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Homeless moving into GZ of your cache!


WarNinjas

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I found a night cache that I loved! Following the reflectors at night to GZ. That was far from home and wanted to set one up for others in the area. I searched and searched for a place that we could set something like this up. Finally found a spot not far from home so it was perfect for maintenance. Hand made all the reflectors and got it perfect and fun. FTF liked it. So I took the better half of the WarNinjas "PinkNinja" out to find what I had set up and at GZ there was a tent set up with a light on. A homeless guy living at GZ. I couldn't show her the cache. The next to find also found the homeless guy (light and radio on). Then went back during the day and found the cache but the homeless guys tent was still set up. Basically the cache setup is ruined if there is a homeless guy living at GZ at night. I am thinking I need to go talk to him about moving his camp but that would be kind of crazy. Just wondering if any of you had thoughts of what you would do. I'm pretty sure he/she was not living there when I set it up and moved in quickly after our placement.

-WarNinjas

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This is ridiculous...

 

"Hi sir, I realize that you don't have the means to live anywhere but in a tent in the woods, and may or may not have eaten today, but I'd like to very slightly add to your troubles by asking you to move your camp 528 feet east of here so that we can play our GAME. You see, we take our $500 GPS receivers around in our free time and search for trinkets in little containers, hidden in the woods. Half the time we don't even take the trinkets, we do it just for fun!"

 

"Sir, do you remember fun?"

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This is ridiculous...

 

"Hi sir, I realize that you don't have the means to live anywhere but in a tent in the woods, and may or may not have eaten today, but I'd like to very slightly add to your troubles by asking you to move your camp 528 feet east of here so that we can play our GAME. You see, we take our $500 GPS receivers around in our free time and search for trinkets in little containers, hidden in the woods. Half the time we don't even take the trinkets, we do it just for fun!"

 

"Sir, do you remember fun?"

 

"Of course I do! Eating roadkill is fun! Sleeping on rocks is fun! Having to beg people for money....sooo much fun.

I'll just go ahead and move."

:unsure:

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Years ago, I was planning a cache, but it was a slightly urban woods where a lot of people came to fish in a river, so I wanted to do some recon first. I stowed an empty ammo can in my hiding spot, just to see if it would last a few weeks. When I returned for it, there was a tent under the fallen tree where I had put it, and the ammo can was gone. I didn't hide the cache. Hopefully the homeless person was able to make good use of the can.

 

Another time, I was looking for a cache in a similar semi-urban wood. I gave up the hunt when I was approaching GZ and noticed a tent right where I was headed. When I got home I looked at some logs on the cache page and realized I had been scared off by the cache container.

Edited by Dinoprophet
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I had a cache that was in a wooded area of a place I used to work and a homeless person built this really hard to see camoflouged tent in there about a year into the cache's existence. It was green anyway but then he covered it with Cedar branches, it was easy to miss. However, this camp literally put my cache under his tent. He built it right on top of my cache! Came one day during the daytime, made some noise to make sure he was not there and then I found the cache inside his tent and moved it.

 

I liked that hiding spot, but it had to move. If it can survive being in someone's tent without being taken, it was a good spot. Was just a bison.

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As far as the homeless person...

I have seen them leave the cache alone.

I have seen them point to the cache to help you find it.

I have seen them ignore you but any items if use/value would disappear.

That said, I will typically leave the area and come back for the cache later. 'most' homeless are migratory and will vacate the area when the season changes.

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Happens to me all the time. What makes a spot ideal for a cache (privacy) also makes a spot ideal for a clandestine camp.

 

When this happened to a puzzle cache of mine, I put out an alternate container at offset coordinates nearby; I gave people the choice of finding the original container in the guy's backyard, or adding something to N and W to get the alternate coords. Eventually the guy moved on, but it took a while.

 

My new strategy is to look for hiding spots on steep slopes, high terrain places. I ask myself now, where would I hide a cache, but not want to pitch a tent?

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I'd want to avoid homeless people while looking for a cache so archive it. Maybe he won't be there forever.

I've ben a little leery about people living in the woods ever since reading an article that said many sex offenders have been living in the forests so they don't have to deal with all the housing regulations about where they can and can't live.

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Your community may have a Trail Watch Program like Anchorage, Alaska, has implemented. Volunteers and geocachers report homeless camp locations through the program and the proper agencies/authorities act on the information.

 

While it's true it's not illegal to be homeless, it is illegal to camp on many public lands and it's also true (for Alaska anyway) that most people camping illegally in Anchorage parklands also harbor hepatitis and other transmittable diseases. Most of these camps are no where near a proper commode, so the human waste ends up in the woods to be rolled in or stepped in by dogs and humans and brought back to the georig and home. Not a pleasant thought, but it is an unfortunate reality that is not best left alone.

 

Whether one reports the encampment to the authorities or not, moving the cache is prudent to avoid exposing cachers to the human waste that will be somehere in the area of ground zero and to a potential unpleasant encounter with the resident. We have had cachers chased off a night cache trail by machete-wielding campers. That camp definitely didn't go unreported.

