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Stealth required - a disturbing trend


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I have noticed what seems to be an increase in the number of caches that are placed where there is a lot of muggle traffic. Many are placed such that finding the cache cannot be done quickly or easily. Either there are a lot of spots that must be searched or the cache has to be well hidden to keep from being muggled. Many of these hides are by cachers with relatively few finds.

 

It is well and good to bring me to a tourist attraction or other interesting place, but but don't hide the cache right out in front. If its likely other people will be around, find a place for the cache that is a little more secluded.

 

If extreme stealth is required and has to be mentioned in the description, perhaps it is not a good place for a cache. The game is to find a cache, not to see how stealthy one can be.

 

Just my 2cents on the game.

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Isn't there an old adage about the best place to hide a tree being in a forest?

 

I've enjoyed stealth caches in crowded places - because in crowded places people seem to pay less attention to any single individual and it's quite fun to sneak in, find, sign and replace the cache in full view of everyone passing by.

 

On the other hand, a cache outside the large windows of a row of houses on a quiet residential street with a Stealth Required attribute on it turns me right off - because it's not stealth that's required here, it's just luck. If a resident happens to look out of the window at their otherwise quiet street and you're there, a stranger with no obvious purpose - their attention is going to be focused entirely on you and what it is you're up to - and you're a rabbit caught in the headlights.

 

IMO not all stealth caches are created equal.

Edited by Team Microdot
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I agree.

To me, be stealthy means, "I don't have permission" and/or, "So many people around, it's bound to get swiped and I don't wanta keep replacing it".

The few times my other 2/3rds has conned me into one, I just grab it and sign.

It's not fair to put others in a situation where they feel they need to use stealth, when geocaching isn't an illegal activity.

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I don't usually mind looking for caches in busy places. I really think that the more stealthy you try to be, the more noticable you'll be. The best thing to do is to just go about searching as if no one is looking (they probably aren't). The actual retrieiving of the cache is where i try to be careful. If there is no way to make the grab without onlookers noticing, then i make the decision to either grab it or walk away. As far as i'm concerned, the CO placed the cache knowing the risks and therefore shouldn't be surprised if or when problems come about.

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Isn't there an old adage about the best place to hide a tree being in a forest?

 

I've enjoyed stealth caches in crowded places - because in crowded places people seem to pay less attention to any single individual and it's quite fun to sneak in, find, sign and replace the cache in full view of everyone passing by.

 

On the other hand, a cache outside the large windows of a row of houses on a quiet residential street with a Stealth Required attribute on it turns me right off - because it's not stealth that's required here, it's just luck. If a resident happens to look out of the window at their otherwise quiet street and you're there, a stranger with no obvious purpose - their attention is going to be focused entirely on you and what it is you're up to - and you're a rabbit caught in the headlights.

 

IMO not all stealth caches are created equal.

 

It seems we are not supposed to let correct and thought out information go by without a comment any more. But I consider this a well-thought out answer.

 

I remember one of my first finds (now archived), a "high stealth required" find in an urban area. I put eyes (but not hands) on the cache, and waited for the sidewalk to clear for a moment. I believed I was being stealthy. But two men jaywalked straight towards me and when they got so close my defense alarm was about to sound, one of them said "Did you find it?" They knew what I was doing. I suspect though, that nobody else did. That was a great "stealth required" cache.

 

There have been others where I've just driven away without looking.

 

Austin

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I think my forum signature sums up my feelings quite well. Of course, I have hidden a few caches where I have used the "Stealth Required" attribute, but that's simply because they are hidden near a pathway. The finds themselves are all relatively easy so it should be possible to grab, sign, and rehide in between pedestrians. I difficult cache in a high-visibility location? Not my cup of tea.

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I think my forum signature sums up my feelings quite well. Of course, I have hidden a few caches where I have used the "Stealth Required" attribute, but that's simply because they are hidden near a pathway. The finds themselves are all relatively easy so it should be possible to grab, sign, and rehide in between pedestrians. I difficult cache in a high-visibility location? Not my cup of tea.

 

YOUR feelings? ;)

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The game is to find a cache, not to see how stealthy one can be.
The game is many different things to many different people.

 

For urban/suburban hides, you're going to get stealth-required caches. People who don't like hiding stealth-required caches will hide their caches elsewhere. The people who do hide caches there will be the ones who are okay with stealth-required caches. And those caches will be hard to find (very small and/or well camouflaged) because urban/suburban caches that aren't hard to find don't last.

