+mountainmann Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Wheile caching in Florida, I was wearing od shirt, shorts, and hat, a muggle asked me what I was doing? I told them I was with the Federal Department of Electromagnatism, and was working with the Florida Department of Magnatism, to find a missing band of magnetic energy. They asked if it was dangerous? I said no as long as we can find it before it grows. They asked if they could help, I said yes and gave them an 800 number to call if they spotted anything amiss. The number was to Hooters in Tacoma. I alwas tell the Police and other offical types the truth. Quote Link to comment
+NatureGuy360 Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 (edited) Um, I tell them the truth? Actually, the only muggles that I have come across recently are angry business owners or managers who had no idea that a geocache was placed on their property. In situations such as that, it is simply best to tell the truth. What boggles my mind though, is that the business owners and managers are usually okay with having a geocache on their property but they are offended that no one asked permission to place it there. If it's just a random person walking by then I can understand just giving them a quick excuse. However, if there is someone with an inquiring mind then just tell them the truth. This world is so much more open to the idea of geocaching when we actually expand their knowledge about it. Let's hide geocaches, not our intentions. Edited November 13, 2009 by heyjonathan101 Quote Link to comment
+smstext Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 like above officals and people who's land its on i tell them the truth, any other tom, dick or harry im looking for the dogs ball its lost. Quote Link to comment
+Morning Dew Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 My standard MO, although I've only used a few times (5 or 6): Authority (Police, FBI, CIA, My Wife): The truth - Never had to use this one though Semi-Authority (Store Owner, Shift Manager, etc.) - Scavenger Hunt Anyone Else - Lie, lie, lie . . . . The wilder the better. Standard Lie - Looking for my fiances (I'm married) engagement ring. She threw at me when we got in a fight standing here. Quote Link to comment
+jeffbouldin Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 I generally will tell the truth. If they know they will either away away quickly to get away from the crazy man or hopefully they will start caching. I need more hides in my town to go find. Quote Link to comment
csburdick Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I always tell myself I'll come up with some cool story, but most of the time end up saying "scavenger hunt." Mostly to avoid explaining what geocaching is, but sometimes they'll pry and I'll have to explain anyway. Officials I always tell the truth right away, most of them know what it is. Quote Link to comment
+Klatch Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I tell them I am going geocaching. Then I get in my truck and drive into the mountains to look for a cache where there are no muggles. Quote Link to comment
+newby1 Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 On my first muggle encounter I told a lady I was looking for my cat. Unfortunately she joined in on the search. After a minute or 2 I pretended to get a call from my wife that she found the cat. Pretty awkward so now I just tell the truth. Quote Link to comment
+bouffantloup Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I tell them I am going geocaching. Then I get in my truck and drive into the mountains to look for a cache where there are no muggles. Yep! I HATE caching with muggles around. I don't think i've ever had anyone ask me what what i'm doing. I often pretend i'm just wandering about, talking on my cell phone. Quote Link to comment
Starbreaker Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Only ever come across this once and I said scavenger hunt. I've been involved in two police run ins. One set actually helped look, and the other guy laughed and drove off. Quote Link to comment
+pamlicojack Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I had a 7-year-old kid come up to me and ask if I was doing "That GPS thing" while looking on an adjacent property. He spent about 15 minutes asking questions about geocaching and seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing. He actually helped me when I dropped the cache lid over a fence and he crawled under and grabbed it. He promised to never bother it, but not to give any clues to anyone else that came by. I've seen at least two other people have found the cache since then so I'm confident that he won't bother it. It made me smile when he said he would like to get a GPS when he was older and start "treasure hunting" himself... Quote Link to comment
MikeB3542 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I always tell the truth: I'm geocaching. Lying to law enforcement and authorities is patently stupid. Lying to muggles is also dumb, since it just makes them suspiciuos (and then you are back to dealing with law enforcement). Heck, I've come to drop the whole pretense of stealth. Hate to say, but most of you cachers out there, me included, suck at being "stealthy". Most of us just end up looking sneaky and silly. Most muggles have heard enough about geocaching and GPS navigation to be curious -- they are less clueless than you suppose. Quote Link to comment
+Captain Whitebread Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 As a rule, always tell the authorites the truth. It can save you alot of grief later. But, as I have learned from fellow cachers, if you get a hard hat and a clipboard you can pretty much tell the general public anything plausible and they will buy it..........C-ya Quote Link to comment
+prairieview_IL Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Birdwatching. I think I saw a rare bird. Most people know nothing about birds and I am an amatuer birdwater so this works fine for me. Authorities I will tell them the truth. I have had some great encounters with cache owners when I thought they were muggles, including police. Just try avoiding a cop when it's his cache you are looking for across the street from the police station! Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 What do you tell muggles. The truth. If I think they are a risk to the cache...I'll take the cache with me and report to the owner for further instructions. Quote Link to comment
+RadishSpirit Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I usually tell them that I'm hunting. And I'm hunting the most dangerous game of all. Quote Link to comment
