Stealth in muggle-full places

[+joyinthelitterbox]

Recently I had to abandon some searches b/c the caches were in high-muggle areas. One in the corner of a parking lot. People stood outside the restraunt and stared at me as I poked in the bushes.

 

Another was on a wooden fence near the loading dock of a retail store. Muggles everywhere. Just approaching the fence earned me suspicious glances.

 

Then there's the ones in parking lots under those light pole skirts. I fear someone will call the police!

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

[Mr.Yuck]

Recently I had to abandon some searches b/c the caches were in high-muggle areas. One in the corner of a parking lot. People stood outside the restraunt and stared at me as I poked in the bushes.

 

Another was on a wooden fence near the loading dock of a retail store. Muggles everywhere. Just approaching the fence earned me suspicious glances.

 

Then there's the ones in parking lots under those light pole skirts. I fear someone will call the police!

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

I just don't cache in those places. Ignore the caches like they never existed. I'm sure you'll find many other people with similar opinions as this sure to be long thread moves along. But I'm sure you'll get some helpful advice from people who like those type of caches too.

 

What do I know, I almost ended up in the slammer twice, once in the woods near a middle school (on a weekend), and once on a rails to trails.

[+joyinthelitterbox]

I'm not a huge fan of "urban caching". I prefer the woods and out of the way places, but living in Denver there are so many urban/suburban caches that don't require long drives into the mountains... I will need to get more choosy and ignore transformer boxes and strip malls

[+wkmccall]

Recently I had to abandon some searches b/c the caches were in high-muggle areas. One in the corner of a parking lot. People stood outside the restraunt and stared at me as I poked in the bushes.

 

Another was on a wooden fence near the loading dock of a retail store. Muggles everywhere. Just approaching the fence earned me suspicious glances.

 

Then there's the ones in parking lots under those light pole skirts. I fear someone will call the police!

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

Most lamp post caches in parking lots can be done after hours. The fence cache can probably be done the same way.

 

Most parking lot caches can be made easier by driving your vehicle right up to the cache and use it to block the view of others.

 

You can also carry a clipboard to make yourself look like you belong in the area.

I've used my GPS as a cellphone and was able to wonder next to a cache area. Most of the time, people will loose interest if keep doing it long enough.

Just have to be creative in your charade..

[+Robfire]

For Urban areas and I know Wichita is not anywhere near the size of Denver, go for Early Sunday Mornings, when I was in Denver last summer I hit most of my finds before 730am, found the traffic was not to bad except near major roadways. Rob

[+BadAndy]

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

My Dad has a technique that renders him invisible. He keeps an orange vest, hardhat and a clipboard in his rig while geocaching. When the muggles get thick, he dons his urban camo and virtually disappears.

 

It's a sickness.

[+mrbort]

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

My Dad has a technique that renders him invisible. He keeps an orange vest, hardhat and a clipboard in his rig while geocaching. When the muggles get thick, he dons his urban camo and virtually disappears.

 

It's a sickness.

 

I have the same things floating around the back of the Explorer... That or a dog if you're lucky (or some might say stupid) enough to have one are great cammo... That being said if I get to a cache and don't feel comfortable searching then I pick up my toys and go to the next cache. Sometimes it's fun to be sneaky or in disguise but mostly it's just awkward feeling

 

I've cached a teeny bit in soutwest denver and have found really neat hides and some of the uncomfortable lamp post variety. Another technique is to have fake phone conversations with either your real phone or GPS.

 

I'd suggest looking for park hides as these, while non geocacher filled, have more potential for odd behavior to be overlooked.... Toss a ball into the bushes, drop your keys, mostly people won't care how funny you act

 

Good luck and go Broncos!

[+Dread_Pirate_Bruce]

I recently found myself in an area with so many muggles that the only reasonable thing I could do was cordon off the area where I was searching with yellow "caution" tape. ... As someone once said: "Don't bother me, I've got work to do."

[Mr.Yuck]

I'm not a huge fan of "urban caching". I prefer the woods and out of the way places, but living in Denver there are so many urban/suburban caches that don't require long drives into the mountains... I will need to get more choosy and ignore transformer boxes and strip malls

 

Yeah, but look, you're getting some pretty good advice from people! I didn't mean to get the thread off to a negative start, but the examples you gave, retail store loading dock and bushes in front of a restauraunt in view of patrons are two places I'd never cache. Not to say I haven't been in busy parks, or along busy bike trails. Yes, the cell phone trick has been around for a long time. So has the clipboard trick. Especially before paperless caching became so big.

