Geocaching in urban areas

[Grilledmonkey05]

I'm still pretty new to geocaching and so far have mainly done ones when i was holidaying up north. Now that im back in town i want to keep going and there appears to be tonnes in my area. The problem is that i find the sites so open that i feel stupid getting out my GPS and poking around in local parks, playgrounds etc.

 

How can i avoid being caught by muggles??

[4wheelin_fool]

If they see you looking for something, it won't cause a problem, as it could be anything. However, when you figure out where it is, just be careful that nobody sees you retrieving or replacing it.

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

You might find this thread in another part of the forum of interest: LINK

[+EFLFT]

I was looking for one the other day near the ground in a populated urban area ... I decided it would be smart to bend over and act like I'm tying my shoe while I look .. until I realized I'd worn slip-ons that day. Mental Note: wear lace-up shoes for urban caching. lol

 

I've also tried to park nearby and act like I'm looking at something on/in my car.

 

If all else fails, take out your cell phone and act like you're talking. People usually dismiss it when people are doing random odd things while talking on a cell phone, because they are just distracted.

 

The best advice I've been given, though, is to NOT TRY to not look suspicious, because then you're far more likely to look suspicious. Relax and have fun, and most of the time nobody will notice.

[+popokiiti]

Try not to look around to see if anyone is watching you...that's a surefire way to draw attention to youself. Look at people and they will keep looking back wondering what's up. I was sitting on a bench on a boardwalk with a cache on my lap when muggles approached. They said "Hi" and I returned the greeting, pretending I had a mouthful of food from my "lunchbox." They quickly left me alone to my picnic after my grunt.

[+Jedi_Find_Trick]

We always bring our dog. We're always just walking him if anyone takes notice.

 

The dog is also good for roadside stops. Just looks like he needs a pit stop.

[+The Blorenges]

I'm still pretty new to geocaching and so far have mainly done ones when i was holidaying up north. Now that im back in town i want to keep going and there appears to be tonnes in my area. The problem is that i find the sites so open that i feel stupid getting out my GPS and poking around in local parks, playgrounds etc.

 

How can i avoid being caught by muggles??

 

Local parks - Have a clipboard, pencil and reference book with you. If anyone asks you are doing a survey of local indigenous insects including the little known coleoptera microcachetus. You've had reports of sightings in the area...

 

Local playgrounds - Hmmm. I don't really like to see caches within children's playgrounds but if you must search for them I'd suggest you pick a time when few children are there and if questioned you could say that you're doing a survey on recreational provisions for youngsters in the locality and the standards of play facilities. Or something...

 

Random walls and other architectural structures - Apparently a hi-vis vest, hardhat and clipboard works well. You become a local 'official' checking structures for acid rain erosion/safety/graffiti/road-widening scheme etc...

 

Or

 

If anyone asks you could just say you're geocaching and hand them one of these brochures

 

Geocaching University "Let's Go Geocaching!"

 

Have fun!

 

MrsB

[+randco]

If its a really busy area, we usually carry a clipboard with us. It makes it look like we are doing some type of planning project. The clipboard also provides us with a comfortable writing surface to sigh the log on.

[Grilledmonkey05]

Thanks everyone! Some great ideas ideas there

 

I particularly like the 'survey of indigenous insects', i could swap that to looking for orchids given im a flora conservation officer...no one would be the wiser!

 

Cheers again

[+taragl]

We're new to geocaching, but we found quickly that carrying a small camera puts most non-geocachers at ease. Photographers go just about anywhere for a great shot, so why wouldn't I be hanging upside down off a fishing pier poking into the rip rap?

[+Sol seaker]

Try not to look around to see if anyone is watching you...that's a surefire way to draw attention to youself. Look at people and they will keep looking back wondering what's up. I was sitting on a bench on a boardwalk with a cache on my lap when muggles approached. They said "Hi" and I returned the greeting, pretending I had a mouthful of food from my "lunchbox." They quickly left me alone to my picnic after my grunt.

 

Yeah that was me walking by.

 

I left quickly because I thought it was pretty strange you were eating that cache!!