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Since I live in a big city, I get a lot of urban caches that require "stealth." Definitely the worst thing you can do is try to be stealthy. It never works. Just act like you normally do. Now if I come up on a cache that is a busy spot, I might try back another time when it might not be as busy, like early mornings or evenings.

 

When I was on vacation, there was a cache in the middle of the high tourist area. During the weekend this cache would be impossible to get, but happened to drive by where I thought the cache was during the week and had no problem getting it quickly.

 

And lastly, if anyone stops you, just tell them what you are doing. Most likely they will be interested in trying it out themselves.

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I agree with the Team Microdot post. While I prefer caches in the middle of nowhere, a cache in a VERY busy area can be fun, and in a crowd it is easier to blend in. Of course the cache needs to be hidden with thought so it is not in a place where muggles will likely find it (or even disturb it by accident).

 

I HATE caches which are in a quiet area, but for example in direct view of a house.

Edited by redsox_mark
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I think my forum signature sums up my feelings quite well. Of course, I have hidden a few caches where I have used the "Stealth Required" attribute, but that's simply because they are hidden near a pathway. The finds themselves are all relatively easy so it should be possible to grab, sign, and rehide in between pedestrians. I difficult cache in a high-visibility location? Not my cup of tea.

 

YOUR feelings? ;)

Hehe. Thousands of comments read over the years and only a couple are "signature worthy". Sometimes someone says something so well there is no point in trying to reword it. :)

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I see it on both sides of the issue:

In some places a "stealth required" cache can be fun.

 

It's when people stop considering what is going on at GZ that we have problems. Asking questions like, "Is someone poking around for a long time going to cause any suspicion?" or, "What would law enforcement think if they saw someone removing or placing something at this site?" is important.

 

When a cache is in a high-muggle area, I think that it is best to have a clear description and hint so that people aren't lingering.

 

Then there's the CO who wants to add a challenge by not being as clear in his description or hint. That's cool! But it's only as cool as it can be within the understanding that geocachers are going to show up, want to find the cache, spend a long time looking and poking and being more obvious than they think they're being, and not give up until they find it...or a long, awkward time passes in plain view of people who might be alarmed enough to call the authorities (at most) or go over and inspect the cache and possibly remove it or change the hiding spot enough that the listing is inaccurate (at least).

 

We can all "avoid the caches we don't like", I know. But the fact remains that many more cachers are trying to find ways to complete challenges, so these "stealth required" caches are likely going to have a combo that people are really hoping to fill on their grid. So they won't leave and come back again--they'll search and search and poke and prod and wander and inspect and bend over and look around to see if they're being watched and hover and glance awkwardly at passerby... Which isn't stealthy.

 

So, these urban caches are really best served by a good description and hint so that we don't come across as crazy (at least) or dangerous (at most). If you want to have a hide that is tough enough to warrant a higher D rating, do it up right and don't have the D rating be that high because you have to be inconspicuous to the public in a very busy place. I can think of many hides that were sneaky and difficult that also made me feel really safe and like I just faced a challenge. It didn't need to be muggles everywhere to make it challenging, but that can certainly add a dynamic to a cache hide.

 

All of this to say, I like urban caches that are clear on placement so that the cache is made to be found by those who know the secret of this game, but not found by those who don't play. I feel like that is how most urban caches were when I started to play on this website, but now the game has evolved to be more devious and create difficult hides in urban areas (because people will claim that this is the only way to place a cache anymore because of saturation or lack of desire to work hard--hike--to find a cache outside of town or off the street away from their parking spot).

 

So I skip them. And then I walk away wishing that the CO would have been more clear with their description and hint so that I didn't raise any alarm while seeking the cache. But, I don't have to find them all, do I? <_<

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Fortunately the problem is self correcting. Caches requiring stealth tend to disappear when stealth is impossible, so either the newbie gets sick of replacing caches or he gets enough experience to figure out what kind of hides can actually be found and retrieved without the location being given away to onlookers. Too often "stealth required" is used in cases where it would be more accurate to say that stealth is impossible.

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Since I live in a big city, I get a lot of urban caches that require "stealth." Definitely the worst thing you can do is try to be stealthy. It never works. Just act like you normally do. Now if I come up on a cache that is a busy spot, I might try back another time when it might not be as busy, like early mornings or evenings.

 

When I was on vacation, there was a cache in the middle of the high tourist area. During the weekend this cache would be impossible to get, but happened to drive by where I thought the cache was during the week and had no problem getting it quickly.