[Mr.Yuck]

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

My Dad has a technique that renders him invisible. He keeps an orange vest, hardhat and a clipboard in his rig while geocaching. When the muggles get thick, he dons his urban camo and virtually disappears.

 

It's a sickness.

 

I've heard this one before, and it's pretty funny. But can you imagine having to explain impersonating an official guy in an orange vest and hardhat if you ever got busted?

[+BigWhiteTruck]

I've heard this one before, and it's pretty funny. But can you imagine having to explain impersonating an official guy in an orange vest and hardhat if you ever got busted?

 

"I am playing a game. I'm looking for a game piece and I wanted people to ignore me, so I put this stuff on."

 

Cops are students of human nature, and they are taking advanced classes daily. Any one of them would likely understand exactly how the public would react to someone dressed in that getup vs. someone in plain clothes. Not breaking the law or being unsafe? You're probably fine.

[+SerenityFound]

No being a big fan of the whole awkward feeling when there are lots of people around, I have figured out a simple but effective way to obtain these caches without that "this is weird" feeling in your stomach.

 

I pull up with my buddy who happens to own a bright yellow hazmat suit with hood and respirator. I just say something into the bullhorn like, "Department of Homeland Security, people. Please move along." We get a solid 30 minutes of quiet time.

 

Ok... not really but I've thought about it.

[+DanOCan]

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

If I am confident I can find the cache quickly (ie: it's likely under a lamppost skirt or the owner has provided a solid hint) I'll just walk right up like I know what I am doing, sign the log and move on. If I don't act suspicious people will tend to ignore me.

 

If a cache requires more searching and it is in an area of that nature I'll throw it on my Ignore list and never give it a second thought. There are enough caches out there that I can concentrate on the ones I like, and high-visibility urban caches are not my thing.

 

I used to try the "show up after hours" idea, but if you think you look suspicious poking around those places during the day, try them at night and see what happens. I only had to be questioned by one angry restaurant owner about why I was poking around his loading dock after hours to give up on that idea.

[Mr.Yuck]

I've heard this one before, and it's pretty funny. But can you imagine having to explain impersonating an official guy in an orange vest and hardhat if you ever got busted?

 

"I am playing a game. I'm looking for a game piece and I wanted people to ignore me, so I put this stuff on."

 

Cops are students of human nature, and they are taking advanced classes daily. Any one of them would likely understand exactly how the public would react to someone dressed in that getup vs. someone in plain clothes. Not breaking the law or being unsafe? You're probably fine.

 

Exactly! Always tell the police what you're doing. Not that I was necessarily implying the police in that case. But I'm pretty sure the immediate response to that quote isn't going to be "OK, have a nice day". I'll bet you're in for a good, long interogation. Producing the cache container would always be a big help.

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

Personally I hate high muggle area caches. I've recently learned the joy of putting caches on my ignore list. Since I've finally come to accept that I don't have to find every cache around me I'm enjoying the game a lot more. Since there are lots of hiders and seekers in my area that love micros in high muggle areas I leave them to their fun and just hit the caches I do enjoy and put the rest on the old ignore list. It's a great way to deal with any cache you don't enjoy. Happy caching!!!!

[+Wacka]

I also use the GPS as an "electricity leak detector" and I scan the base of LPCs. Never been asked what I'm doing.

 

The best ruse was when I was caching with a friend when we were both off on a Friday.

It was a micro jammed in between the beams and shingle roof of a gazebo in a mini park. There were mothers and kids witin 30 feet. I told my friend to follow my lead. I started saying to him that we had to inspect the structure. He sits at the picnic table in the gazebo, while I stand on the table "inspecting" the beam and shingles. I grab the cache and inspect the some more. After we signed, I said that I had to get back up there to be sure of the extent of the damaged area. He said that he would "write up the report " Monday morning. Not a mother or kid looked up at us.

[+buttaskotch]

go in the middle of the night or at dawn, best times for urban caches.

Also for day caching, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, New Year's Day and Easter morning work well.

