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Tips for Urban Caches


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I would still consider myself a newbie after doing this solo for 5 months. I'm a hiker/nature lover so I've stuck to what I know which is generally heavily wooded areas (ammo to micros) and the occasional guard rail magnet. I'm going to be spending a week in New Orleans and will need to do some caching and here's where my problem is...

 

I tried to do some traditional urban caches the last time I was in Washington D.C. and it was just so different from what I was used to I stuck to the virtuals.

 

I'm going to have to suck it up and do some "traditional urban caches" since there is only about 11 virtuals in the walking area that I will be staying in. When I've asked the question before I've gotten the response "Stick to what you like and/or are comfortable with"...but I'm going to have to get comfortable with urban caches.

 

So for you city slickers out there, PLEASE, how do you find urban caches? What the heck is an "traditional urban cache"? Do you carry your GPS in plain sight? How's the accuracy in a big city? Just general tips on urban caches are appreciated. I know trade secrets are a big deal but any advice you can provide is appreciated. I really have no idea how to do this and don't want to spend the entire week drinking hurricanes.

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Sorry, Dude. You lost me at "don't want to spend the whole week drinking Hurricanes." :anibad:

 

Seriously, though. While I try not to follow my GPS as if it were a geiger counter, sometimes yeah - I'll just walk around like I know what I'm doing, openly following the little arrow. I know a lot of people are all "oh be stealthy". Just how stealthy can you be when you're crouched in a pebble garden in front of a building examining the back of a huge chunk of lava rock that has a bison tube stuck in a nook?

 

I just get down to business while not being too aggressive. If someone is looking at me I smile and say "hey" just because that's what people in the South do. If you didn't, you would stand out and draw attention.

 

While we might think that we're really interesting, the truth is that most people just don't care that we're there or what we're doing.

 

Last weekend I was going to a cache that ended up being in front of a church. It was obvious that the cache was hidden in a small rose garden that had been planted under the church's sign. The garden was raised about 3 feet off the ground and encircled by bricks. When I got there, I found two women at the roses - one sitting on the bricks! I could have just left but instead I walked right up to them. They looked at me a little funny until I got close enough to talk with them, and I said "Hey I'm not here to bother ya'll I'm just looking for something in the roses."

 

They asked what I was doing and I told them about caching, showed them the film canister and the log when I signed it. They said "Oh that's interesting." But I could tell they were being polite and really thought I was a strange bird. Then I was off to the next cache - which turned out to be a bison tube stuck between some bricks in a mortar joint on the side of a very old building next door to a skyscraper.

Edited by Gimpy13
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Just how stealthy can you be when you're crouched in a pebble garden in front of a building examining the back of a huge chunk of lava rock that has a bison tube stuck in a nook?

 

 

:anibad::)

 

Well said .

 

If no one's around I'll follow my GPS like it's leading me to Hugh Hefner's mansion but if muggles are about I'll hold it so it's not so obvious . In some areas / hides where muggles are everywhere then you either choose to come back later or just go for it . Most I'll come back too but there's been a few that I've DNF'd a few times and if it's my 3rd time back and there's people around we I'll just do my best to search for the cache ....and if I appear a little crazy to them then so be it ....maybe they'll leave and then I can really start searching :)

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Regarding stealth in the city: Don't draw unnecessary attention, but remember: You've got a job to do. Other people don't know what it is, but it is very important, so get it done. Don't pay them "no mind." Remember, the telephone guy does not act particularly stealthy when he does whatever it is that he does, including climbing a telephone pole and no one really cares.

 

Regarding urban hides: The difficulty and terrain ratings and size rating are your friends. They will give you a good idea about what you are looking for. Terrain 1 is wheelchair accessible. Terrain 2.5 or more in the city means climbing, etc. The cache name is also your friend.

 

When you get close, think about where you would put a cache so that it was not likely to be muggled or how you might disguise or hide it.

 

Many hides are things that look like they belong right where you see them, but are just there. Favorites are fake electric junction boxes or just covers. You will occasionally find fake sprinkler heads (be careful not to mess up any real ones).

 

Many hides use magnets to attach to ordinary objects, e.g. signs, electric boxes, downspouts, etc. There are, of course, the infamous hides under lamp post skirts or under newspaper machines.

 

Good luck and have fun.

 

BTW: The cache "VIEW CARRE" (GCE02C) is an absolute MUST and bring travel bugs! (It is so important that you do this cache -- it has 988 finds -- that if you have trouble, Twitter me for a lifeline at HardHabit ... which is what the HH stands for.)

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Wow! Thanks for the great advice EVERYONE! My trip is still a little ways off (2 months) so I'm going to try get some practice in some of the closer "urban" (more like urban sprawl) caches. The problem around here is that everything is a LPS which just annoys the snot out of me... but that's for another topic. :laughing: I'm not too far from Baltimore, MD so I may see what's going on down there.

