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Caches in cachers' yards


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How do you feel about caches that are hidden right at the hider's house? Personally, I don't care for them. I feel weird poking around someone's yard, even though I know that I have permission to be there and that the owner in fact wanted to bring cachers there. And I'm pretty shy and get nervous about the fact that the owner might -gasp!- come out and talk to me. Am I in the minority? Are all the other cachers out there social butterflies who are all gung-ho about finding a cache that will put them right in the owner's face, or are there others who feel the same way I do?

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I don't have a problem with it as long as it's clear in the description that it's supposed to be in someone's yard and I have full permission to be there. I'd also be more comfortable if lots of folks have already found it so I'm confident that the coords are right.

 

The risk of being seen by another cacher or talked to by the owner doesn't bother me. If I'm in a hurry I'll be polite and shake their hand and talk for a few minutes, that's no big deal.

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If it's a large property I don't mind it at all and actually feel better that the location is secure for the cache to be placed.

 

If it's in the front yard of a place right outside some window like I'm being baited for some creepy person to be sitting there getting kicks watching me look for stuff, maybe not so much. :yikes:

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We've done one like this, but it was very uncomfortable until we actually found the cache. The description told us it was in their yard, but they described the property as having a cement drive. Well, both houses either side had cement drives and fences that could match the description on the cache page. To top it off, we were in a "foriegn" :yikes: country. We are from Canada and were in the States for some caching.

 

We probably won't do another like that unless the destription is such that there is no doubt!

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BC & Miss Kitty

 

We love Canadians who visit AZ so feel free to come down and poke anywhere there is a cache. If the person cached in their yard, then they know what they are getting themselves into. I visited one who was a shut in and the cache was an oportunity to see friendly faces. She had a lot of information about the local area so the 10 minutes I spent making her day, made mine.

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Hey Happy Bubbles. I'm glad to see I'm not all alone with my social phobias. I really have enjoyed it when I've met other cachers while out trying to locate a cache. However, I've done a couple that were on private property in town and was super uncomfortable with it, and will probably not do anymore of them. For my personal comfort level a chance meeting in the field is a great experience, but a "forced" one at a cache in somebody's yard is way out of my comfort zone. Another social phobia for me would be going to a small event where I would feel forced to socialize. On the other hand I'm hoping to go to Geowoodstock VII in May and anticipate loving that since there I will be able to get lost in the crowd and not feel obligated to "socialize." Also, to find a cache in the hiders front yard in town makes me worried that I'll be observed and possibly be the cause of the cache becoming muggled. I realize everybody has their own unique ideas of how to play the game and I respect others right to do what they feel they need to do, however I'm so glad I've now come to accept that I am under no obligation to find every single cache in the area. Now, I can relax and just go for the caches I enjoy which I should have been doing from day one. So the bottom line is only do what makes you happy since you are not in a competition. You are the only person who knows what is best for you. Happy caching!!!! :yikes:

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How do you feel about caches that are hidden right at the hider's house? Personally, I don't care for them. I feel weird poking around someone's yard, even though I know that I have permission to be there and that the owner in fact wanted to bring cachers there. And I'm pretty shy and get nervous about the fact that the owner might -gasp!- come out and talk to me. Am I in the minority? Are all the other cachers out there social butterflies who are all gung-ho about finding a cache that will put them right in the owner's face, or are there others who feel the same way I do?

 

Personally I think they are nice. We have a local geocacher and good friend that has a very kid-oriented cache in his yard. I'll go into someone's yard any day with our grand kids rather than find another dumb lamp post micro. The only thing better than a cacher placing a traditional cache in his/her yard, would be if it was an Earthcache! Unfortunately, very few yards would qualify. :yikes:

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My son placed one in my Mom's yard, right by the curb (so folks don't have to go traipsing through her yard). It was his way of including her in something he loved, and sharing her with his caching friends. She has absolutely loved it, and there have been some great logs too! She doesn't spy, but she'll often be working in the yard and has bumped into a few. A woman and her little boys got to play with Mom's dogs, and another couple scored some Christmas cookies when Mom baked too many (they even came back the next day to ask for the recipe!). She had one guy come up to her while she was in the side yard (she hadn't noticed him at the cache) and help her roll up a hose that she was struggling with.