+leosoul Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I was caching yesterday inside a golf course when I saw a muggle coming to me. I abandoned the search and started going off the track when he intercepted me and asked "looking for geocache" ? Haha...I said Yeah....how do you know ? Turned out he is fellow geocacher who works at the golf course. Took some pictures, shook hands, nice smiles and time to move on ;-) Quote Link to comment
+Fusion Chamberlain Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Usually it depends on the situation. Cops, just come clean, most of them have heard of it, several will even recognize the equipment when they see it. Anyone from college age to late middle age, if they look friendly, will find it interesting and help look and if you give them the website, will probably check it out later and maybe even start themselves. Children I basically just ignore. I've had kids shout at us from a distance several times, and a dirty look is usually enough to keep them away. Teens are really the only ones you have to completely keep in the dark about the sport, as they are the only ones that will intentionally steal or vandalize just for the fun of doing so. Just the nature of that age. The elderly, I've found, will get a little anxious when I try to explain, and if I start to approach, will say something about calling the police and then try to get away. The only real problem I've ever had was with a park ranger. We explained the sport, showed him our gpses, let him read some pages we printed, gave him the website, and offered to take him to a cache. All he was worried about was the hand sanitizer we had that smelled a bit like triple sec. He was really ramped up to arrest some people and wouldn't let the alcohol thing go. Held us up for 20 minutes or so and was totally unwilling to listen to reason of any kind, and denied the existence of geocaching, and wouldn't believe that anyone would sully his precious park with an ammo can. In the rare occurrence that you have a run in with a complete knob like this, as long as they aren't in an authority position, I find my standard, "None of your business" or "Don't worry about it" works as well as anything. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I think I heard this at a geocaching get-together. Just tell them you are doing a clandestine CIA information drop and then ask them for their name. Quote Link to comment
ohjebus Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Just tell them the truth... Maybe they'll want to play too! thats how I started. Quote Link to comment
+Tempestteapot Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Well the one time we were asked was after me, my husband, my mom and my 4 kids spent 20 minutes doing the drunken bee dance around a parking lot, then went in a straight line for about 50 feet in a mama-duck-with-with-ducklings style formation and then back to the drunken bee thing again near the basketball field, finally to clump around a single sad bush. All we could do was tell the truth! I'm sure they assumed we were lying ANYWAYS. I am NEVER letting the 9 year old man the GPS AGAIN! At least if I want to even PRETEND I'm sneaky. Quote Link to comment
sheilab973 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 In Florida yesterday, we had a fun conversation with 2 muggles: Muggles: "What are you looking for?" Us: "Um.... we're not really sure." Muggles: "Well, how big is it?" Us: "We don't know." Muggles: "Is it big or small?" Us: "We don't know." They shook their head and walked away. We overhead them say, "What's wrong with them? They're looking for something and they don't even know what it is!" Quote Link to comment
sheilab973 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 In Florida again: I was searching in a big clump of bushes and trees. An older man saw me. I'm almost sure he thought I was peeing in the bushes. I think I'll use this in the future as a way to cover up geocache searching in foliage! "Excuse me, please. Would you turn around and give me privacy!!" Quote Link to comment
+RadishSpirit Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 In Florida again: I was searching in a big clump of bushes and trees. An older man saw me. I'm almost sure he thought I was peeing in the bushes. I think I'll use this in the future as a way to cover up geocache searching in foliage! "Excuse me, please. Would you turn around and give me privacy!!" You definitely don't want to do this. You may get locked up for public indecency, and in some states get put on the sex offenders registry. No joke. Quote Link to comment
+mountainmann Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 Went caching in heavy muggle area, so I wore my hard hat, safty vest, and carried a clipboard. Walked over to cach looked like Im inspecting the area grabed cach signed log doodled in clipboard replaced cach. One person walkede over aqnd asked if I was here for the gas line, the cach was close to an electric sign so I said No electrical. They walked away on their cell phone calling thee gas company again. I hide in plain sight now. Quote Link to comment
+RonTon Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I tell the truth, then when they get that blank stair I pull out a business card with a brief explanation of Geocaching. Quote Link to comment
+cdwilliams05 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Cops the truth. Business Owner's who question me, I say I'm on a scavenger hunt. Muggles, I try and be vague, and just say a friend called me to check if they had lost their (insert item that could be left on a car, and driven off), and since I was in the area told them, I'd swing by and check it out. It's worked so far. Definitely going to get myself a hardhat, vest and clipboard, That's a nice Idea. Quote Link to comment
+mattressgnome Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I usually tell them that I'm hunting.And I'm hunting the most dangerous game of all. HAHA! I usually have my leatherbound cache log with me and my cell/GPSr in my hand, and since I am a biologist who is used to doing field work, often I am searching for ice and wind damaged trees or looking for my stylus. Quote Link to comment
+Lone_Gunman Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 the metal clipboard I use is official looking, non-official type muggles always assume I'm surveying or doing a questionaire.....anyone smart enough to ask, I just tell the truth. Suprisingly, most that talk to me just talk about developing the area........ Quote Link to comment
+Jwarrenm Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I take no credit for this: "Basically, we use billion dollar satellites to find things in the woods and sign wet pieces of paper." Quote Link to comment