All other holidays are crawling with people

[+Wacka]

For some reason, Memorial day weekend was kind of quiet here in the SF Bay area.

[Styluss]

I tend to not care too much about the mugglers.

Do I blatantly just let them see me doing my thing? NO. But, say there is a Cache on the side of the road. I'm not going to sit there and wait for traffic to die out, nor will I wait and come back at night if the Cache is on my way somewhere. I am there and I'm going to get it!

I was going to start a topic along thse lines... "Just how much do you fear Mugglers" or something within that respect. I have only once had someone "bust" me and ask what I was doing. And honeslty, I was looking for like my 4th or 5th Cache and didn't even know the term Muggler at that point. I gladly explained to him exactly what I was doing... Whoops. Now if I were approached with that scenario, well one, I dont think I would let it get to that point again and two... if it did, I would have some great excuse like "lost my keys" or "my son threw something out the window here". I do really like the orange vest idea... I just might need to borrow that one.

Edited May 30, 2009 by Styluss

[+do not resuscitate]

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

If I am confident I can find the cache quickly (ie: it's likely under a lamppost skirt or the owner has provided a solid hint) I'll just walk right up like I know what I am doing, sign the log and move on. If I don't act suspicious people will tend to ignore me.

 

I'm an urban cacher in Los Angeles and of course you have to survey your surroundings, but I find complete confidence in yourself does the trick. If you look suspicious, people will see you as suspicious. I just act like I belong there and get the job done. I have never been the dreaded "last to find". Never been the cause of someone's cache being muggled.

[+Arrow42]

I gladly explained to him exactly what I was doing... Whoops.

 

No "woops" needed - if the person seems genuinely interested then you didn't do anything wrong. You might have "saved" a muggle from muggleness.

[+Gryffyth]

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

It's amazing how much people will ignore yet another guy wearing a hardhat and a safety vest. ($10 each, Lowes) in a pickup truck working on a lamppost. I got the idea from one of the 999 similar threads here. Do a little reading and you will find tons of ideas. I especially liked the guy who carries a clipboard of phony subpoenas. Whenever he gets someone being too nosy he asks them their name, declares that it sounds familiar and hunts through his stack of papers. They usually leave quickly.

 

-Gryffyth

[+fizzymagic]

Cops are students of human nature, and they are taking advanced classes daily. Any one of them would likely understand exactly how the public would react to someone dressed in that getup vs. someone in plain clothes. Not breaking the law or being unsafe? You're probably fine.

Amen. I can't emphasize how important this is.

 

Cops have very good BS detectors and very good sneakiness detectors. If you are being sneaky, they will notice you. If you try to BS them, they will know it. The best way not to be noticed by cops is to not act sneaky, and be completely honest if questioned.

[+VirginiaGator]

I've run into police officers at two caches and one park ranger while enroute to one. I have to say...the officers were very nice. The ranger was nasty!

 

I've been approached at caches while wandering around without a clue where something is. Hate it when there's no hint on the more difficult ones. Once was someone asking me if I was an inspector. LOL! Yeah, that's it! The other times I just tell them I'm on a scavenger hunt. Depending on the interest or questions they ask, I sometimes explain Geocaching to them.

 

In general, I love urbans. So much better than the ticks and snakes in the woods! And if I'm caching in an area that's a distance from home, you better believe that I'm going to get that cache no matter what it takes.

[TM92]

I've run into police officers at two caches and one park ranger while enroute to one. I have to say...the officers were very nice. The ranger was nasty!

 

I've been approached at caches while wandering around without a clue where something is. Hate it when there's no hint on the more difficult ones. Once was someone asking me if I was an inspector. LOL! Yeah, that's it! The other times I just tell them I'm on a scavenger hunt. Depending on the interest or questions they ask, I sometimes explain Geocaching to them.

 

In general, I love urbans. So much better than the ticks and snakes in the woods! And if I'm caching in an area that's a distance from home, you better believe that I'm going to get that cache no matter what it takes.

 

maybe if you were caching for numbers but in my opinion you can never beat a cache with a view.

[+flask]

I recently found myself in an area with so many muggles that the only reasonable thing I could do was cordon off the area where I was searching with yellow "caution" tape. ... As someone once said: "Don't bother me, I've got work to do."

 

that is WAAAAY too funny.

