Geocachers being harrassed

3.6k · February 9, 2012

A new cache that was published yesterday.

Unfriendly Neighbor I do wonder how long that will last.

February 9, 2012

Funny this topic came up when it did. This 'Note' was posted to one of the caches as going to do this weekend.

(BTW) this is on a 2/4 found at the top of a rock face about 3 miles away from the nearest town.

This is a rough town! Drove to the GZ in the early afternoon today, found the easy way up and climbed to the top of the rock pile. I had only been searching for a few minutes when a small blue car pulled up and honked the horn. I thought that maybe another cacher had arrived at the GZ. I stepped up to the summit and waved my orange Geocaching ball cap at the car to let them know someone was here. An old timer got out of the car, went into the trunk and pulled out his shot gun!! I dove for cover just as he unloaded both barrels!! By the time I poked my head out of the rocks he was already way down the road. I took this as a "geocachers are not welcome here" sign and left without looking for the cache. I've taken my share of lumps while caching but his is above and beyond. Is this cache on private property? Maybe this old timer thinks it is. Might be a good time to move this cache before someone really gets hurt.

I think I might skip this one for now.

Can you post the link to this cache?

5.2k · February 9, 2012

One suggestion is to always look at the attributes of a cache - though not all cache owners (CO's) use them properly, the one you sought probably should have had a "stealth required" attribute.

The "stealth required" attribute should really be renamed to the "cache does not have permission to be here" attribute <_<

2.6k · February 9, 2012

Funny this topic came up when it did. This 'Note' was posted to one of the caches as going to do this weekend.

(BTW) this is on a 2/4 found at the top of a rock face about 3 miles away from the nearest town.

I think I might skip this one for now.

Can you post the link to this cache?

It is this cache.

6.1k · February 9, 2012

One suggestion is to always look at the attributes of a cache - though not all cache owners (CO's) use them properly, the one you sought probably should have had a "stealth required" attribute.

The "stealth required" attribute should really be renamed to the "cache does not have permission to be here" attribute

Why? There are plenty of geocaches with permission that are at risk of being stolen if spotted by non cachers.

2.6k · February 9, 2012

The "stealth required" attribute should really be renamed to the "cache does not have permission to be here" attribute

I have 4 active caches on public land with all the proper permission you could want. They all have the "stealth required because they are in small towns and I don't want a bunch of rowdy noisy cacher blasting through the area making Mrs Kraviz have a kanipshin.

Also in some of these areas they don't call the cops. Instead they exercise their 2nd amendment rights.

10.2k · February 9, 2012

The "stealth required" attribute should really be renamed to the "cache does not have permission to be here" attribute

I have 4 active caches on public land with all the proper permission you could want. They all have the "stealth required because they are in small towns and I don't want a bunch of rowdy noisy cacher blasting through the area making Mrs Kraviz have a kanipshin.

Also in some of these areas they don't call the cops. Instead they exercise their 2nd amendment rights.

I too crack that joke all the time, but I say when the word stealth is used in the text on the cache page it's code for no permission was obtained. The Stealth attribute, heck, that is way overused when it shouldn't even be there.

Regarding the guy being shot at in Kiowa County Oklahoma at Rock Pile first you'll notice I figured out the County. That's because I checked, and that small rural County has no online GIS to check for property ownership. However, this boulder climbing cache is way, way, way off of what anyone in their right mind would consider the public right of way on a rural Oklahoma road. This one's kind of screaming private property to me.

2.6k · February 9, 2012

I too crack that joke all the time, but I say when the word stealth is used in the text on the cache page it's code for no permission was obtained. The Stealth attribute, heck, that is way overused when it shouldn't even be there.

Regarding the guy being shot at in Kiowa County Oklahoma at Rock Pile first you'll notice I figured out the County. That's because I checked, and that small rural County has no online GIS to check for property ownership. However, this boulder climbing cache is way, way, way off of what anyone in their right mind would consider the public right of way on a rural Oklahoma road. This one's kind of screaming private property to me.

Having read that log I more or less dimissed the cache, but now that you have brought it up it does look off the right-of-way. I will have to drive by and look at the area. I can go to the courthouse too. It's only 20 to 30 mins from my house.

Hmmmm.... Now I'm going have to find out.