 

I really appreciate that even experienced cachers still feel a little weird but as one of you said you have a very important job to do!

 

Seriously, thanks again everyone. I'm actually really psyched about it and wish it was tomorrow! I'm going to save this link in case I need some encouragement.

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I've noticed that people acting like they don't want anyone to notice them get noticed. Also that the more people in an area the less I feel noticed, unless I get right up into someone's personal space. My boyfriend and i just found a cache by crawling all over some rocks right near an area full of people and no one really cared what we were up to.

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Having completed a 4 state cache run (LA, MS, AL, FL) in April, I can recommend some decent caches in New Orleans (near French Quarter)

 

Menu Venue - Very easy - only one place it could be

Sidewalk Savoir-Faire - Easy to grab wihtout looking suspciisons - the hint helps a lot

The Dauphine Prince - Mdeium difficulty to grab wihtout looking weird

Pirate Alley - Very easy - tie yoru shoe

To The Point - Across the Mississippi River from NOLA - You take a free ferry to get there. A cool little spot, a neat little park

VIEW CARRE ' - MUST DO! You get a private tour, and get some great views!

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My boyfriend is really afraid of "being noticed" so at this point, on the urban caches he sits in the car and tells me where he thinks it is, and I go get it.

I don't mind looking weird or like a fool.

The truth is most people don't care what you're up to. If they think you're doing something weird, they will just think you're wierd and leave. Big deal.

Lots of people do wierd things. I set up my tents in a park yesterday to get pictures of them to sell on line. So lots of people looked at me like i was weird. So what?

 

Twice in one day I found a cache where there was a woman sitting right on it. once at a picnic bench. She was reading a book. I was in a hurry, so just went up to her and said, "have you ever heard of geocaching? The one woman's mother was heavy into it. the other had never heard of it, but helped me look for it nonetheless.

 

If there's someone in the way, I don't think there's any harm in telling about the game. People act like it's some big secret, but it's in all the papers now. It's no secret.

 

Telling about the game keeps the game pieces safe.

You just need to be careful of someone wondering what your looking for and coming back later to look themselves.

One example of this was one person told an onlooker they had lost a ring. the next day there were people out there with metal detectors.

If you have to say something, say you lost something like sunglasses and then "oh but they were cheap anyway"

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ALL great tips!!

We are newbies and have just had a ball playing 'the game'. We have discovered in muggle rich areas and even when you are downtown Amarillo Texas on a weekend and there are few muggles, that our little camera is a must. Somehow we have drawn less attention when we stand around and look like tourists! When we are in too many muggles we will comment on what we are taking photos of.....also when we get home we have a few good shots we can put on the cache pages when we log the visit.....

Still stumped by one in downtown Amarillo and will be back monday to check it again.......Yes we'll get some good shots of it while we are there!! :laughing:

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My boyfriend is really afraid of "being noticed" so at this point, on the urban caches he sits in the car and tells me where he thinks it is, and I go get it.

I don't mind looking weird or like a fool.

The truth is most people don't care what you're up to. If they think you're doing something weird, they will just think you're wierd and leave. Big deal.

Lots of people do wierd things. I set up my tents in a park yesterday to get pictures of them to sell on line. So lots of people looked at me like i was weird. So what?

 

Twice in one day I found a cache where there was a woman sitting right on it. once at a picnic bench. She was reading a book. I was in a hurry, so just went up to her and said, "have you ever heard of geocaching? The one woman's mother was heavy into it. the other had never heard of it, but helped me look for it nonetheless.

 

If there's someone in the way, I don't think there's any harm in telling about the game. People act like it's some big secret, but it's in all the papers now. It's no secret.

 

Telling about the game keeps the game pieces safe.

You just need to be careful of someone wondering what your looking for and coming back later to look themselves.

One example of this was one person told an onlooker they had lost a ring. the next day there were people out there with metal detectors.

If you have to say something, say you lost something like sunglasses and then "oh but they were cheap anyway"

 

Exactly! I really liked what you had to say. I also have to agree with the poster that said that trying to look un-suspicious is probably the most suspicious thing you can do! Just be yourself.

 

I'm not saying that there are not times to protect a cache from potential muggles, but that actually very few muggles will muggle a cache, and those are generally of a particular gender and age range.

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I am always amazed at how little some people seem to pay attention to you. Of course, there was one urban cache that was hidden in a very squeaky lamp post skirt, in the middle of a planting area, in a park that is never empty. Sometimes you just have to do it. A person sitting on the park bench was curious about what I was doing, and commented that people look funny if you do not know what they are doing. So my daughter has learned that she might be embarrassed at times if she waits close to where I am looking.

 

Some urban caches have terrible gps reception. In that case, you can only hope that the hints are good or that the position on the map is accurate. I have found a few caches by looking at the map rather than what my gpsr was telling me. And the logs can tell you a lot.

 

While some urban caches I have found are extremely well camo'd, most are relatively straightforward. Magnetic. Nano. Film cannisters.