 

When she logs on in the morning, the first thing she checks is to see if anyone found it. We do remind her that some folks just aren't comfortable with yard caches, and she understands. But everyone seems to really enjoy "her" cache, and I know it makes her day.

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I've recently done two front yard caches and it was s good chance to meet the owners and have a brief chat. Both caches have had plenty of find logs over the years, the location was clearly described, both had open invitations to meet the owners if they were home and to discover their vehicle travel bugs, and one cache even had contact information if you were still uncomfortable.

 

So I knew what I was getting into when I went to find them and my expectations were met.

 

If you don't like them put them on your ignore list and move on.

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We have one and we've met some nice cachers that way. But if someone doesn't come to the front door or hollar from the backyard, we'll never know they were there. So the social aspect is entirely at their discretion. Very rarely have I actually noticed someone out there and I feel happy that someone's finding it, but I go about my business. If they want to meet us, they'll knock on the door or shout.

 

The only thing restriction I have is No Night Caching. I think that's pretty reasonable.

 

Backyard Caches are safe places to dock a TB or a coin and if you think your traveller is sitting too long, you can let the CO know and they can very easily move it when they go caching.

 

I know of two other backyard caches (one near and one far) and we'll do both at some point.

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I've skipped several, and am ignoring a micro in a suburban neighborhood that's only about 2 miles from my home coords. On the other hand, I'll bet I've found 15 or so that I deemed safe and obvious.

 

Myself and another cacher did end up in the wrong yard once at a semi-rural one (bad coords), but we didn't get shot at or anything. :yikes: One of the ones I've found (also semi-rural), a teenaged cacher was reprimanded by the tenant of the cache owner, who wasn't home at the time. I'll bet that was ugly.

 

So I guess my answer is it depends. If you're there and you don't like the situation, drive on by.

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How do you feel about caches that are hidden right at the hider's house? Personally, I don't care for them. I feel weird poking around someone's yard, even though I know that I have permission to be there and that the owner in fact wanted to bring cachers there. And I'm pretty shy and get nervous about the fact that the owner might -gasp!- come out and talk to me. Am I in the minority? Are all the other cachers out there social butterflies who are all gung-ho about finding a cache that will put them right in the owner's face, or are there others who feel the same way I do?

We can relate to your feelings. We pretty much keep to ourselves unless we have an impromptu run-in with another geocacher. So, with caches placed at the hider's house we usually do the drive-by method first. We'd much rather enjoy ourselves while playing the game, than to be put in an uncomfortable situation. We aren't anti-social... more like happy loners. :yikes:

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How do you feel about caches that are hidden right at the hider's house? Personally, I don't care for them. I feel weird poking around someone's yard, even though I know that I have permission to be there and that the owner in fact wanted to bring cachers there. And I'm pretty shy and get nervous about the fact that the owner might -gasp!- come out and talk to me. Am I in the minority? Are all the other cachers out there social butterflies who are all gung-ho about finding a cache that will put them right in the owner's face, or are there others who feel the same way I do?

 

I'm with you on this one. I like to do my caching alone, and while I don't mind talking to people, I'm not always prepared for a cache owner to come out and start a conversation with me. Plus, I also feel weird poking around in a private yard. However, I do read the cache pages, and if the page states that it's accessible from the sidewalk and I know I don't have to walk across the lawn or traipse in the flowerbeds, I'll sometimes try them, but I drive by and assess the situation first. It also makes a difference if I feel like I have some privacy when I'm searching... for example if the location is screened by trees or on a big plot of land not near the house.

 

I've done a few yard caches, but... they are way, way down on my preference list.

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I have one that's "sorta" in my yard. I have an AM transmitter broadcasting the coordinates to a stage of a multi-cache, so people don't need to get out of their cars and rummage aruond in my bushes or anything.

 

That sounds really cool. Do you have a low power transmitter in your house that is broadcasting on a specific frequency?

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I have one that's "sorta" in my yard. I have an AM transmitter broadcasting the coordinates to a stage of a multi-cache, so people don't need to get out of their cars and rummage aruond in my bushes or anything.

 

That sounds really cool. Do you have a low power transmitter in your house that is broadcasting on a specific frequency?