 

but yes, as fizzymagic says, don't be stealthy at all. cops don't like it.

 

not being stealthy is not the same as revealing the actual cache or it's location. one only need be sneaky enough to protect the container, but otherwise nobody cares if you're playing a game and there's a gamepiece or clue near you.

 

mostly once they know what you're doing, they don't give two hoots in a handbasket. occasionally they will have a passing interest, but that runs the gamut from A to B.

 

recently i was on a trail with a family with kids and i could tell from their speed and direction of travel that our paths were going to collide at the search area.

 

"i might as well tell you now what i'm doing, since i'll be doing it when we get up there.", i said. it was a choice between passing on the cache, letting them in on it, or looking creepy in the bushes.

 

they were mildly interested, and their little girls enjoyed finding the box. i traded some trinket so she could have an orange vest out of it and they had a good time, but i don't think they rushed right out to buy a GPS.

[+geodarts]

There are some areas where my daughter has cringed and asked if I knew someone was looking at me. There are also areas where the lamppost makes a horrific squeaking sound in the middle of a public park. If someone asks me what I am doing, I will tell them I am on some kind of treasure hunt -- after I found a cache in a lamp post in the center of garden area in a park that never is empty, one person told me that people do not look as strange if you know what they are doing.

 

I have found that people often pay less attention to you than they perhaps should. Especially in cities where folks are used to some strange behavior. I will usually try to minimize the situation -- a pocket pc gps has no antenna and can be carried without attracting attention; the tie your shoe innumerable times, grab as you walk by maneuver, and other common techniques all come in handy. I will try to make the find when no one appears to be looking or (if possible) come back when things are not as busy. With luck, it can be done with the first attempt. Without luck I may have pretend to make a cell phone call as I walk around the area.

 

Although I have had an officer stop his car as I stepped out of some bushes, and security people wonder what I am doing, I have never had a real problem. Then there was a person at a cache near a casino in Las Vegas, who asked if she could take a picture at the site, and was grateful when I told her to go ahead.

 

But some caches are placed in very busy locations and the owner has to expect people to find the cache under those conditions.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Erickson

[+Dread_Pirate_Bruce]

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

It's amazing how much people will ignore yet another guy wearing a hardhat and a safety vest. ($10 each, Lowes) in a pickup truck working on a lamppost. I got the idea from one of the 999 similar threads here. Do a little reading and you will find tons of ideas. I especially liked the guy who carries a clipboard of phony subpoenas. Whenever he gets someone being too nosy he asks them their name, declares that it sounds familiar and hunts through his stack of papers. They usually leave quickly.

 

-Gryffyth

 

I beg your pardon. My subpoenas are not phony. They are real. They identify real people. They are just for a fictitious case and issued by a fictitious law firm.

[+Dread_Pirate_Bruce]

Cops are students of human nature, and they are taking advanced classes daily. Any one of them would likely understand exactly how the public would react to someone dressed in that getup vs. someone in plain clothes. Not breaking the law or being unsafe? You're probably fine.

Amen. I can't emphasize how important this is.

 

Cops have very good BS detectors and very good sneakiness detectors. If you are being sneaky, they will notice you. If you try to BS them, they will know it. The best way not to be noticed by cops is to not act sneaky, and be completely honest if questioned.

 

My rule is to never give cops the opportunity to question you. That means you must be proactive. If you sense cop or security guards are around, approach them in a friendly, open manner and either (1) tell them what you are doing, i.e. looking for a geocache, and say "You know what that is, right?", or (2) ask them if they took the report on the incident that you are investigating.

[+joyinthelitterbox]

I love the hazmat suit idea. "Just got a call from the department of homeland security about a substance..."

 

Most of all, however, I'm probably gonna ignore the more urban hides. There are so many hides on hiking trails and mountain vistas here... and rattlesnakes.

[+bittsen]

I was asked just the other day "what are you doing" when I was poking around bushes. I said I was inspecting for invasive species.

The asked said "Oh" and went on their way.

 

When the police ask me, I tell them I am geocaching. If they haven't heard of it I tell them what it is and suggest they tell their CO to inform the rest of the department since GCing is a pretty widespread activity.