(Also of note... Most of the landowners allow others to climb the rock formations on the edge of their land with no problem. Those that don't want this done normally post signs.)

Edit: for spellin'

Edited February 9, 2012 by Totem Clan

February 9, 2012

We have a cache in a city park that we had to register with the parks and rec board to place. It is hundreds of feet from a house way back off a woodsy trail, but the parking lot is a cul-de-sac at the end of a short street with some pretty ritzy houses on it. The FTF cacher called us to say that a neighbor had just called the police on him. The cacher was just minding his own business (it was 8:00 pm and the park doesn't close until 10:00 pm), sitting in his car logging the cache when the neighbor came up, stood at the back of his car and called his license plate into the police (at least supposedly did that.) The cacher waited 15 minutes to talk to them but they never showed up so he left. The next day another cacher found the cache and he was returning to his car when the police pulled up and asked him what he was doing. He replied "geocaching." to which the two high-fived each other and the one said "told you!" The police said that a neighbor had reported two men walking into the woods and only one returned so she was sure that the other had been murdered. Geesh! I guess maybe it isn't always a bad thing to have a neighborhood watch dog--but in this case she got it all wrong, the cacher was by himself. So she wasn't a very good watchdog! Since then the cache has been found many, many times without incident. Go figure!

February 9, 2012

Sorry to hear about that! I had the same guy go berserk on me twice!

February 9, 2012

Having read that log I more or less dimissed the cache, but now that you have brought it up it does look off the right-of-way. I will have to drive by and look at the area. I can go to the courthouse too. It's only 20 to 30 mins from my house.

Hmmmm.... Now I'm going have to find out.

(Also of note... Most of the landowners allow others to climb the rock formations on the edge of their land with no problem. Those that don't want this done normally post signs.)

Edit: for spellin'

I'll definitely be interested to hear what you find out. I think there is an understanding out here that people hunt and stuff, and that if you don't want that type of thing to happen, you post signs, or at least a fence. If it's primarily farm or ranch land, you don't have post anything to prevent trespassing, right? Still, you'd think if someone cared, they'd have a fence or a sign. We don't actually know that it was the property owner who fired, for that matter. Or perhaps property ownership changed.

BTW, is it just me, or should the guy who wrote that note have instead posted a "DNF" and a NM or NA log, and emailed the CO? I've never been directly fired on while geocaching, but I think I'd have done something stronger than a note had that happend to me.

2.6k · February 9, 2012

I'll definitely be interested to hear what you find out. I think there is an understanding out here that people hunt and stuff, and that if you don't want that type of thing to happen, you post signs, or at least a fence. If it's primarily farm or ranch land, you don't have post anything to prevent trespassing, right? Still, you'd think if someone cared, they'd have a fence or a sign. We don't actually know that it was the property owner who fired, for that matter. Or perhaps property ownership changed.

BTW, is it just me, or should the guy who wrote that note have instead posted a "DNF" and a NM or NA log, and emailed the CO? I've never been directly fired on while geocaching, but I think I'd have done something stronger than a note had that happend to me.

The cacher who placed it is no longer caching. The current owner is one of the regulars in OKC. I might email him about it.

3.6k · February 9, 2012

Having read that log I more or less dimissed the cache, but now that you have brought it up it does look off the right-of-way. I will have to drive by and look at the area. I can go to the courthouse too. It's only 20 to 30 mins from my house.

Hmmmm.... Now I'm going have to find out.

(Also of note... Most of the landowners allow others to climb the rock formations on the edge of their land with no problem. Those that don't want this done normally post signs.)

Edit: for spellin'

I'll definitely be interested to hear what you find out. I think there is an understanding out here that people hunt and stuff, and that if you don't want that type of thing to happen, you post signs, or at least a fence. If it's primarily farm or ranch land, you don't have post anything to prevent trespassing, right? Still, you'd think if someone cared, they'd have a fence or a sign. We don't actually know that it was the property owner who fired, for that matter. Or perhaps property ownership changed.

BTW, is it just me, or should the guy who wrote that note have instead posted a "DNF" and a NM or NA log, and emailed the CO? I've never been directly fired on while geocaching, but I think I'd have done something stronger than a note had that happend to me.

Same here. That cache scream for a NA log.

