how to avoid mugguls

[lukeskywalker521]

how can i avoid mugguls

[+T.D.M.22]

First it's muggles, mot mugguls. Second, to answer your question on how to avoid them, it's easy. Don't go where they are

 

To give you the answer you want, there are a couple options. First, if there is a lot of muggle activity, it may be better to come back later. Some people pretend to talk on the phone, tie their shoes, act like they dropped something. Some wear safety vests and look like they are doing "something official"

 

But don't try not to be seen. Looking like you're doing something else is one thing, but trying not be seen at all is a great way to get noticed. Act like finding the cache is your job, and act like you are not doing anything wrong-which you aren't. And remember there's over 2 million geocaches, so it's OK if you don't find every single one. There's always more to find.

[floridabiker1]

Sometimes, muggles aren't even a problem. A good rule to know whether you even should avoid them necessarily, is that if they look suspicious, take caution. If they don't look suspicious, you probably don't need to worry about them. They'll probably be really understanding and love the idea of geocaching.

 

P.S. Never upgrade to premium.

Edited December 22, 2013 by floridabiker1

[+ecanderson]

+1 to the idea that most people are ill prepared to operate well in stealth mode, and will often attract more attention to themselves in their attempts to do so.

 

As the photos show, I find stealth to be vastly overrated, preferring instead the "Who me? I obviously belong here!" approach. Signs are entirely bogus, of course.

 

http://www.mediafire.com/view/d6so0q0so6ocs1i/StealthOverrated1.jpg

http://www.mediafire.com/view/ibw21h83k8qm8a7/StealthOverrated2.jpg

Edited December 22, 2013 by ecanderson

[+Walts Hunting]

Great pictures. I stopped the stealth approach years ago.if someone sees me I explain the hobby.

[+ecanderson]

FWIW -- if anyone wants the artwork for the signs, just email me through my gc.com address and I'll send them.

They're in *.tif format, which seems to be preferred by the mag sign making shops.

 

I tried to come up with something that would provide a reasonable explanation for what we were doing digging around with GPS units, and also provide a motif with both the green shield and the name that would bring to mind exactly the wrong ideas in the mind of a muggle. While we explain the hobby to many as well (LEO in particular!) we don't like to deal with mall cops in security cars or overly aggressive HOA presidents of small developments. Sometimes tend to take a few liberties with our parking, though never in a way that poses a hazard to anyone, (ourselves included!) so appearing to be a utility vehicle can sometimes grease the skids.

 

I'll provide one example of that last category...

 

As far as I have ever been able to understand the rules for placements, "pay to play" is simply not allowed. If there are 'admission charges' to an area, I've always thought caches weren't to be placed there. One of the rules specifically states that "...It suggests or requires that the finder go inside a business, interact with employees and/or purchase a product or service." I had a cache bounced for bringing cachers too close to the clubhouse of a muni golf course for fear they might interact with staff on a 'commercial' basis as a result. Whatever. I've since given up guessing about what that was about, and just assure that I don't use property of any place of commerce or where money may be exchanged for any goods or services for a cache, public or private.

 

That said, it seems a bit over the top to pay $15 for a full day pass to a 'public' park when all you need is 10 minutes in and out to nab a cache in a place like that, and let's just say we've been waved in and out again on the pretext of "We'll be back in about 10 minutes -- we're just looking for a benchmark".

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the GPS and Technology forum to the Geocaching Topics forum.

[+The_Incredibles_]

+1 to the idea that most people are ill prepared to operate well in stealth mode, and will often attract more attention to themselves in their attempts to do so.

 

As the photos show, I find stealth to be vastly overrated, preferring instead the "Who me? I obviously belong here!" approach. Signs are entirely bogus, of course.

 

http://www.mediafire.com/view/d6so0q0so6ocs1i/StealthOverrated1.jpg

http://www.mediafire.com/view/ibw21h83k8qm8a7/StealthOverrated2.jpg

 

Ha ha, great setup, very official looking.

 

I agree that acting stealthy i.e. looking left and right just attracts more attention. Best really just to act like you're supposed to be there, perhaps pretending to text as you stand at GZ. If you're going to look about you for muggles, it's best to specifically avoid looking left and right, but rather to look about without moving your head on your walk to GZ. If you're having real trouble with a location, just return at night or perhaps skip it all-together.

Edited December 22, 2013 by The_Incredibles_

[+Laughing at the Sky]

First it's muggles, mot mugguls. Second, to answer your question on how to avoid them, it's easy. Don't go where they are

 

To give you the answer you want, there are a couple options. First, if there is a lot of muggle activity, it may be better to come back later. Some people pretend to talk on the phone, tie their shoes, act like they dropped something. Some wear safety vests and look like they are doing "something official"

 

But don't try not to be seen. Looking like you're doing something else is one thing, but trying not be seen at all is a great way to get noticed. Act like finding the cache is your job, and act like you are not doing anything wrong-which you aren't. And remember there's over 2 million geocaches, so it's OK if you don't find every single one. There's always more to find.

 

This is fantastic advice. Particularly the idea about wearing a safety vest. I had never thought of doing that before. That reminds me actually, I saw a TV show about thieves once, and there was one guy who whore a high vis safety vest whenever he wanted to go and steal things, because people just assumed he was doing some kind of work and therefore ignored him.