[+Dread_Pirate_Bruce]

Rather than suggesting that the cops inform their CO, you're probably best to treat the situation as one where the CO already knows about geocaching, but has not informed the rest of the department. Thus, the statement: "Your CO probably knows about geocaching and perhaps you might suggest he advise the rest of the department there is a geocache around here."

[+flask]

i'm a little alarmed at the number of posts that advise posturing in the face of police.

 

bad idea.

 

every time.

[+geodarts]

i'm a little alarmed at the number of posts that advise posturing in the face of police.

 

bad idea. every time.

 

True. I also once knew a person who asked a cop what his probable cause was. That turned out also to be a bad idea. A little bit of legal knowledge goes a long way, not necessarily in the direction you intended.

 

Most officers I know would not care as long as you weren't up to no good. Private security guards can be a different concern for obvious reasons. There is an area nearby where I live that is patrolled regularly, and one cache was placed a few feet from where they often wait. I have never been in that area -- even if I am just taking pictures with my daughter -- where I have not been approached. Those caches were tricky, but carrying a camera gave me cover since I always love to take pictures there. Under those circumstances, I snap a few and move on.

 

But returning a cache in busy places can also be a problem. One time at the location mentioned above, I had a cache in my hand and decided it would be better to drive up the road for awhile. And you always hear stories about how people observed someone placing an object and called the police, who called the bomb squad. So do not assume that because you have found a cache, you are off the hook.

[+squallline]

I too have been stared at with suspicion while I "loitered" around. Here's what I have discovered; nobody notices a person with a tape measure and a pad of paper. They assume you are a contractor and in between "measurements" when I am poking around and looking for the cache, they all assume I'm just doing some mental engineering.

 

Works like a charm.

[+bittsen]

Rather than suggesting that the cops inform their CO, you're probably best to treat the situation as one where the CO already knows about geocaching, but has not informed the rest of the department. Thus, the statement: "Your CO probably knows about geocaching and perhaps you might suggest he advise the rest of the department there is a geocache around here."

 

My suggestion wasn't, in any way, negative. We were laughing with the police at the time and I even joked saying it was something to do now that the bar was closed (suggesting my friend was driving drunk).

 

You are right though. The better comment would be "I'm surprised your CO hasn't told you about geocaching".

[+ThunderWear]

I'm pretty new to caching, but I think one of the best things about it IS the fact that you have to be stealthy and figure out how to not get muggled. To me that's the best part of the game...I feel like a spy. If you really, really try to be creative in order to get around being muggled you will do fine!

[+bittsen]

I'm pretty new to caching, but I think one of the best things about it IS the fact that you have to be stealthy and figure out how to not get muggled. To me that's the best part of the game...I feel like a spy. If you really, really try to be creative in order to get around being muggled you will do fine!

 

Yeah, it is fun to proceed in a covert manner.

I've done the "tying the shoe" and as I said earlier "invasive species investigator" and the "chat with a friend against a tree".

 

There was also one where I was ttrying to be covert and the woman interrupted me and said "did you find it?". She liked watching people look for the geocache in her area.

 

I've only found 50 caches so far so I don't have a lot of stories but I'm sure there will be more later.

[+flask]

I'm pretty new to caching, but I think one of the best things about it IS the fact that you have to be stealthy and figure out how to not get muggled. To me that's the best part of the game...I feel like a spy. If you really, really try to be creative in order to get around being muggled you will do fine!

 

we've said it before, and we'll say it again: when you think you're being stealthy, you are wide open and attracting attention. the single best way to arouse suspicion is to act stealthy. the more "creative" you are, the more people will watch you. if that's what you like about the game, why not buy yourself a big black cape, inch around the corners of buildings, and commando-crawl to the containers?

 

it would be more fun for you, little spy, and just about as effective in terms of going without being noticed.

[+StarBrand]

Don't be stealthy. Be bold.

 

Boldly walk up to the cache location, do your search, find the cache, retrieve it, sign the log, put it back, Move along. Don't look back. Act as though you know 100% for sure what you are doing and why (mostly beacuse you are not doing anything wrong - are you?). Be confident and sure of yourself. Be prepared to do what you must to pull this off. Carry a clipboard and a pen. Look official. Just do it. I find most people tend to ignore very serious and bold folks.

 

Otherwise my best advice is to skip any cache that poses a muggle issue.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

I don't like high muggle caches and my wife won't even get out of the truck. If its in plain sight its not too bad but to root around with people staring at you.....forget it. Its hard to believe that some folks like these but there are enough out there that they must.