February 9, 2012

We've been geocaching for a number of years and only recall one problem with a security guard in New York City. We tried to explain what we were doing but he would hear nothing of it so we just left. We've found 800+ geocaches so far and have had to explain what we were doing several times, but the explanation was always accepted with interest. Keep on trying.

February 9, 2012

Yes, but the OP had his young son with him. That's the scary part, what sort of wacko screams at someone enjoying a park with their little kid?

I haven't found this one (yet) but I do know that area is not a "park." It's actually an old railroad grade that used to run between Manorville and Eastport (you can follow it on the "satellite" map). I've taken my mountain bike out on the grade quite a few times, and there are parts where it butts right up to peoples' fences. Even on the bike, I'd get funny looks from people swimming, BBQing, etc. People probably don't even realize what it is back there, just some weirdo on a bike behind their fence.

So it's not a "park" in the "playgrounds, picnic tables, and grills" sense. I don't know it's official status, but I wouldn't even consider it a "public trail" (ie, no signage, no official trailhead, no trail markers, etc.) To me, it's just a part of the woods that I'm allowed to be in!

Edited February 9, 2012 by Mitragorz

February 10, 2012

It is a serious crime to kill or attempt to kill a person with a gun.

People are talking about a NA log on a geocaching site to report an attempted murder.

Call the police and report the guy!

Edited February 10, 2012 by rickjill

February 10, 2012

I have only had one bad experience. I attempted to explain geocaching to a nearby resident on a public country road once. Total wacko. He was upset that I showed up on the road unannounced on a Sunday morning. I think he forgot his medications that morning. The only thing that bothered me about it was the guy is allowed to run loose and unsupervised.

2.2k · February 10, 2012

Yes, but the OP had his young son with him. That's the scary part, what sort of wacko screams at someone enjoying a park with their little kid?

I haven't found this one (yet) but I do know that area is not a "park." It's actually an old railroad grade that used to run between Manorville and Eastport (you can follow it on the "satellite" map). I've taken my mountain bike out on the grade quite a few times, and there are parts where it butts right up to peoples' fences. Even on the bike, I'd get funny looks from people swimming, BBQing, etc. People probably don't even realize what it is back there, just some weirdo on a bike behind their fence.

So it's not a "park" in the "playgrounds, picnic tables, and grills" sense. I don't know it's official status, but I wouldn't even consider it a "public trail" (ie, no signage, no official trailhead, no trail markers, etc.) To me, it's just a part of the woods that I'm allowed to be in!

2.2k · February 10, 2012

Yes, but the OP had his young son with him. That's the scary part, what sort of wacko screams at someone enjoying a park with their little kid?

I haven't found this one (yet) but I do know that area is not a "park." It's actually an old railroad grade that used to run between Manorville and Eastport (you can follow it on the "satellite" map). I've taken my mountain bike out on the grade quite a few times, and there are parts where it butts right up to peoples' fences. Even on the bike, I'd get funny looks from people swimming, BBQing, etc. People probably don't even realize what it is back there, just some weirdo on a bike behind their fence.

So it's not a "park" in the "playgrounds, picnic tables, and grills" sense. I don't know it's official status, but I wouldn't even consider it a "public trail" (ie, no signage, no official trailhead, no trail markers, etc.) To me, it's just a part of the woods that I'm allowed to be in!

I'm pretty sure it *is* marked with a "Suffolk County Parklands" sign and is in fact a public trail.

Suffolk County has done a great job of acquiring abandoned farmland and ROW's over the years and designated it public parklands. This would not be the firt time, though, that someone thinks when a property next to something they own has been abandoned for years it becomes "theirs."

I'll check on the sign when I'm home in a few days...

February 10, 2012

I meant no signs in the sense that it's not marked or mapped the same as, say, Manorville Hills. I think one of the reasons public awareness is so low is that if it is marked, it's "only" marked as Suffolk County Parkland. And those small signs don't attract much attention!

But like I said, I can't recall seeing any signs. I'd take your word over mine, I haven't been there since 2004 or 2005. I remember bc I used to haul my bike around in my big green Bronco, which I sold in 2005 to help pay for a big green Silverado .

I used to start from the sharp curve on Chapman (south of the old dump), ride northwest to where the grade entered the Game Farm, then cut across to the west side of Chapman, next to the horse farm (IIRC, there WAS an "Access By Permit Only" sign at that trailhead), continue northwest across Bauer, and stop at the Exit 70 ramp. Then ride back.

