Stealth Mode Tactics

[GOF and Bacall]

If I stuck a cache in a tree outside the drive-thru window of an all night coffee shop I don't leave a searcher much choice, now do I? I suspect those good folks in the donut shop are aware of the cache by now even if no permission was obtained.

 

Crappy locations stink for hiding a cache. Got it.

 

So if I nonchalantly retrieve the cache I'm not being stealthy.

 

As apposed to trying to sneak up on the position like secret agent man costumed in an orange vest like a road crew groupie? No. You are not being stealthy. Just smart. So if you want to put it that way, yes, the best stealth is no stealth.

 

I think we should make a reasonable amount of effort to conceal the cache location. That doesn't mean we can't be seen what we are doing, but we do need to consider how much to reveal and how to deal with various situations.

 

When someone asks the question in the forums I don't like the pat answer. "Oh we don't do stealth, we just go for it." That's not much of an answer. At least not one I agree with really.

 

I'm thinking secret agent man costumed in an orange vest like a road crew groupie will get noticed. Halloween night might be the best time to try, depending on the location.

 

I think what you and I are tossing around here is at what point does reasonable care become sneaking around. That is the point that I think it stops being nonchalant and starts into the realm of stealth.

 

To be honest I wouldn't stop to sign the one outside the drive-thru window. But that has nothing to do with any need for stealth.

[GOF and Bacall]

I'm thinking secret agent man costumed in an orange vest like a road crew groupie will get noticed. Halloween night might be the best time to try, depending on the location.

 

Yes, I agree. Perhaps Halloween would be a good time for me to go after some of those stealth required caches. I'll dress up in one of my old Army uniforms and look for that nano on that tank.

[+BlueDeuce]

I think what you and I are tossing around here is at what point does reasonable care become sneaking around. That is the point that I think it stops being nonchalant and starts into the realm of stealth.

 

To be honest I wouldn't stop to sign the one outside the drive-thru window. But that has nothing to do with any need for stealth.

 

Yes, we are discussing that, but I'm trying to say is that isn't the topic.

 

You all are talking about being nonchalant. (Instead of stealthy) Okay. How do you do that?

 

I find bringing my kids along for the hunt allows me to step back (from being noticed) while they poke and peer under stuff.

 

Sundays, Summer time, 5 am (the sun is up here) is the best time to try for an urban micro. (And the overpass benchmark)

[GOF and Bacall]

I think what you and I are tossing around here is at what point does reasonable care become sneaking around. That is the point that I think it stops being nonchalant and starts into the realm of stealth.

 

To be honest I wouldn't stop to sign the one outside the drive-thru window. But that has nothing to do with any need for stealth.

 

Yes, we are discussing that, but I'm trying to say is that isn't the topic.

 

You all are talking about being nonchalant. (Instead of stealthy) Okay. How do you do that?

 

I find bringing my kids along for the hunt allows me to step back (from being noticed) while they poke and peer under stuff.

 

Sundays, Summer time, 5 am (the sun is up here) is the best time to try for an urban micro. (And the overpass benchmark)

 

In all honesty? Usually by hiking in the woods by myself. However, in more populated areas I plan my search before I even approach the cache. I know exactly what spots I am going to look in. I walk up and I look. And I am always prepared to walk away if I think that is the most reasonable course of action.

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

i used to think i was being stealthy. However, so many folks have asked "what are you looking for?" "Are you lost" "are you looking for turtles" that i realize i'm not as ninja-like as i thought.

 

i can't help it, i search hard. The harder the cache, the more suspicious i look. i'm on my knees, climbing up a tree, touching everything and walking in circles very quickly, then doing an abrupt about face.

 

However, after i do all that and find the cache i usually don't grab it right away. i stop and try to look normal again and take a peek around to see if anyone is looking, if i attracted a crowd etc.

 

Then when i think the coast is clear i make a quick grab and hide the container (in my backpack usually, then get the log out and sign. i put the cache back as smoothly as possible.

 

i don't want to get the cache muggles nor do i want people asking what i'm doing. i get flustered and have a hard time explaining what caching is. And muggles annoy me when they search with me because they point at everything and ask "is that it"? Ha.