 

You do know there's one relatively close to you, don't you? :yikes: Of Course it's FM, not AM. Geocaching Radio Fun

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My son placed one in my Mom's yard, right by the curb (so folks don't have to go traipsing through her yard). It was his way of including her in something he loved, and sharing her with his caching friends. She has absolutely loved it, and there have been some great logs too! She doesn't spy, but she'll often be working in the yard and has bumped into a few. A woman and her little boys got to play with Mom's dogs, and another couple scored some Christmas cookies when Mom baked too many (they even came back the next day to ask for the recipe!). She had one guy come up to her while she was in the side yard (she hadn't noticed him at the cache) and help her roll up a hose that she was struggling with.

 

When she logs on in the morning, the first thing she checks is to see if anyone found it. We do remind her that some folks just aren't comfortable with yard caches, and she understands. But everyone seems to really enjoy "her" cache, and I know it makes her day.

 

What a great story! I love it!

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I'm going to go out on a limb here but I recently placed one in my yard (I won't give away too many details). I think it's fun to watch the location when I'm home espeicially when it's too cold to go out caching. I can't believe some of the people who go out in freezing weather but when I catch them in the act, I always try to go out and chat with them. That way I get to meet the people who belong to the signatures in my log. Mine is a very easy cache and doesn't take very long to find. I also have a web cam set up so that I can snap pictures of people in the act if I'm not around. Of course, I'm not monitoring it round the clock and it gets dark early so the camera won't see anything in the dark but it's still fun to watch. On New Year's day, we happened to be watching and a group of EIGHT cachers came by so I just had to go out and say hello even though it was cold. I found out that a lot of them were new to the sport so I coaxed them to visit some of my other caches that were close by.

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I can understand the tepidation on doing caches in the owner's yard. You never know what you are going to be walking into, if the coords are right and you are in the correct location, etc... all those negative things. And I don't do them unless I know others have gone safely.

The thing I like the least about these kind of caches is if the owner comes out and gives you tips on where to find the cache. I want to try to do it myself without assistance, the hunt is just as fun as logging the find! But if it looks like I am about to leave without a find, I would be okay with the assistance.

 

I have a cache in my own yard. I have an "End of the Road" series and since I live at the end of a road, it only made sense to put one here. In my cache description I promised that I would not lurk behind the curtains or come out to talk with them but I did say that they were welcome to come to talk with us, if they wished. That way we do not "corner" anyone who is not interested in chatting :yikes: . Although I must admit that just the other day I did go outside when someone was searching but I suspected it was a cacher that I had been corresponding with over the past few months. I did not want to pass up the opportunity to say HI in person. And it was him and it was great to meet him.

 

In case you are interested the cache is GC1KK8X. It is a southwestern Ontario cache.

Edited by brendah
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Ever do one of those caches where you find a big 5 gallon bucket, filled with film cans, and you have to find the ONE that has the logbook. Well, we took that to the next level...

 

d6bce906-2aca-4f9e-92b9-a6b5f90a45cc.jpg

100 ammo cans on my front porch.. you have to find the one with the logbook. We live out in the country. You can see the nearest neighbor in that picture. We're at the end of our street so in all other directions the nearest neighbor is several times farther away. No one has had any problem with driving up our driveway, parking, and finding the cache. My office looks out over the cache, so if I'm home, I'll come out and harass chat with the finders.

 

Ammo Can Mania

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Ever do one of those caches where you find a big 5 gallon bucket, filled with film cans, and you have to find the ONE that has the logbook. Well, we took that to the next level...

 

d6bce906-2aca-4f9e-92b9-a6b5f90a45cc.jpg

100 ammo cans on my front porch.. you have to find the one with the logbook. We live out in the country. You can see the nearest neighbor in that picture. We're at the end of our street so in all other directions the nearest neighbor is several times farther away. No one has had any problem with driving up our driveway, parking, and finding the cache. My office looks out over the cache, so if I'm home, I'll come out and harass chat with the finders.

 

Ammo Can Mania

WOW! :yikes:

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How do you feel about caches that are hidden right at the hider's house? Personally, I don't care for them. I feel weird poking around someone's yard, even though I know that I have permission to be there and that the owner in fact wanted to bring cachers there. And I'm pretty shy and get nervous about the fact that the owner might -gasp!- come out and talk to me. ...

 

I feel the same way. Often I'll go knock on the door andsay hello while everone else looks for the cache.

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Irondale Pit Stop GC14B0Z is the third cache I have had on my front porch since 2003. This one has 104 visits so far with nary a problem, nor were there any issues with its predecessors.