2.4k · February 10, 2012

A neighbour to a cache came roaring up in his car and started to grill us on whether or not this was a drug drop, and he should be calling the police. We said to go ahead, but....we're geocaching. Explained it all to him, showed him the travel bug on my car and the printout of the cache sheet. We were lucky, he calmed right down and even laughed when we told him what we were looking for. A nano in ivy. Never did find that one!

3k · February 10, 2012

The minute someone says something, and they don't appear friendly, I would leave. I would not draw attention to the cache, I would not argue, and I would just go, and make a note about it on the cache page. I do not like caches that are "stealth required", especially with unfriendly neighbors. I had a close call once with a cache placed near a property line. I apologized quickly, said Oops, I thought there was a trail here, and I left.

I would not keep looking for it and make the people angrier at me.

Keep caches away from view of the neighbors, and we wouldn't have these issues.

3k · February 10, 2012

A new cache that was published yesterday.

Unfriendly Neighbor I do wonder how long that will last.

Probably a long time. Reading the logs, it looks like it's in the CO's front yard fence.

5.7k · February 10, 2012

It is a serious crime to kill or attempt to kill a person with a gun.

People are talking about a NA log on a geocaching site to report an attempted murder.

Oh, come on. It was assault with a deadly weapon at best. :anibad:

Before my caching days, from time to time I'd go poke around the ghost town of Sasco, just outside Tucson and Marana, Arizona. I'd seen evidence that people used it as a shooting range -- burst LP tanks and fire extinguishers. One day I went and heard someone plinking away. I was a little concerned at first -- then much more so when I realized I could hear the rounds whizzing overhead. I decided not to stick around.

1.2k · February 10, 2012

The "stealth required" attribute should really be renamed to the "cache does not have permission to be here" attribute

Not always true. I use it on many caches I have in the local parks. We have permission from all the local parks. But I still want cachers to exercise stealth because on a nice day the park will be full of noncachers (especially teens and kids). If they are too obvious in their search, the kids will take notice and investigate later and then the cache will disappear.

February 10, 2012

Funny that this thread is going along when it is.

I always have my laminated page downloaded from Groundspeak explaining Geocaching customized with my user name and avatar, except yesterday. My truck was in the dealer having some repair and I rented a car for the day. I forgot to get the geocache stuff from the truck other than my GPSr. Of course I was out looking in a bush, stood up and there was a Cop. He wanted to know what I was doing. I explained geocaching to him and he took my drivers license and looked over the rental car and was on the radio for about 10 minutes. I assume he was getting someone to explain geocaching or check the web for him.

I then noticed a rather sour looking old man standing at his fence. Now I really don't know if he was the source of this Cops interest in me or not. I just thought it was funny the coincidence between this thread and my not having my laminated explanation card with me (not that it would have helped)

Oh, after checking whatever he did the officer told me to be safe and have a good time.

Edited February 10, 2012 by klipsch49er

10.2k · February 11, 2012

It is a serious crime to kill or attempt to kill a person with a gun.

People are talking about a NA log on a geocaching site to report an attempted murder.

Oh, come on. It was assault with a deadly weapon at best.

I mean the guy is OK and everything, but this is pretty friggin' serious, don't ya' think? I mean you wave to a guy, and he shoots at you with a shotgun, and you have to hide behind granite boulders? This was pretty close to Ft. Sill, hopefully the cacher had military training? :blink:

And I've been to Ft. Sill, and toured the local countryside. I didn't quote Totem Clan, but I can see the local land owners allowing bouldering on roadside formations, and it would probably be considered OK to most locally if the formation wasn't posted.

Am I crazy here, or is this incident totally off the wall? :unsure:

19k · February 11, 2012

It is a serious crime to kill or attempt to kill a person with a gun.

People are talking about a NA log on a geocaching site to report an attempted murder.

Oh, come on. It was assault with a deadly weapon at best.

I mean the guy is OK and everything, but this is pretty friggin' serious, don't ya' think? I mean you wave to a guy, and he shoots at you with a shotgun, and you have to hide behind granite boulders? This was pretty close to Ft. Sill, hopefully the cacher had military training?