 

And lastly, if anyone stops you, just tell them what you are doing. Most likely they will be interested in trying it out themselves.

I have to agree. I found a bunch of caches in Hong Kong and there are people everywhere! There is no time to be stealthy! I found caches right under people noses...and they look at me very sleepy and look away. :lol:

 

I tried to find caches in the early morning or late evening in Hong Kong and it doesnt work...there are still muggles everywhere. :blink: The best thing to do...just do it! Oh yes, you will see me climbing over fences and etc just to get to GZ. :lol: My GF just looks at me like I lost my head!

Edited by SwineFlew
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The worse Stealth required caches are city parks... I had people come over 100 feet to ask what the hell I am doing. I tell them...geocaching... and one mother "bear" asked me...is that legal!?!?!?! :blink: I told her...yes and the city gave permission to have the cache here. (the cache page said so and there was a city park logo sticker on the log sheet and cache) Her hubby looks like he was ready to harass me. :blink: This cache is nowhere close to a playground.

 

 

The biggest problem I got while geocaching are busy bodies. :unsure: I find them extremely annoying.

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The worse Stealth required caches are city parks... I had people come over 100 feet to ask what the hell I am doing. I tell them...geocaching... and one mother "bear" asked me...is that legal!?!?!?! :blink: I told her...yes and the city gave permission to have the cache here. (the cache page said so and there was a city park logo sticker on the log sheet and cache) Her hubby looks like he was ready to harass me. :blink: This cache is nowhere close to a playground.

 

 

The biggest problem I got while geocaching are busy bodies. :unsure: I find them extremely annoying.

 

I keep wanting to say when asked what I'm doing , " mostly, minding my own business " but I never have.

I don't like or understand busy bodies and pay no attention to what others do.

If the inquiry is a nice one I'll explain the hobby.

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I don't usually mind looking for caches in busy places. I really think that the more stealthy you try to be, the more noticable you'll be. The best thing to do is to just go about searching as if no one is looking (they probably aren't). The actual retrieiving of the cache is where i try to be careful. If there is no way to make the grab without onlookers noticing, then i make the decision to either grab it or walk away. As far as i'm concerned, the CO placed the cache knowing the risks and therefore shouldn't be surprised if or when problems come about.

 

As I see it, stealth might come into play when locating the cache, retrieving the container, and replacing the cache.

 

If the cache is underneath a park bench, locating the cache might be what attracts the most attention. Once you know where it is, sitting on the bench and reaching under it can be done inconspicuously. On the other hand, I found a cache in Seattle on a piece of public artwork and was fortunate to arrive on the scene when nobody else was around. I located and grabbed the cache but as I was signing it a couple of small children started playing on the sculpture under the watchful eyes of a parent. I had to wait them out for a few minutes because there was no way I would have been able to replace it without being noticed.

 

 

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At least the OP has been around long enough to have a valued perspective on this topic. I'll agree with the spectacle wearing pooch, I don't know that there are than many more caches in public spaces than we had a few years back. But it does seem to be a higher percentage of the total new caches placed when compared to old school walk in the woods hides.

 

I'm an omnivorous cacher who will seek most anything out there except extreme terrain. There are times when I'm perfectly happy with public space caches. As others have pointed out, the best approach is to act naturally, switch off the Mission Impossible/Pink Panther mental soundtrack and just go for it. Sometimes that even involves asking a park bench sitter if they mind that you are about to look under the bench they're occupying. :D

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Once you know where it is, sitting on the bench and reaching under it can be done inconspicuously.

 

Once you know where it is. :laughing:

 

Locating it in the first place, inconspicuously, is another matter. :ph34r:

 

That was my point. For some caches, not a lot of stealth is required to locate the cache but trying to retrieve and replace it is difficult to do inconspicuously while other caches, the act of search for the cache is what's going to draw attention.

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Once you know where it is, sitting on the bench and reaching under it can be done inconspicuously.

 

Once you know where it is. :laughing:

 

Locating it in the first place, inconspicuously, is another matter. :ph34r:

 

That was my point. For some caches, not a lot of stealth is required to locate the cache but trying to retrieve and replace it is difficult to do inconspicuously while other caches, the act of search for the cache is what's going to draw attention.

 

Here, I'll try that again.