max.exe Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I (Luckily) haven't had a muggle ask me what I was doing, but I'm always prepared to say "I dropped my wallet around here yesterday. Have you seen it?" Quote Link to comment
+NeecesandNephews Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I've decided to return to college and major in Home Economics, and I am doing a comprehensive in-depth field study on the UV resistance of Tupperware as part of my dissertation, and am looking for my trial exposure specimens.!! Have you seen them?? Quote Link to comment
+tzipora Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 A: What are you doing? B: Geocaching. A walks away slowly, shaking head, shocked at B's shameless nerdiness. After A exits, B finds cache. A: What are you doing? B: Geocaching. A: What's that? B: Somebody hid something around here, and I'm trying to find it. A: What did they hide? B: I don't know yet. Usually just some kind of container with a piece of paper in it. A: Oh. Is it fun? B: I think so. When I can find it, anyway. A walks away, shaking head, appalled at some folks' low standard of "fun". After A exits, B finds cache. A: What are you doing? B: Geocaching. A: You're never going to find it there. B: You found this one already? A: It's pretty clever. B: Who are you? A and B exchange stories and much nerdy fun is had by all. Quote Link to comment
zippie2223 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 I heard about geocaching a few years ago. Sign up an account, but never did it because GPS's were too expensive. Saturday we ran into a Geochacher at my sons BMX track. He started telling us about it, I already knew about it, but I let him explain it to the kids. The kids kept asking about later that night. I relized I have GPS on the phone so Sunday we went out and found 6 caches. Kids loved it they can't wait to go out next weekend. What surprised me is how much my wife loved it. tell the truth, a new geocacher is born every day... Quote Link to comment
+Viajero Perdido Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Bridge inspector, ma'am. Yes, we work weekends in the summer; that's when most failures happen. This? It measures neutrino emissions from steel under stress. Would you mind not all standing on the same side, please? Thanks." Quote Link to comment
+Matola Sapa Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Usually the muggles just give us strange looks. My husband will act like he lost his 'contacts' or something on the ground... talk loudly like we are supposed to be looking there. We ran into our first family of cachers today. We walked by and my husband said 'impossible, isn't it?' That was part of the name of the cache site. They stopped looking in the bushes and all laughed. We knew, they knew so it was our way of letting them know we understood what they were doing. They were still there on our way back from our other cache run down the road and we got to talk to them for a little while. Guess that will be our new way to test if its muggle or cacher.. use part of the name of the site to see if they catch on. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Just the other day I was caching with a friend and a muggle appeared to be checking us out. I started talking like I was looking off in the distance and made a few gestures pointing in a direction and then another. All of a sudden the muggle seemed to lose interest. If you look like you are doing something boring, they will usually just walk away. Quote Link to comment
DannyCaffeine Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Tell them what I am doing. I'm not going to come up with a false story so full of holes that they think i'm coo coo. I am really tempted sometimes to start speaking in another language and walk away. Quote Link to comment
MrPopov Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 hmm. I wonder how many stalkers use Geocaching as an excuse for their sneakiness? Quote Link to comment
+Sarada69 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 I ran into a man looking for deer antlers today...he asked what I was looking for, I told him 'treasure'. He nodded and walked off lol. Quote Link to comment
The 2 Dogs Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 I don't tell them anything. If I see someone coming toward me, I put my GPS up to my ear and they think it's a cell. It's amazing what behaviour you can get away with if people think you are on a cellphone. Try it next time your searching in a city park or a crowded eating place. Works a charm. Quote Link to comment
+Skunk Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I keep a squirt gun filled with skunk scent on me and if they get too close, I let 'em have it. Quote Link to comment
+MuzikkManiX Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 I plan on telling them I'm trying to find Timmy in the well, but as of right now, I haven't come across anyone asking me to my face, just sitting and staring Quote Link to comment
+smstext Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 i like DrSollys answer "im doing a slug survey" usually gets rid of them fast. Quote Link to comment
Amo_Angelus Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Why on Earth would you lie? I'd tell them the truth and possibly encourage them to join in on the fun Quote Link to comment
+groovydoo Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Went to one location where the cache was under the roof of a picnic table, complete with two elderly muggles, as we could not wait said, "don't mind me, I have to get something". Once I got the cache and was signing log explained what we were doing, they seemed ok, and maybe a little interested. Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 I've lost a contact lens. This is a riot in the woods. Quote Link to comment
spcso611 Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 While looking for a cache under some well groomed shrubs on a traffic island I noticed an older woman standing across the street watching me closely. She finally asked what I was looking for and without thinking I replied, "I lost my pet snake"... She stared for a moment then went into her house. I hoped as I drove away that she isnt the person who takes care of the plants here... Quote Link to comment
+ImYoungAtHeart Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) I always explain what I'm doing and how the muggles can join in on the fun if they would like to take up the new hobby. I will even show them a spare log sheet, geocaching.com on my phone and show them aprox how many caches can be found in the area right under their noses. I always try to promote geocaching and get other families interested in this fun hobby. Edited July 12, 2014 by ImYoungAtHeart Quote Link to comment
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