And I've been to Ft. Sill, and toured the local countryside. I didn't quote Totem Clan, but I can see the local land owners allowing bouldering on roadside formations, and it would probably be considered OK to most locally if the formation wasn't posted.

Am I crazy here, or is this incident totally off the wall?

Are you certain he wasn't shooting to scare off a cougar that was stalking the cacher? :huh:

5.3k · February 11, 2012

I am brand new to geocaching and had my first find today, but its wasnt a fun experience.

If this can happen to me on my first find, I know I cant be alone and would like some input on if other people have had similar experiences. I was looking for a fun activity to do with my wife and family. When I told my wife about geocaching, her first reaction was that people are going to wonder what I am doing wandering around these sites, and that it looks very suspicious. I laughed at her comments. I chose a first site that was near my home and easy. It was located right at a trailhead, on a public trail. (GC2DNH0)

I took my young son and wasnt at the trailhead for more than 10 seconds, when a paranoid, nosey neighbor noticed me, and started yelling at me. Living in the neighborhood myself, I could almost understand her concern, as the public trail was bordered by two large properties with large homes on either side. As I tried to calmly explain to this woman what I was doing, she became more and more irrational, and soon disappeared inside the house, only to return with her large and angry husband. As I tried to find the cache and "have fun", they peered over their backyard fence at me, continuing to scream at me to "get out of there" and threatening to call the police. I wasnt too concerned because I knew I was on public land, but it made the whole experience very unnerving, with even my son exclaiming, "Dad, this must be illegal, lets get out of here". I was ready to give up myself, but finally found the catch quickly, signed the card, and got out of there! Needless to say, it took all the fun out of our first find. My advice to newbies like myself is to stick to caches that are well along a trail, and not near any residences. In this day and age, people get very nervous when they see strangers looking into hand held devices, walking slowly near their homes. On one hand I can understand this behavior, but these people were totally irrational. I probably would have given up if I didnt find the cache soon, as the situation was quickly getting out of hand. I would have had no problem explaining to the police what I was doing if they had come, and I know they would have understood, but I was more concerned with what these crazy people were capable of. I understand that many caches are on trails in unpopulated areas, but many others are in places like cemeteries, or bordering on residential areas, so I can see this happening a lot.

Although my wife had a nice "I told you so" moment, we are still going to try to enjoy geocaching.

2.6k · February 11, 2012

I mean the guy is OK and everything, but this is pretty friggin' serious, don't ya' think? I mean you wave to a guy, and he shoots at you with a shotgun, and you have to hide behind granite boulders? This was pretty close to Ft. Sill, hopefully the cacher had military training?

And I've been to Ft. Sill, and toured the local countryside. I didn't quote Totem Clan, but I can see the local land owners allowing bouldering on roadside formations, and it would probably be considered OK to most locally if the formation wasn't posted.

Am I crazy here, or is this incident totally off the wall?

I did find a little bit of info on this one. Land is owned by Dolese. I know for a fact on the land they own just north of my house they allow folks to climb and hike as long as they don't enter the quarry area. Which by the way they mark very well. I have not gone by the cache site yet but I will soon.

My best guesse is this guy with the gun had nothing to do with the land. Also from my experince the land owners here might pull a shotgun on you for tresspassing but they won't pull the trigger right of the bat. Also they don't speed off afterwards.

Now I'm even more confused.

10.2k · February 11, 2012

I mean the guy is OK and everything, but this is pretty friggin' serious, don't ya' think? I mean you wave to a guy, and he shoots at you with a shotgun, and you have to hide behind granite boulders? This was pretty close to Ft. Sill, hopefully the cacher had military training?

And I've been to Ft. Sill, and toured the local countryside. I didn't quote Totem Clan, but I can see the local land owners allowing bouldering on roadside formations, and it would probably be considered OK to most locally if the formation wasn't posted.

Am I crazy here, or is this incident totally off the wall?

I did find a little bit of info on this one. Land is owned by Dolese. I know for a fact on the land they own just north of my house they allow folks to climb and hike as long as they don't enter the quarry area. Which by the way they mark very well. I have not gone by the cache site yet but I will soon.

My best guesse is this guy with the gun had nothing to do with the land. Also from my experince the land owners here might pull a shotgun on you for tresspassing but they won't pull the trigger right of the bat. Also they don't speed off afterwards.