Edited by Ladybug Kids
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Just maybe mention the homeless person in the description and to maybe mention that he/she might just be thankful if everyone going for that cache brought along a apple or some such and gave it to the person. Just sayin'

 

Single best response EVER!

 

You sir, are a stand up individual. You have also restored much faith in mankind for me.

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Just maybe mention the homeless person in the description and to maybe mention that he/she might just be thankful if everyone going for that cache brought along a apple or some such and gave it to the person. Just sayin'

 

Single best response EVER!

 

You sir, are a stand up individual. You have also restored much faith in mankind for me.

 

I would do the above suggestion and mention to the homeless person that people may be tracking through his area at night or whenever so it's not shocking to him when it happens. I mean can you imagine being in your home and see a line of loud people with flashlights come bouncing through your yard? It would be a bit disconcerting.

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I have a cache which I only found out was a homeless hangout after someone mentioned it in their log. Thought I was going to have to archive it until the logs started talking about how the nice homeless person asked them if they were looking for that box and helped them find it. It seem that I now had a cache guardian and it hasn't gone missing since. Nobody has complained about any problems with the homeless person and he/she isn't always there so for those who didn't feel comforable approaching they were able to come back later on.

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Because of the sign of the times you will notice more and more homeless camping out. Also with the Occupy still in some areas you will see that too.

But on top of that you need to see if you have permission to place the cache in the location you are doing. I have a feeling where your doing it since I've done some of your caches. Most parks do have curfews. If it is in a park you may need to check what curfews they have. There are a few that allow til 10pm. The ones that end early it may not be dark enough for the Night Cache to be fun as the Daylight Savings time changes.

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I would never call the cops on the poor guy. I'm sure he is probibly cool just going threw hard times. It is not a park with a curfew. It is a big space in that area. If he/she was over 20 feet it would probibly be OK for some. Obviously not someone with small kids or anything but his tent is set up right at ground zero. If it was moved a little he could still live there. Still probibly not the best place for a cache now. It has been mentioned in the logs and I might go check on it again soon to see what is up with it. Hopefully he will move or I can find a time he is not there to move the cache. I guess it is not that big of a deal but It happened 2 days after it was published. I know a homeless guy in the area that hangs out at 7-11 but it is not him as I seen him after leaving the cache. I will work it out without giving up his new home.

-WarNinjas

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I would never call the cops on the poor guy. I'm sure he is probibly cool just going threw hard times. It is not a park with a curfew. It is a big space in that area. If he/she was over 20 feet it would probibly be OK for some. Obviously not someone with small kids or anything but his tent is set up right at ground zero. If it was moved a little he could still live there. Still probibly not the best place for a cache now. It has been mentioned in the logs and I might go check on it again soon to see what is up with it. Hopefully he will move or I can find a time he is not there to move the cache. I guess it is not that big of a deal but It happened 2 days after it was published. I know a homeless guy in the area that hangs out at 7-11 but it is not him as I seen him after leaving the cache. I will work it out without giving up his new home.

-WarNinjas

 

Most homeless men I've met have actually been pretty nice. I've passed any number doing urban caches in parts of Dallas, and had some ask me if I was OK, lost, in trouble, etc. All sorts of people find themselves in this situation, although you do need to be a little careful, because sometimes there is a reason a person is homeless other than just pure bad luck - some people who are homeless have fairly severe addiction problems (often alcohol), or sometimes really profound mental illnesses. That said, generally I think life is hard enough for them that they don't go looking for trouble - life provides this in abundance, so as long as you leave them alone, they aren't likely to be dangerous.

 

I'm glad you decided to live and let live.

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Call the cops, say he maybe sell illegal drugs :-)

Really?

Really??????

 

Offcourse NOT.. you got to be joking,

I am normally a person who dont care much what others do of wierd stuff, how they look or how they smell,

as long as they mean no harm to me, I dont need to understand it, or accept it, just mind my own business.

 

I cant see why a cache should be disabled just becourse a homeless live there for a few days, or weeks..

Geocachers are nice and friendly and helpfull people,

we do not want to ignore or harm anyone,

just write a note about the cache site situation, and let cachers judge by them self, if they want to enter this area or not.

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Call the cops, say he maybe sell illegal drugs :-)

Really?

Really??????

 

Offcourse NOT.. you got to be joking,

I am normally a person who dont care much what others do of wierd stuff, how they look or how they smell,

as long as they mean no harm to me, I dont need to understand it, or accept it, just mind my own business.

 

I cant see why a cache should be disabled just becourse a homeless live there for a few days, or weeks..

Geocachers are nice and friendly and helpfull people,

we do not want to ignore or harm anyone,

just write a note about the cache site situation, and let cachers judge by them self, if they want to enter this area or not.

In the case of my own cache, I temporarily disabled it at first to allow myself time to inspect the area at GZ. I agree that most homeless people are seeking shelter and a little privacy and that most are probably harmless. But when I saw the area first hand, it was a no-brainer to shut it down. I agonized over the decision and contacted my local reviewer with the details. I made the right decision.

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