[+flask]

do you find it interesting that people who have been caching a year or less largely advocate trying to be stealthy, but people who've been at it five or more years almost universally caution against stealth tricks?

 

hmmm?

 

i do.

[+wimseyguy]

Recently I had to abandon some searches b/c the caches were in high-muggle areas. One in the corner of a parking lot. People stood outside the restraunt and stared at me as I poked in the bushes.

 

Another was on a wooden fence near the loading dock of a retail store. Muggles everywhere. Just approaching the fence earned me suspicious glances.

 

Then there's the ones in parking lots under those light pole skirts. I fear someone will call the police!

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

They were only staring at you because they were bored and waiting for a table inside. Act like you aren't doing anything wrong and you will become boring to them too.

 

Cops are students of human nature, and they are taking advanced classes daily. Any one of them would likely understand exactly how the public would react to someone dressed in that getup vs. someone in plain clothes. Not breaking the law or being unsafe? You're probably fine.

Amen. I can't emphasize how important this is.

 

Cops have very good BS detectors and very good sneakiness detectors. If you are being sneaky, they will notice you. If you try to BS them, they will know it. The best way not to be noticed by cops is to not act sneaky, and be completely honest if questioned.

 

Quite true. I've had three LEO encounters in the past month. All were quite different.

One was in the back lot of an office building on a weekend afternoon. The deputy was already back there because he had been dispatched to investigate a report of someone inside the building when no one was supposed to be there. He had never heard of geocaching, knew very little of GPS usage, and was taking names and numbers from our ID's when his Sgt. pulled in. As soon as I mentioned we were geocaching he said "I've heard of that-sounds like fun" and the recording deputy lightened his mood considerably.

Two was on a quiet back road after the Friday night Geowoodstock event. I pulled completely off the road and behind a road sign for extra protection. My pals were already off in the woods searching as I exited the car. The blue lights came up, the window down, and as soon I as said 'we're geocaching' he replied 'have fun and don't get hit by a car-I don't want to have to come back out here'.

Three was at work-and I think the officer was trying hard to determine how good my BS meter was. He's bringing the safety patrol to the museum where I manage the foodservice and wanted to play Let's Make a Deal with my menu pricing. I pointed out that we get 50-100 groups in here per week, and cannot make adjustments for just one group. It took several repititions before he understood.

 

we've said it before, and we'll say it again: when you think you're being stealthy, you are wide open and attracting attention. the single best way to arouse suspicion is to act stealthy. the more "creative" you are, the more people will watch you. if that's what you like about the game, why not buy yourself a big black cape, inch around the corners of buildings, and commando-crawl to the containers?

Don't forget to blast the Pink Panther soundtrack from the car stereo while doing this. The rhythm is sure to help with the stealth.

[+geodarts]

After thinking about this, it depends in part on the nature of the hide. If a cache is on private property (even in a semi-public location), the best situation is when the owner confirms that he or she got permission to place it there. That alleviates the need for stealth, makes me less nervous about looking in a semi-public area, and has led to some nice conversations with people at various locations.

 

Perhaps under the guidelines you can assume the cache has permission, but how many people have asked permission for a lamppost hide? Just saying (a topic to discuss in another thread). If I am in doubt, and its a very busy area on private property, I sometimes made a quick pass through and hope for the best -- and then contact the cache owner to find out how open I can be in making the find.

 

If it is in a publicly owned spot, than of course it varies with the difficulty of the hide. Unless otherwise stated, I assume that the cache was placed under the "if its not been prohibited, it must be permitted" rationale (the subject of another thread, I am sure). Under those circumstances, I assume that there is some interest in being "stealthy," particularly if the cache owner asks you to be.

 

I agree that acting too secretive is not a good idea. I will try to give myself some reason for being in that particular spot if it is a simple find. Sometimes I will make a lifeline call to verify that I am looking in the right place, for the right thing. But some people have an amazing way of sitting next to a cache location and making a long phone call that outlasts the amount of time I have to wait. If somebody is just sitting there, and I may not have an opportunity to return, the direct approach usually works: I tell people what I am doing and ask if they would mind if I looked there. That has also led to some interesting conversations. But if 20 people are just sitting around there . . .