Now I'm even more confused.

This is absolutely attempted murder here. I mean I'm from upstate NY and all, but we don't pull a shotgun out of our trunk and shoot at people. :blink: Well, maybe if they really tick us off. But that hasn't happened yet.

22k · February 11, 2012

Holy cats, someone is flipping out on you and your kids and the advice is that you have the right to be on public land? What the heck does that have to do with anything?

You say sorry to intrude, and if necessary give more of an explanation. You walk away and deal with it under a more controlled situation.

Seriously.

3.9k · February 11, 2012

Rather than play armchair lawyer, why not get the local LEO involved?

1.1k · February 11, 2012

With regard to the OP, the fact that the cache mentioned by the OP is on public land is irrelevant; what is relevant is where he and his group were while searching for the cache. Is it possible that during the search he or others in his group may have strayed onto private property? That’s pretty likely if you have kids in tow and are staring at that brand new toy in your hands with one eye while looking for the tupperware with the other, all the while being fairly oblivious to other things going on around you.

I have seen quite a few caches where the cache placement was perfectly legal, but where the environment around the cache was such that folks really ought not be brought there. Being legal does not make it right.

10.2k · February 11, 2012

Holy cats, someone is flipping out on you and your kids and the advice is that you have the right to be on public land? What the heck does that have to do with anything?

You say sorry to intrude, and if necessary give more of an explanation. You walk away and deal with it under a more controlled situation.

Seriously.

I do agree with the blue duck. I seriously doubt I'd be of the "in your face, I'm on public land" line of thinking. I mean have any of you ever seen one of us looking for one of these things? We do look completely ridiculous, you know. :lol:

EDIT: By the way, lost in all of this. This is a trailhead micro. That's good for what, blocking the first 528 feet of the trail from having a cache? And in this particular case, a cache 300 feet into the woods would most likely conceal people from angry neighbor lady who lives in view of the trailhead.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Mr.Yuck

1.1k · February 11, 2012

the best thing is if dumb muglers got NO, awareness about us geocachers,

so they can not put a specific NAME on their hate !!

this way we are just RANDOM wierd people sneeking arround,

they way they can not look us up, and not start any ban or hate campains against us.

if they however got a brain and is possible to talk to,

and looks like they are open for salvation ?

then it is better to open their mind letting them in,

revealing the game and what it is all about.

Hey we even installed alot of caches arround my job,

exactly to get geocachers to show up all weekend and all night long,

this way they scare thefs and other bad people away,

Geocachers are the good dudes, they see more and repport more crime or even prevent crime,

actually a good thing to have us sneeking arround..

February 11, 2012

the best thing is if dumb muglers got NO, awareness about us geocachers,

so they can not put a specific NAME on their hate !!

this way we are just RANDOM wierd people sneeking arround,

they way they can not look us up, and not start any ban or hate campains against us.

if they however got a brain and is possible to talk to,

and looks like they are open for salvation ?

then it is better to open their mind letting them in,

revealing the game and what it is all about.

Hey we even installed alot of caches arround my job,

exactly to get geocachers to show up all weekend and all night long,

this way they scare thefs and other bad people away,

Geocachers are the good dudes, they see more and repport more crime or even prevent crime,

actually a good thing to have us sneeking arround..

I agree. It usually doesn't take long to identify a dumb muggle. The less they know about geocaching the better.

I have never met a dumb geocacher because they don't exist.

1.3k · February 12, 2012

In a case like this you could have responded "Don't bother calling the police because I just called them". Talk loudly into your GPSr.

Why can't people MYOB when you are not on their property?

Which is the worst thing you can say. If the neighbor calls the cops and the cops find out you lied about saying that, the cops suspicion of you goes up mega-fold, and understandably so. Once you lie to a cop, you lose all credibility.

Don't know why some geocachers feel the need to lie, just tell people the truth with what you are doing when confronted. Most of the time, it will be a laugh and a positive experience for you and for them.

February 12, 2012

I had to pull out two caches from a county park,

when the original owner who still lived on the

property challenged me. She has since died and

the whole property has now gone totally to the state

and county. The caches are gone, archived.

I no longer place caches.

