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Stealth or Just Go For It?


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We geocache with people who have very different approaches to finding caches in muggle rich areas --

 

Stealth People -- who will spend considerable time figuring out how to get the cache, sign the log and return it w/o being seen, and sometimes even come back at a different time to avoid muggles

 

Go For It People -- whose general attitude is 'heck, if they put the cache in a place where there are muggles, it is their problem if it gets muggled'

 

The second type just charges in and finds the cache and ignores whether or not there are people nearby. Because we sometimes cache in groups, we have been involved in both approaches. The interesting thing is that I will usually watchlist caches where we and others use the Go For It method, and I have yet to see one get muggled after the visit.

 

What are you?

 

a. A Slealth Person

b. A Go For It Person

 

And, what are your thoughts on these two very different approaches (typically aimed at urban micros)?

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I think that anyone who is a 'go for it person' whos attitude is 'heck, if they put the cache in a place where there are muggles, it is their problem if it gets muggled' is being disrespectful to the cache owner and future cachers who would enjoy that cache.

 

I am a 'stealth person'. I believe that every cache placed is a gift and I make an effort not to ruin that gift for the next person.

 

I recognize that many people claim to not use stealth because they believe that it tends to cause more people to notice them. Instead they make the nonchalant find. I believe that these people are actually employing a type of stealth, since they typically would still time their find and make the grab in such a way as to not cause people to take notice.

Edited by sbell111
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I am a "Go For It" person.

 

Certainly I have not noticed caches where I "just go for it" getting muggled any more frequently than other caches. I also believe someone who tries to employ stealth tactics tends to look more suspicious than someone who looks and acts like they know exactly what they are doing.

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My son and I always use stealth when finding local caches, because we always can come back another time if there are people around when we reach the site. If we are doing a park and grab micro that is far from home, we first attempt to use 'stealth' but have sometimes just gone for it. We never 'just go for it' if it is a cache with travel bugs or coins and there are muggles around.

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I'm more of a stealth person.

I do agree that sneaking around draws more attention, but if there are muggles about - I just walk on by and check back later.

I don't agree with the 'heck, if they put the cache in a place where there are muggles, it is their problem if it gets muggled' attitude, because I'd assume that having to be stealthy was probably intended to be part of the fun.

 

It also depends on the muggles in question.

If it's in an area where muggles are sitting around, having a picnic etc - I'll come back.

If they're just driving or walking briskly by - I might go for it.

It all depends.

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If the muggles are teens or children without supervision, then we tend to leave without the find.

If the muggles are grownups, or supervised children, we usually move forward and make the grab.

If the muggles are looking like they need answers, we approach them and hand them a phamplet describing the sport/hobby/obsession.

We also watch those caches where we've made a mistake (didn't notice the guy watching from afar), and those caches seem to have survived.

However, we have seen caches removed by property owners, and business owners, after being spotted.

We have been asked to remove caches too (and we happily do).

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I recognize that many people claim to not use stealth because they believe that it tends to cause more people to notice them. Instead they make the nonchalant find. I believe that these people are actually employing a type of stealth, since they typically would still time their find and make the grab in such a way as to not cause people to take notice.

 

That is me to a T. But if it is super-obvious that you will be seen (like the cache we posted a DNF for this Sunday but went back to yesterday evening) I will not try. Unfortunately, my kids are too much "go for it" [:lol:].

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I'm of the group Sbell111 loathes. I rarely look for highly conspicuous caches, but when I do, often "go for it." Most people could care less what your doing, especially when you act like you have a purpose being there. Trying to hide in the shadows always looks suspicious. If cachers like to place caches in high visibility spots, using cheap micro containers, I suspect many of them already know the potential for the cache to disappear.

 

If a property owner confronts me, i'll tell them exactly what i'm doing. If they want the cache removed, then it is the fault of the cache placer for not acquiring adequate permission first. :lol:

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I live in the mountains where many caches are in "the outdoors" vs in a city setting so I carry a trash bag and pick up trash as I go. It's a good cover when I need to look around a bush or the like. Also its nice to keep our earth and great outdoors clean. Sometimes I'll pick up a rock or pebble and examine it when someone approaches - lots of people collect stones so it's not an unusual thing to do.

 

I agree that the stealth stuff is part of the adventure and use it when in town or city settings. You can always stand there looking at your cell phone but really be looking around...things like that. Someone told me they put their gps to their ear when someone approaches making it look like they are talking on their cell. My pat answer if I get asked what I'm doing is "I'm surveying" - no one has questioned that since they have no idea it's a gps vs some kind of metering device.

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We tend to be more "nonchalant". We find that we get less stares if we talk like we have a reason for being there - almost like we're looking for something we may have dropped. If it seems that some one is overly interested in looking at us, trying to figure out what it is that we're up to, we find a PDA (Public Display of Affection) tends to deflect attention! :lol:

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We tend to be more "nonchalant". We find that we get less stares if we talk like we have a reason for being there - almost like we're looking for something we may have dropped. If it seems that some one is overly interested in looking at us, trying to figure out what it is that we're up to, we find a PDA (Public Display of Affection) tends to deflect attention! :lol:

 

Yep, the good old 'pretending to tie shoes,' 'pretending to get a paper out of the box,' 'pretending to drop the quarter on the ground to look under the box' work real well. With lamp skirts, we just go for it -- and when we hide this kind, we use magnetic containers so if a muggle does walk over later and lift, they will see nothing. :)

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My answer is.....C. Don't hunt for caches in high muggle areas.