 

About half of the visitors knock on the door. I hear folks opening the ammo can at all hours but don't go to the door unless they knock or call.

Hey AlabamaRambler! Although I don't care for finding yard caches myself I do appreciate you having yours. I'm snowed in up here in Michigan and mailed my Southern Livin' TB down to earthrooster in Alabama to be released in a warmer climate where it would actually move since not many TBs move up here in knee deep snow. It ended up that the Irondale Pit Stop was the first cache it visited when released into the wild. Since then it has moved to another TB Hotel and is now in a cachers hands and will be dropped off soon into yet another cache. So anyways thanks for allowing my TB to start it's travels from your front porch. Although I'm real nervous meeting new people I've got you on my radar as somebody I will stop in and say hi to if I ever get back down in that area. Your friendly cache description is enough to make me think I would enjoy saying hi for a couple minutes. Hopefully it will work out to where I can get there and find your cache and say hi. Thanks again! Happy caching everybody!!!! :yikes:

Edited by Michigan Cacheman
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...or are there others who feel the same way I do?

 

Yes. I feel the same way. I usually skip residential caches unless I'm positive that I'm in the right place and I can find the cache quickly. Otherwise I just move on.

 

I also feel the same way about caches in (or directly in front of) businesses.

 

The best advice is to skip anything you're not comfortable with. For some people that means not climbing trees or hiking 10 miles. For other people it means skipping residential caches.

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I've done 9Key's, and you don't have to venture into anyone's yard. But the ones that do require that, go on my Ignore list.

 

When I was 17, I was doing a school project that involved taking some pictures on the home property of an elderly family friend (she was a direct decedent of Chief John Ross, who led the Cherokees on the Trail of Tears). She was not at home, but I had permission from her to be there. While taking pictures, her neighbor walks over. With a loaded shotgun. This was out in the country, and they tend to "handle" things on their own, rather than get the authorities involved. Fortunately, I had enough documentation with me to convince the guy it was okay for me to be there.

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I've done 9Key's, and you don't have to venture into anyone's yard. But the ones that do require that, go on my Ignore list.

 

When I was 17, I was doing a school project that involved taking some pictures on the home property of an elderly family friend (she was a direct decedent of Chief John Ross, who led the Cherokees on the Trail of Tears). She was not at home, but I had permission from her to be there. While taking pictures, her neighbor walks over. With a loaded shotgun. This was out in the country, and they tend to "handle" things on their own, rather than get the authorities involved. Fortunately, I had enough documentation with me to convince the guy it was okay for me to be there.

I've told this in some of the many previous threads on this topic, but it's still funny...

 

Make sure your neighbors know about the cache!

 

One morning I get a phone call. A cacher tells me that she and her kids have been searching all over my porch for my cache for fifteen minutes... could it be behind the big white flower rack?

 

When I could stop laughing I told her the white flower rack was on my neighbor's porch! :yikes:

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Until recently We had only come across this in a semi rural area. It was on a large property and we got to meet the owner. I thought it was cool and considered doing the same. Recently we came across a few of these. Urban neighborhoods, not obvious containers. We chose not to get out of the car.

 

I'm not much keen on hides that require a high level of stealth. I just don't find it fun when I feel like the neighbors are sitting on the porch watching, just waiting for a reason to look up the number to 911.

 

Decided against doing a front yard cache.

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When I could stop laughing I told her the white flower rack was on my neighbor's porch! ;)

 

Funny for you but as the cacher I'd hate to be in that position and that's exactly the reason I'll skip most caches in residences and businesses.

 

I've been under the front porch of a business with a flashlight only to find I was across the fence from the correct business. I've wandered up and down a residential street trying to figure out which front yard a cache was in. I love this game but I go out of my way to avoid alarming people and these kinds of caches put me in situations where that can easily happen so they are not for me.

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I had a cache in my front yard. Home Sweet Home GC18679. I had to archive it after 5 months since I sold my house. If I left the cache active at the house, could I have sold it for more? ;) It had 10 finds. I will usually hunt front yard caches as long as there aren't people around. I would never hunt one in the dark however.

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I did one in someone's front yard just this past weekend. It was really strange because they were actually sitting on their front porch when we pulled up. We bit the bullet and did it anyway. Turned out they were really nice people and we had a good time talking with them. It was worth the awkwardness. :D

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