dawg407 Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 (edited) So I am relatively new to caching. My girlfriend and I decided to go night caching last night, which ended horribly. We found the first cache easily, then went onto the next one. We found the recommended parking, and headed for the cache. This is supposed to be a good one with solid treasures. Anyway we set out, and get a little turned around due to gps bounce, so we decide to head back to the car and do this one during the daytime. As we head back, we are in some woods, but are skirting some ones backyard. As we head around the house, a man comes out and begins to yell at us, and ask for our names. We tell him that we mean no harm and are leaving, and didn't mean to be by his property. He continues to yell at us, and ask for our names. I make something up and he says he is going to call the cops. My girlfriend says go ahead, knowing we would be gone before they arrived. We get to the street and start to head down the road to the park, where our car is parked. the man comes out, and tries to grab me, and my gps unit. I pull away and tell him to get off of me, that i'm just trying to go home. He tries to hit me then pushes and goes after my girlfriend. He grabs her and starts trying to wrestle her to the ground. I get him off her, push him into a fence and pull her behind me. He comes toward me and I tell him i'm trying to leave, and don't want to fight him. I'm pissed right now cause he attacked my girl, but i still just want to leave. He attacks and scratches my face (found this out later), i push him off, and tell him if he comes towards me again i'm gonna [mess] him up. Now this guy seems to be about 50 (i'm 26) and honestly i'm a lover not a fighter, so I'm trying to leave without crushing this guy, and my girl just wants to go. He comes at me again, and I hit him in the jaw with a right, then a left to the gut, and finally another right to the side of the head, and dropped him. I am still so pissed that he would attack my girl. What [deleted] is wrong with people? What do y'all think? -angry Edited April 16, 2008 by Keystone Quote
Keystone Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 I appreciate that you're upset. Normally, geocaching is not a contact sport. You do need to express yourself using language that is family-friendly. Don't rely on the forum's automatic censor to remove the potty mouth words. Instead, don't use them in the first place. I've edited your post. Quote
+zazth Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Sounds like an unpleasant way to spend your evening. Not sure what the fellows motivation was in trying to detain you. I have to wonder what the laws in your area are for being in parks after dark. I know in VA this is a no no. Night caching can be a lot of fun but choose your caches wisely. If it is not recommended for night caching or available 24/7, it probably will not be a good idea to pursue after dark. In the daytime you probably could have avoided the whole altercation and found the cache safely. I'm not defending the guy for his aggressive behavior toward you or your companion, or for that matter, your response to him. Better luck next time. Quote
+PrincessBTigress Posted April 16, 2008 Posted April 16, 2008 Ek! Well at least your caching is most likely going to get better after that night! I could understand him being worried about you near his property. In instances like that I've stepped outside and stared at the person and or took pictures of them if they are repeat offenders. If the person is just passing by then being stared at is enough to scare them off, if they are up to something then the camera makes them dissapear fast. If someone actually enters my property I'll go outside and (keeping my distance for my own safety) ask "May I help you" and let them know it's private property and they need to leave or I will call the cops. Personally the instant he came after you I would have whipped out my cell phone and dialed 911, you are the one who has reason to call the cops. If there are not any "no trespassing" signs then you would likely get no more than a verbal reprimand for "lurking" around someones house at night. But he assulted you and your girl (facial scratches are perfect proof). State on the log for the cache that future cachers need to be weary of nearby angry neighbors, otherwise just know that you can mainly only go up from here! Quote
+WookieTravs Posted April 17, 2008 Posted April 17, 2008 I am really sorry this happened to you. I agree with PrincessB - as I was reading your story I kept saying (to myself) "CALL 911!" Are you ok? How about your girlfriend? Quote