 

Oh. That wasn't a choice was it. :lol:

 

One day it dawned on me that I don't HAVE to look for any cache I don't like. And I hate caches hidden in high-muggle traffic areas. I feel conspicuous and awkward. In my OPINION, I don't see putting a cache in a very public area as making it difficult or challenging. Sure, I can act "nonchalant" up to a point but when I have an audience of 10 in the Starbucks outdoor cafe watching me poke in little bushes a scant 30 feet away...that creeps me out. And I'm not going to stay out 'til midnite waiting for people to leave so I can snag a dang micro (yeah, I know...I'm not "hardcore"). IF I'm in the area and IF it just happens to be reasonably clear of muggles, I'll go for it. But no more feeling guilty that I'm calling attention to a cache in a public area, no more feeling miserable and uncomfortable. Geocaching is supposed to be fun...so if it's fun...I'll go for it! If its always scads of people around, its off my list. So far, I have only had this experience with micros placed around bars and restaurants. (That's not to say I haven't ever done high-muggle caches...I've been known to wallow on the floor of the porch at Cracker Barrell in the middle of a crowded rummage sale.)

 

If I can use reasonable stealth or blatant balls...I'll go for it. In a few cases where I have been observed by individuals, I've explained what I was doing and the muggles were cool about it.

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It depends on the situation. I've retrieved a cache in the middle of a huge crowd of people and I'm reasonably positive no one noticed or cared (the cache was still there weeks later). But I've also backed away from plenty of caches where I know I would have been seen and noticed. The difference? The huge crowd was watching a softball game and not paying attention to me. The others featured someone or several someones looking in the area of the cache. One cache was behind a hotel and a couple of guys were sitting on the balcony drinking beers. They WOULD have noticed me and probably stolen the ammo can later. Another is at a local truck stop where dozens of trucks were lined up with the drivers staring at the cache location.

 

But as KF said, if you act like you know what you're doing then in most situations no one will notice you. The parking lot of a 24-hr WalMart is NEVER empty, so grabbing yet another 1/1 film can under a bolt shroud is impossible if you wait on everyone to leave. But if you just pull up, grab it, sign it, and leave, then no one will notice.

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My pat answer if I get asked what I'm doing is "I'm surveying" - no one has questioned that since they have no idea it's a gps vs some kind of metering device.

 

Always a good method. Especially when I cache after work and I am wandering around in my work shirt for a known local surveying company. People rarely question it. Especially if I add a tape measure to the look =P

 

Though people have very little idea about surveyors anyway. I have lost count of how many people have asked me whether I am 'taking photos' using the theodolite in the last six months.

Edited by Gwennie1984
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I pick C) Go for it stealthily. :lol:

 

I think about the situation and I employ a lot of the logic V_K does.

 

I avoid looking suspicious and if I'm going to look suspicious, I'll give it a pass. Often, just thinking through the correct approach to grabbing and rehiding will make going for it an option.

 

If the muggles are teens or children without supervision, then we tend to leave without the find.

If the muggles are grownups, or supervised children, we usually move forward and make the grab.

If the muggles are looking like they need answers, we approach them and hand them a phamplet describing the sport/hobby/obsession.

We also watch those caches where we've made a mistake (didn't notice the guy watching from afar), and those caches seem to have survived.

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I fall somewhere in between. I don't purposely try to draw attention to myself and would never say, "it is their problem if it gets muggled," but at the same time, if there's people around, I'm still going to look for it. I just act like I belong and try to do it quietly to minimize any attention being drawn to myself.

 

When we first started caching, if our son found it, he would get really excited and yell out "FOUND IT!!" causing everyone to look over at us.

 

Now, he comes up and whispers, "Dad, it's over here..."

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I say go for it, maybe if you REALLY think whoever is watching you is going steal the cache if they see you touch it, then just see it and don't sign, leave it there, tell the C.O. what happened and that you didn't sign so that you wouldn't bring attention to the container and tell him what it was? just an idea.

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Personally, it depends on what is going on in the area. There have been pleanty of times in which trying to be stealthy draws a whole lot more attention then just going for the cache.

 

I have been both

-Go and Get It

-Be Sneaky About It

 

...but I have never been among the mindset that..."They put it there, so it is there problem if it is muggled"...I have only be caught by a muggle twice with a cache in-hand...both times it was a Law-Enforcement Officer...those guys can be just as sneaky as us!!!

 

One just has to trust their instinct about what is best for finding the cache at that particular moment...more often then not...when with a group we use a third method...a sub-group acts as a distraction in the area to let others in the group grab the cache without being noticed...we all sign the log and then get the distraction going again in order to replace the cache as found...sometimes a find is a real team effort :mad:

 

Edit: Personally, I have found that if you just go about your business and act like you know what you are doing (and be confident in what you are doing), no one is going to care. There have been pleanty of times where I know people have seen me near a cache but didn't really care what I was doing becuase I didn't bring undue attention to myself...they moved on with their business, I moved on with mine.

Edited by ArcherDragoon
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We use the stealth, but only to a point. We won't just go for a cache if in doing so it will give the location away.

 

Myself I try hard to keep my hides as fun as possible. I generally spend a good amount of time on the hiding spot and the area and container.

So to have someone that doesn't care if it gets muggle, I do have issues with it.

 

But there are those only in this for the numbers and once they grab it, it no longer matters to them! Its called SELFISH, we have many childlikes in this sport.

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Most of the time I really don't use any type of stealth until I figure out where the cache is.

 

But when retrieving it and hiding it back, I always use stealth, as you really should not be seen doing either, as that will usually cause the cache to be muggled or called in as suspicious.

 

I don't mind looking like an idiot while searching, but if someone notices "the idiot" leaving something behind they always will investigate.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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