 

There is always the gpsr as cell phone trick. The tying the shoes quick grab. The walk by and grab it while continue to walk maneuver. The sit down on a bench (or wall) and feel technique. The strange photo angle approach. I can't get away with the clipboard rouse, but friends of mine can look very official with one.

 

I sometimes use a pocketpc/pda (Asus A696) for urban caches because it has an internal antenna and both street and satellite maps, and a program that will even give you voice directions to the cache (with an earplug). I guess it can help with the stealth factor.

 

I have not been in New Orleans since Katrina. When I was there, a cache was placed on top of someone's

building -- you had to be escorted up. There were great views and a treasure chest full of things. I hope that one is still there.

Edited by Erickson
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...What the heck is an "traditional urban cache"?...

 

No such thing.

 

I have one that can't be listed on this site due to proximity issues called "Splitting the difference". It's between a cache behind the dog pound, and a roadside cache. The spot I found though requires climbing up through a crack in the rock face. The access is hidden by trees. Once you climb up the crack you are in a small depression hidden from the world. The road is 40' one way. The park 40' another, but you are hidden. Well worth being placed.

 

I used to have another one that you would climb up a rock face (or walk around) then drop down in a crack, then reach up under a rock wedged in the crack to find the cache.

 

Another is near the sewage lagoon, but that spot happens to be where a spring comes up and feeds the river. The prevailing winds keep you safe from the smell...most of the time.

 

Another one is a storm water pond, but it's also where deer bed down.

 

Personally I like these hidden nooks and crannies in our urban world.

 

Using maps you can learn to spot the caches that just don't quite look right. Meaning they aren't in the "usual" locations like parking lots, buildings and such. Arial maps may work better to spot them.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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Carry a clipboard. It's a license to inspect anything. :laughing:

OMG, that is so funny!

 

I'm new to geocaching and am in an urban city (Chicago). I've searched for 5 caches, but have only found 2 so far. One was a magnetic key holder (very popular in cities!!) and another one made extensive use of duct tape. My advice (based on my limited experience) is if you come across a cache in a filthy area, don't even bother. One of the caches I searched for, but didn't find, was supposed to be either on a bridge or under it. I looked all over the top of the bridge for it and when I didn't find it I thought I'd try looking under the bridge. Bad idea! There was so much garbage under the bridge...it was absolutely filthy and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few bodies down there, too. So, I crossed that one off the list and moved on. I cache with my 4 yr old son and sometimes with my 2 yr old twins and there's no way I was going to spend time at that site with my son. We moved on to a different cache (the duct taped cache) and had a great time finding that one.

 

About the GPS question...my son LOVES to hold it and tell me where the arrow is telling us to go, so we are not very good at stealth yet! A woman asked us what we were doing and my son exclaimed, "We're looking for buried treasure!" B)

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I can't claim to live in an "urban" area, but it's a small town that I'd guess has a population of around 40,000 and until recently was growing quickly. One popular type of cache here is below wooden boardwalks, steps or observation landings in parks. Seems like around here there's one ever 1/10 of a mile. The advantage of this type is that at least a lot of times you can find small to regular caches instead of being stuck with micros all the time like you find in most areas of the city. Have fun and happy caching!!!! :(

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Count me in as one who will clue a muggle in if they are in my way. Stealth goes out the window. If someone hides a cache in such an area, expect us to do what we must to get the cache. :D I usually start by telling them I'm on a scavenger hunt...if they ask me about what I'm doing. If they persist, I explain Geocaching to them, find the cache, and show it to them. Either they'll join in the fun or have fun watching others searching!

 

A few months back we took a trip to Arlington, VA and DC. Loved the virtuals in DC! :( We didn't have any problem with signals. But in Arlington, reception was less than spot on. All the tall buildings around us really made the GPS less than accurate. There was one right near our hotel that we tried a few times while there. We just couldn't come up with it. :o

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I have not been in New Orleans since Katrina. When I was there, a cache was placed on top of someone's building -- you had to be escorted up. There were great views and a treasure chest full of things. I hope that one is still there.

Yep:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...40-a9adb6a50ba8

 

You know, if I'm ever in New Orleans (I only live around 5 or 6-ish hours from there), I'll have to make it a point to go look for that cache. It seems really interesting, especially with the views seen in the pictures.

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I have not been in New Orleans since Katrina. When I was there, a cache was placed on top of someone's building -- you had to be escorted up. There were great views and a treasure chest full of things. I hope that one is still there.

Yep:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...40-a9adb6a50ba8

 

You know, if I'm ever in New Orleans (I only live around 5 or 6-ish hours from there), I'll have to make it a point to go look for that cache. It seems really interesting, especially with the views seen in the pictures.

 

View Carre is a MUST DO in the French Quarter. They call a Code 7 for you, and you get escorted up to the cache and the views. Our guide was quite knowledgeable about the area, and pointed some pretty cools things out.

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