how difficult it would be to do that.

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