+weathernowcast Posted April 17, 2008 Posted April 17, 2008 So I am relatively new to caching. My girlfriend and I decided to go night caching last night, which ended horribly. We found the first cache easily, then went onto the next one. We found the recommended parking, and headed for the cache. This is supposed to be a good one with solid treasures. Anyway we set out, and get a little turned around due to gps bounce, so we decide to head back to the car and do this one during the daytime. As we head back, we are in some woods, but are skirting some ones backyard. As we head around the house, a man comes out and begins to yell at us, and ask for our names. We tell him that we mean no harm and are leaving, and didn't mean to be by his property. He continues to yell at us, and ask for our names. I make something up and he says he is going to call the cops. My girlfriend says go ahead, knowing we would be gone before they arrived. We get to the street and start to head down the road to the park, where our car is parked. the man comes out, and tries to grab me, and my gps unit. I pull away and tell him to get off of me, that i'm just trying to go home. He tries to hit me then pushes and goes after my girlfriend. He grabs her and starts trying to wrestle her to the ground. I get him off her, push him into a fence and pull her behind me. He comes toward me and I tell him i'm trying to leave, and don't want to fight him. I'm pissed right now cause he attacked my girl, but i still just want to leave. He attacks and scratches my face (found this out later), i push him off, and tell him if he comes towards me again i'm gonna [mess] him up. Now this guy seems to be about 50 (i'm 26) and honestly i'm a lover not a fighter, so I'm trying to leave without crushing this guy, and my girl just wants to go. He comes at me again, and I hit him in the jaw with a right, then a left to the gut, and finally another right to the side of the head, and dropped him. I am still so pissed that he would attack my girl. What [deleted] is wrong with people? What do y'all think? -angry Sorry you had so much trouble. I have never had any problem geocaching. I have met and talked to over 50 people in the field and have never had any issues with the people I have met. Quote
+Sioneva Posted April 18, 2008 Posted April 18, 2008 I usually cache alone... and I rarely cache at night. And NEVER alone, unless it's to a micro in a city park. The possibility of situations like this would be a good reason why. I'm just glad you were able to protect yourself and your girlfriend! Quote
+MountainRacer Posted April 18, 2008 Posted April 18, 2008 Yikes! I'm not going to say that caching at night in the woods is an altogether good idea, nor is skirting someone's backyard at a time like that, but that guy had no right at all to do anything beyond shout, question, or call the police if he was that concerned and you were retreating. It sounds like a terrible thing to say, but sometimes people like that need a good sock in the jaw when they get that seriously out-of-line. In retreating and fighting back only when attacked, you did do the right thing. To echo everyone else in the thread, that's a one-in-a-million bad luck experience that I really hope doesn't put you off caching. Next time, though, you should consider somewhere with pavement and bright streetlights if you really want to go searching at night. Quote
+Kit Fox Posted April 18, 2008 Posted April 18, 2008 Take this post as constructive criticism, not a personal attack. By no means am I justifying the outrageous behavior of the landowner, but I think you have yourself to blame too. If you aren't very skilled at navigating at night time, in unfamiliar terrain, perhaps you shouldn't be hunting at night. Blaming your navigational mistake on "GPS Bounce," is the easy way out. From your description, it sounds like you got lost, and blamed it on your GPS. Is their more to the story as to why the landowner was so aggresive at trying to detain you? Quote
+broccili Posted April 18, 2008 Posted April 18, 2008 How about this for an equation? Try to think like the guy who owns the house. Assume our geocacher wasn't really off too much from his mark - albeit not direct on track. But close enough. For some reason, at all hours of the day... there are all these people bouncing around on or near his property. And he doesn't know why. They all seem to be carrying electronics. They seem to be in and out rather quickly. Always seem to be 'trying' to be stealthy, unseen. Not defending him... but if he has even a slight amount of paranoia in his noggin... this scenario should put nearly anyone over the edge. Sorry to hear about such a negative event. Someone stated earlier -- your future cache finding can only get better! Quote