 

I do not care if people look at me a bit funny if I am making a find, but I also do not want to be mistaken for an anarchist bomb placer when I return it. Or at least the bomb placer part. If you are not comfortable in making a find, don't do it. Life is too short and there are plenty of other caches.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Erickson

[+FrogAndPig]

Out two and a half year-old daughter usually provides a good distraction away from the cache for the muggles.

 

Two weeks ago, there was a cache hidden about 20 feet behind a muggle playing tennis and others walking past. Because my wife and I were fussing with our daughter while fussing with the cache, no one was the wiser.

 

Although, I've employed the my-GPS-is-a-cell-phone trick on a number of times....

[+flask]

 

Although, I've employed the my-GPS-is-a-cell-phone trick on a number of times....

 

then the joke's on you!

 

everyone who's anyone knows that nobody is ever fooled by this, although people who do it are a never-ending source of amusement to those of us who know better.

[+mrbort]

 

Although, I've employed the my-GPS-is-a-cell-phone trick on a number of times....

 

then the joke's on you!

 

everyone who's anyone knows that nobody is ever fooled by this, although people who do it are a never-ending source of amusement to those of us who know better.

 

I'm not sure who's anyone and I'm apparently not... but I don't see why it wouldn't work if done well. I've done it using my real phone (not the GPS because that doesn't look quite right) while I poke at a wall or something for a micro... People do aimless things while on the phone and I don't think that people pay strange behavior like that much attention.

 

That being said, while I have the construction hat and vest in the car, I have only used them once to drop a TB in a cache that was stuck to an electrical box. I don't think I'm going to use that anymore because I just didn't feel legit. I generally go up looking like I know what I'm doing (because I do... im looking for the cache!) and if I feel uncomfortable about the location then I leave. I don't like sneaking or the feeling that I'm doing something wrong or that others would perceive that. If I ever get that feeling it probably means I'm sneaking and I tend to leave

[+flask]

 

I'm not sure who's anyone and I'm apparently not... but I don't see why it wouldn't work if done well. I've done it using my real phone (not the GPS because that doesn't look quite right) while I poke at a wall or something for a micro... People do aimless things while on the phone and I don't think that people pay strange behavior like that much attention.

 

That being said, while I have the construction hat and vest in the car, I have only used them once to drop a TB in a cache that was stuck to an electrical box. I don't think I'm going to use that anymore because I just didn't feel legit. I generally go up looking like I know what I'm doing (because I do... im looking for the cache!) and if I feel uncomfortable about the location then I leave. I don't like sneaking or the feeling that I'm doing something wrong or that others would perceive that. If I ever get that feeling it probably means I'm sneaking and I tend to leave

 

(bolding mine)

 

i think you've just made my point...

[+flask]

 

I'm not sure who's anyone and I'm apparently not... but I don't see why it wouldn't work if done well. I've done it using my real phone (not the GPS because that doesn't look quite right) while I poke at a wall or something for a micro... People do aimless things while on the phone and I don't think that people pay strange behavior like that much attention.

 

That being said, while I have the construction hat and vest in the car, I have only used them once to drop a TB in a cache that was stuck to an electrical box. I don't think I'm going to use that anymore because I just didn't feel legit. I generally go up looking like I know what I'm doing (because I do... im looking for the cache!) and if I feel uncomfortable about the location then I leave. I don't like sneaking or the feeling that I'm doing something wrong or that others would perceive that. If I ever get that feeling it probably means I'm sneaking and I tend to leave

 

(bolding mine)

 

i think you've just made my point...

[+Unkle Fester]

 

How do you pull of caching w/o landing in the slammer? Especially when a cache is a challenging one requiring a LOT of poking and examination of an area?

 

My Dad has a technique that renders him invisible. He keeps an orange vest, hardhat and a clipboard in his rig while geocaching. When the muggles get thick, he dons his urban camo and virtually disappears.

 

It's a sickness.

I do the same, amazing how people ignore you with the bright orange on... with that, you can walk around with your GPSr in hand and no one is the wiser.

 

I'm also partial to nocturnal caching, takes most of the muggles away.

 

...and if you do see a LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) just be honest and upfront about geocaching and most of them will understand (after playing stupid for a while). I've even got the graveyard cops out here involved.