 

That's my technique!

[+LukeTrocity]

I don't do stealth.

 

I did snag a micro under a park bench on a college campus without waking up the young lady who had fallen asleep on it.

Imagine if she did wake up??

 

Girl: Umm wtf are you doing?

 

GOF: ...looking...for a ...pill bottle i think?

 

Girl: What to roofie me you creep?!

 

Gof:No its geocac...

 

Girl: <Blows rape whistle>

[GOF and Bacall]

I don't do stealth.

 

I did snag a micro under a park bench on a college campus without waking up the young lady who had fallen asleep on it.

Imagine if she did wake up??

 

Girl: Umm wtf are you doing?

 

GOF: ...looking...for a ...pill bottle i think?

 

Girl: What to roofie me you creep?!

 

Gof:No its geocac...

 

Girl: <Blows rape whistle>

 

Exactly why I said I gave up such things.

[knowschad]

A little internet research provided a few good ideas:

1) Use your shoe as though it were a telephone.

 

2) Dress like a Coke machine

 

3) Make like a shrubbery

 

 

4) Improvise a clever mask using Magic Markers

 

 

5) Wear a clever disguise

 

 

6) Wear a clever disguise and look too young to cause trouble.

 

 

7) Wear a clever disguise, but look too stupid to cause trouble.

[+ZeLonewolf]

Frankly, for me, the stealth argument comes down 3 key points:

 

1. All geocaches are hidden with permission. While this may not be true, it's what the rules say, and every CO has checked the box. So therefore, when seeking a cache, you're somewhere that you're allowed to be, doing an activity that is perfectly legal. Therefore, there is no need to evade anyone. If I'm called out on it, I'm going to be honest about what I'm doing.

 

2. Some caches are hidden in a place where there are lots of muggles about, and COs are worried about muggles removing/destroying the cache container, and therefore we should be "stealthy" about retrieving/replacing the cache container. If there is indeed a muggle watching what you're doing, you can be sure they can tell you're acting suspiciously. No matter how hard you try, trust me, you look out of place. If a muggle is truly interested in what you're doing, they'll wait until you leave and then check out the spot you were at. In fact, they may be "stealthy" about watching you out of the corner of their eye.

 

3. Muggled containers are simply not the searcher's problem, for a simple reason: if it goes missing, it's the CO, not the finder, that will have to deal with it. Unfortunately, this is a harsh reality. If the location is so fragile that the mere sight of someone poking around causes it to go missing, perhaps it's not a well-thought-out location for the cache. As a finder, I will not set myself up for a bad situation merely to keep the secrecy of your film canister preserved.

 

I'll seek every cache I can get my hands on, park-and-grab, or 5 mile hike as the case may be. I won't avoid "stealth required" caches, nor will I be stealthy, and there are others like me, so this is a reality that COs will simply have to deal with. Sorry.

[+Chokecherry]

I did a few "stealth required" things the other day. I didn't sneak around. Knowing how hit and miss it is for people to actually get permission to place their caches (because you know it's hard and they might say no) I'm not going risk myself for it.

 

One of my last caches was at this lake. I drove around found a place to park. Read through the cache information again. And then walked 10 feet away from some muggles who were having a rousing conversation on relationship issues and barely paid me any attention. No I could have been out of there reasonably quick had the information on the cache page been accurate but because some people don't want their micros filtered and labeled that bad boy as small I spent much more time looking for the wrong sized container and only accident ended up find that soggy mess of a container. I was fully prepared to explain geocaching to those folks if need be. I was ready to be personable and actually do something radical like say hello if I had to and carry on a friendly conversation but it never came down to that. But I thought about it as I drove home. And thought about that beautiful area and all the potential hiding spots well away from where any muggles would be that could hold a larger container and thought how sad that you set up a cache to basically be muggled right where it was. And oh the creative cache containers that could have gone around there.

[+jsargent]

It would have never occured to me that "stealth" mode would be required on a 5/5 cache. I haven't done this one yet so I'm not sure how accurate the rating is. Fortunately the muggles became cachers in this case. It is certainly proof that you're not as stealthy as you think you are.