+dardevle Posted April 18, 2008 Posted April 18, 2008 I can not say I've ever had a bad experience geocaching. Although miday of a all day cache run I decided that I did not need to find a bridge to cross a creek and instead waded through it. I was wet for the rest of the day. But it was still a great time. Quote
dawg407 Posted April 18, 2008 Author Posted April 18, 2008 I am really sorry this happened to you. I agree with PrincessB - as I was reading your story I kept saying (to myself) "CALL 911!" Are you ok? How about your girlfriend? I am fine, i just have a couple scratches on my face. No big deal. My girlfriend is completely fine, she was uninjured and was just surprised, and shaken up a bit. Honestly, i had no time to call the police, it all happened very quickly, and I just had to react. He deserved exactly what i gave him. Kit Fox: I was not lost at all for that cache and was not experiencing "gps bounce" (that was the previous cache) Honestly i don't even know what "gps bounce" is. Sorry i reread my post and I combined the previous cache with the one i was explaining. There is no more to the story of why he attacked us - we really have no idea. This has not stopped me from caching, but i think i will stick to the day time, and only night cache if i'm out camping, maybe.. All in all, everything is ok. Quote
dawg407 Posted April 18, 2008 Author Posted April 18, 2008 I am really sorry this happened to you. I agree with PrincessB - as I was reading your story I kept saying (to myself) "CALL 911!" Are you ok? How about your girlfriend? I am fine, i just have a couple scratches on my face. No big deal. My girlfriend is completely fine, she was uninjured and was just surprised, and shaken up a bit. Honestly, i had no time to call the police, it all happened very quickly, and I just had to react. He deserved exactly what i gave him. Kit Fox: I was not lost at all for that cache and was not experiencing "gps bounce" (that was the previous cache) Honestly i don't even know what "gps bounce" is. Sorry i reread my post and I combined the previous cache with the one i was explaining. There is no more to the story of why he attacked us - we really have no idea. This has not stopped me from caching, but i think i will stick to the day time, and only night cache if i'm out camping, maybe.. All in all, everything is ok. Quote
+Renegade Knight Posted April 22, 2008 Posted April 22, 2008 ...What do y'all think? Report it to the police. They need to know that there is a wack job out there, plus if he reports you, it would not hurt that you already are on file claiming self defence. Next let the cache owner know. They need to re-evaluate the cache given the wack job in the area. Quote
monkeykat Posted April 22, 2008 Posted April 22, 2008 Got peed on and to top it, DNFed it Ohh, that's pretty bad. Thanks for the culture lesson too! Quote
+qlenfg Posted April 23, 2008 Posted April 23, 2008 Got peed on and to top it, DNFed it Ohh, that's pretty bad. Thanks for the culture lesson too! Were they wearing Burberry? When I was over in London I kept seeing adverts for clubs that had dress codes. I kept seeing 'no trainers' and assumed they meant jogging suits, as I have seen clubs in the U.S. list this as a no-no. It wasn't until later I realized they meant sneakers. Should have tried to get in with my motorcycle jacket and boots! Quote
+joranda Posted April 24, 2008 Posted April 24, 2008 I don't think I would of even posted this here. I mean, you was on his property and it was after dark. What would you do if you found people on your property late at night. Maybe he has had problems in the past. You said that she told him to call the cops, maybe he read more into it. Maybe more was said that wasn't posted that made him mad. Quote
+TakeTheLongWay Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 I don't think I would of even posted this here. I mean, you was on his property and it was after dark. What would you do if you found people on your property late at night. I surely wouldn't leave the safety of my house and run after them. Thats just asking for trouble, especially if they where chasing someone with a more malicious intent then finding an ammo box in the woods. Quote
+Sioneva Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 I don't think I would of even posted this here. I mean, you was on his property and it was after dark. What would you do if you found people on your property late at night. Maybe he has had problems in the past. You said that she told him to call the cops, maybe he read more into it. Maybe more was said that wasn't posted that made him mad. Nothing justifies what reads to me as attempted rape. I don't care where they were or what they said. Quote
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