 

But just to be clear: nobody go out and suddenly start stealing. That's wrong. Just stick to the geocaching please

[+wmpastor]

Sometimes, muggles aren't even a problem. A good rule to know whether you even should avoid them necessarily, is that if they look suspicious, take caution.

P.S. Never upgrade to premium.

This gives me a whole new idea on how to deal with the "muggle problem." If a muggle appears to be looking at you suspiciously & seems ready to ask what you're doing, take the "proactive approach." Ask them what they're doing. If they're hanging around watching you, remind them that loitering is prohibited by Section 356-B of the Municipal Code.

 

That ought to make them MIA ASAP!

 

Edited December 22, 2013 by wmpastor

[+Paintballvet18]

The problem with muggles is not how to avoid them but how to work around them. Caching in populated centers like Paris, where you can't just go where there not because they're everywhere. So one must learn how to work around them.

 

Usually a geocacher just has to ignore them. The rule of thumb is "ignore them and they'll ignore you", and it usually works like that. Then again, there are some people that get a little nosy and just ask what you are doing. Then I just explain what I'm doing. Some expert geocaches might tell you to ignore the muggle, but I don't think thats the best idea, seeing that since the muggle saw you snooping around, he just might ge a little over-worried with you ignoring them. You can also have print-outs to hand out if they ask and that also is a good idea.

 

just do it whichever way you feal comfortable...

[Mr.Yuck]

how can i avoid mugguls

 

Only look for caches that look like your avatar.

[+Traditional Bill]

My favorite response when somebody asks what I'm doing is - "I'm minding my own business, but now that you've asked.....what are you doing? Hm?"

[+Ambrosia]

First it's muggles, mot mugguls.

 

Maybe they're talking about Mughals? Yeah, I'd want to avoid them, too.

[+DoverRamCachers]

I was out at a park this weekend and had just found a cache with my partner. While signing the log, two muggles walked right by as I was holding a plastic bag that had SWAG in it. They looked at us, we at them and smiled. They continued walking and had no idea what we were doing, nor did they care. That was the first time I've been "caught" geocaching (at least to my knowledge).

[+-CJ-]

Just some advices.

 

- Take a camera with you. Wherever possible, pretend taking pictures. (Or take pictures if it's worth doing). You cannot be too suspicious when trying to take "the best photo in your life" - there are hundreds of idiots (I'm among them) who do this and choose places that a normal person won't even think of going to. This works best when you need to get to some unusual places.

 

- Take a mobile phone with you. Pretend making a call. This works best when you have to ramble around some place ("where's this damned nano?").

 

- Take a bag with you. Pretend looking for something in your bag. This works best when you have to stop at the GZ and grab the container.

 

- Take a kid with you. Kids run, climb, crawl everywhere. This works best when you need this energy to reach a cache. An adult who's making noise in bushes near a playground may look suspicious but it's OK with a kid. (Just instruct him/her not to shout "HEY! I FOUND THE CACHE!")

[+Ma & Pa]

Just some advices.

 

- Take a kid with you. Kids run, climb, crawl everywhere. This works best when you need this energy to reach a cache. An adult who's making noise in bushes near a playground may look suspicious but it's OK with a kid. (Just instruct him/her not to shout "HEY! I FOUND THE CACHE!")

 

Have the kid yell: CAN I PEE HERE DAD?

[+Manville Possum]

Just some advices.

 

- Take a kid with you. Kids run, climb, crawl everywhere. This works best when you need this energy to reach a cache. An adult who's making noise in bushes near a playground may look suspicious but it's OK with a kid. (Just instruct him/her not to shout "HEY! I FOUND THE CACHE!")

 

Have the kid yell: CAN I PEE HERE DAD?

Or have the kid yell: DAD! You can't pee there!

[+SwineFlew]

Its easier to cache with kids than caching alone when dealing with muggles.

 

With a kid with me... I found how relax muggles are.

 

When I cache alone, all the red flags pop out of the muggle ears.

 

Wearing an orange vest and a hard hat and a clip board in hand does really work well.

Edited December 23, 2013 by SwineFlew

[+SwineFlew]

I did had a problem with a muggle when I was doing a powertrail in Tx last month.

 

He was stalking and following me for a hour and I finally got tired of it and drove up to him and told him what I was doing and he left me alone.

[team tisri]

Depending on the setting I've found a few things help.

 

I cache by bicycle a lot, so any time I need cover for fumbling under a bench it's easy to prop the bike against the bench, pull an Allen key out of my pocket, get on my knees and pretend to be fiddling with my gears or brakes. The only downside to this is if another cyclist asks if I need help and realises I'm apparently working on my bike with one arm under the bench (which is very rare).

 

If you're out caching with children they provide a distraction for anything.

 

One time I was out caching with my wife and needed to reach under a bench in a busy park. So she sat on the bench and I poked her through the slats of the bench. Not expecting it she squealed with laughter, a load of people looked, realised we were just a couple fooling about and ignored the fact I was fumbling under the bench.

[+wimseyguy]

how can i avoid mugguls

If you really want to be stealthy then you must delete the

and

theme songs from your caching playlist.

[+BluePanther51]

I've recently found a few muggle stones in caches, but they don't look big enough to scare anyone off.

[+TheHarleyRebel]

Act like you are on your phone, or doing up your shoe laces, normally they just say hi and move on.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I don't believe in avoiding muggles. It is best to just ignore them or a cacher can talk to his invisible friend, that will keep people away