February 12, 2012

Thankfully never happened to me. Some caches are just badly placed. I sought one in Florida that was at the back of a restaurant. GPS had me in the back yard of someones house. Easily could have been yelled at, especially since the note said "property owner knows about and approves this cache". Yeah, the RESTAURANT owner knew and approved it, the house owner probably not.

I tend to be more choosy about neighborhood caches. Unless the hint is pretty specific, I avoid a lot of them.

18.9k · February 12, 2012

Only has happened 2 times in a bit over 10 years of Geocaching and one of them turned very friendly after a bad start to the encounter. Just learn to move on to the next one and don't let it spoil the fun.

5.7k · February 12, 2012

I can deal with people in public, but cyber stalkers are the ones that really harrass me. :mad:

9.3k · February 13, 2012

I would have filed a harassment complaint against these two..

One obliviot, standing on their own property, yelling at folks, is not a crime.

Calling the cops might still be an option, as it takes a proactive stance against the obliviot, and opens up an opportunity for the cops to educate the obliviot. Just don't expect the cops to file charges.

A part of me wanted to ask why he was freaked out about me having a flashlight at a park and ride

I can only speculate based on my own experience as a cop for a couple decades. I suspect that the officer was fairly new to the job, (too new to have a well established BS meter), and upon seeing your flashlight, assumed you were committing vehicle burglaries. Park & Ride lots are very popular spots for this crime. Had he been seasoned, he would have recognized that you were not behaving like someone who had been caught committing a crime. I think it's way kewl that you were able to educate him.

He pulled to curb and yelled, "Did you find it yet?"

I had a similar encounter caching along the coast. We were hunting a series of fairly challenging camo caches, when a police car showed up. The officer asked, "Did you find it yet?". When I replied in the negative, he asked if I wanted a hint. Turns out he was the hider. We talked shop for a while, then I resumed the hunt.

The "stealth required" attribute should really be renamed to the "cache does not have permission to be here" attribute

Why? There are plenty of geocaches with permission that are at risk of being stolen if spotted by non cachers.

My caching experience is fairly limited, geographically speaking, but I can say that locally, Lil Devil's suggestion is dead on. Almost without exception, the Use Stealth attribute is utilized for caches on private property, such as Wally World or StarYucks, without the express consent of the business owner and/or land manager. The cache hider's main concern, according to the conversations I've had with them, is not the soggy log film can being stolen. Rather, their concern is that the staff at these businesses might call LEO.

...and he shoots at you with a shotgun

Well, technically, all we know is that the old man removed a shotgun from his trunk and discharged it. The person who posted the note didn't mention if the dude was shooting, or even pointing the gun in his direction. He had ducked behind a boulder as soon as he saw the gun.

This is absolutely attempted murder here.

It might be reckless discharge? Perhaps a noise ordinance violation? From what we've seen so far, the elements for attempted homicide have not been met. It could be that the person who posted that note actually did get shot at, but since all we have to go on is the tale that was posted, we can't assume facts not in evidence.

5.7k · February 13, 2012

Rather than play armchair lawyer, why not get the local LEO involved?

Do you mean Clan Riffster? :laughing: I would not jump around in his yard yelling with a flashlight and shooting my shotgun. He may be sleeping. :unsure:

2.2k · February 14, 2012

I am brand new to geocaching and had my first find today, but its wasnt a fun experience.

If this can happen to me on my first find, I know I cant be alone and would like some input on if other people have had similar experiences. I was looking for a fun activity to do with my wife and family. When I told my wife about geocaching, her first reaction was that people are going to wonder what I am doing wandering around these sites, and that it looks very suspicious. I laughed at her comments. I chose a first site that was near my home and easy. It was located right at a trailhead, on a public trail. (GC2DNH0)

I took my young son and wasnt at the trailhead for more than 10 seconds, when a paranoid, nosey neighbor noticed me, and started yelling at me. Living in the neighborhood myself, I could almost understand her concern, as the public trail was bordered by two large properties with large homes on either side. As I tried to calmly explain to this woman what I was doing, she became more and more irrational, and soon disappeared inside the house, only to return with her large and angry husband. As I tried to find the cache and "have fun", they peered over their backyard fence at me, continuing to scream at me to "get out of there" and threatening to call the police. I wasnt too concerned because I knew I was on public land, but it made the whole experience very unnerving, with even my son exclaiming, "Dad, this must be illegal, lets get out of here". I was ready to give up myself, but finally found the catch quickly, signed the card, and got out of there! Needless to say, it took all the fun out of our first find. My advice to newbies like myself is to stick to caches that are well along a trail, and not near any residences. In this day and age, people get very nervous when they see strangers looking into hand held devices, walking slowly near their homes. On one hand I can understand this behavior, but these people were totally irrational. I probably would have given up if I didnt find the cache soon, as the situation was quickly getting out of hand. I would have had no problem explaining to the police what I was doing if they had come, and I know they would have understood, but I was more concerned with what these crazy people were capable of. I understand that many caches are on trails in unpopulated areas, but many others are in places like cemeteries, or bordering on residential areas, so I can see this happening a lot.

Although my wife had a nice "I told you so" moment, we are still going to try to enjoy geocaching.

In case anyone is still interested in the original post, I stopped by the cache in question today. First: The cache is still there and doing fine. I did NOT see the Suffolk County Parklands sign that I thought I remembered. I did, however, find a metal fence post of the type often used around here for these signs. The fence and landscaping around the nearest house looks relatively new. I'm guessing that it has recently changed ownership and the new folks are enraged that riffraff are allowed to even look upon their royal estate. The cache area is clearly NOT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. I walked around conspicuously taking pictures of the house and the trail from all angles hoping someone would come out so I could have a little fun with them, but no one showed.

10.2k · February 14, 2012

In case anyone is still interested in the original post, I stopped by the cache in question today. First: The cache is still there and doing fine. I did NOT see the Suffolk County Parklands sign that I thought I remembered. I did, however, find a metal fence post of the type often used around here for these signs. The fence and landscaping around the nearest house looks relatively new. I'm guessing that it has recently changed ownership and the new folks are enraged that riffraff are allowed to even look upon their royal estate. The cache area is clearly NOT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. I walked around conspicuously taking pictures of the house and the trail from all angles hoping someone would come out so I could have a little fun with them, but no one showed.

You do realize that a large percentage of the participants in this thread have been of the opinion it wouldn't be prudent to "have some fun" with these people, right?

What do you expect anyways? It's practically The Hamptons.

...and he shoots at you with a shotgun

Well, technically, all we know is that the old man removed a shotgun from his trunk and discharged it. The person who posted the note didn't mention if the dude was shooting, or even pointing the gun in his direction. He had ducked behind a boulder as soon as he saw the gun.

This is absolutely attempted murder here.

It might be reckless discharge? Perhaps a noise ordinance violation? From what we've seen so far, the elements for attempted homicide have not been met. It could be that the person who posted that note actually did get shot at, but since all we have to go on is the tale that was posted, we can't assume facts not in evidence.

Almost a different topic, but you're absolutely right, CR. I'm there envisioning bullets bouncing off granite boulders like in a Clint Eastwood movie or something. We have no idea where the shotgun was pointed.

2.2k · February 15, 2012

You do realize that a large percentage of the participants in this thread have been of the opinion it wouldn't be prudent to "have some fun" with these people, right?

What do you expect anyways? It's practically The Hamptons.

.

I do realize that, and my response is, "You play the game your way, and I'll play it my way."

And don't let the Hamptons people catch you comparing them with someone from Manorville. :angry:

10.2k · February 15, 2012

You do realize that a large percentage of the participants in this thread have been of the opinion it wouldn't be prudent to "have some fun" with these people, right?

What do you expect anyways? It's practically The Hamptons.

.

I do realize that, and my response is, "You play the game your way, and I'll play it my way."

And don't let the Hamptons people catch you comparing them with someone from Manorville.

Well then. I promise not to tell anyone you weren't actually Geocaching.

Nonsense. I would tell Lizzie Grubman that Manorville is the Hamptons.

February 16, 2012

And don't let the Hamptons people catch you comparing them with someone from Manorville.

Don't let the Manorville people catch you comparing them to people from the Hamptons!

February 16, 2012

My wife and I were discussing this subject only last night - we came to the conclusion that some people might hide a cache somewhere that they know is going to annoy a nosey neighbour, just to harass them.

It would be wack of course, but not impossible.

Geocachers being harrassed

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