 

+1

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I just had one of these last night. When I pulled up to it, there was a lot of street traffic within plain view of the hiding spot, as there almost always is in this area, even very late at night. There is also a business with huge windows from floor to ceiling right there, too. I was as stealthy as possible and got the cache out and sat in my car to sign the log. Someone came out of the building and got into a car next to me and I swear they were sitting there staring at me, but it was probably just my imagination. The guy sat in the car for 10 minutes while I waited for him to drive away so I could replace the cache. I finally decided to drive around the parking lot rather than to continue sitting there, and he left right after I drove away. I waited a few minutes and went back to replace the cache, but as soon as I got it put back, and large group came out of the nearby business.

 

Even though the description had a "stealth" warning, it was the worst one I've seen as far as muggles/traffic, and it's the first time a cache has almost made me feel dirty like I was doing something wrong.

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Once you know where it is, sitting on the bench and reaching under it can be done inconspicuously.

 

Once you know where it is. :laughing:

 

Locating it in the first place, inconspicuously, is another matter. :ph34r:

 

That was my point. For some caches, not a lot of stealth is required to locate the cache but trying to retrieve and replace it is difficult to do inconspicuously while other caches, the act of search for the cache is what's going to draw attention.

 

Here, I'll try that again.

 

+1

 

I didn't think you were disagreeing with me. Personally, can tolerate having to use a little stealth once I've located the cache. Sometimes it can be kind of fun to do right under the noses of muggles. One of my favorites was on a cache along the south shore of Lake Tahoe, which, as it turns out *was* under a park bench. However, I was able to see the container from a short distance and didn't have to crawl on the ground just to determine if it was there. However there was a guy just kind of standing around just a few feet away, so in order to draw his attention away from the hiding spot I told my mother to ask him if he knew where Emerald Bay was from that spot..."I think it's over there somewhere (pointing in the opposite direction of the park bench) but I'm not sure". When he looked away I sat down on the bench, grabbed the box, and handed it behind my back to my brother who then walked away from the area a bit. Fortunately, the guy didn't stick around so it was easy to replace after signing the log.

 

In another instance, I was walking down a wide path in a park towards GZ and could see someone about 300' away jumping rope. I walked past and could see a large stump maybe 10 feet from where he had decided to stop and get some exercise. I walked a bit further then turned around, walked up to him and told him that I was geocaching (I had to explain what it was) then told him, "I think there's a geocache hidden in that stump right there and then just walked over and grabbed it". We had a nice, short conversation and he thought the game sounded like fun. I replaced the cache and walked away and he continued his jump roping.

 

 

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I really like it when CO put out really good hint on those extremely high muggle area caches. I can be really stealth of getting the cache, signing the log, and putting it back.(its easy, just get the cache and move to another area and bring it back in a very smooth way) However, there is NOTHING stealth in searching for the cache. Its the searching part that make us look like a sore thumb. The longer you search, the worse it get. :ph34r:

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Here is one cache that I searched and found during Geowoodstock. http://coord.info/GC3CH7V

 

As you can see...its a 4D cache and yep, the CO said "stealth required". And get this... I was there for 45 mins searching and while I was there... five more car load of people show up and help search for it! Its right along a busy road and there is NOTHING stealth in seeing five cars parking along a country road and seeing a huge group of people(about 15 adults) searching for a evil cache!!! Every person that drove by was slowing down and looking at us and very likely wondering what the hell we were doing. :unsure:

Edited by SwineFlew
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Here is one cache that I searched and found during Geowoodstock. http://coord.info/GC3CH7V

 

As you can see...its a 4D cache and yep, the CO said "stealth required". And get this... I was there for 45 mins searching and while I was there... five more car load of people show up and help search for it! Its right along a busy road and there is NOTHING stealth in seeing five cars parking along a country road and seeing a huge group of people(about 15 adults) searching for a evil cache!!! Every person that drove by was slowing down and looking at us and very likely wondering what the hell we were doing. :unsure:

 

In rural areas, they are also wondering "who the *** are they?"

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At least the OP has been around long enough to have a valued perspective on this topic. I'll agree with the spectacle wearing pooch, I don't know that there are than many more caches in public spaces than we had a few years back. But it does seem to be a higher percentage of the total new caches placed when compared to old school walk in the woods hides.

 

I'm an omnivorous cacher who will seek most anything out there except extreme terrain. There are times when I'm perfectly happy with public space caches. As others have pointed out, the best approach is to act naturally, switch off the Mission Impossible/Pink Panther mental soundtrack and just go for it. Sometimes that even involves asking a park bench sitter if they mind that you are about to look under the bench they're occupying. :D

 

In my area, the trend seems to be toward park & grab caches. And not simply because the good places are taken... I have archived caches in wooded off-trail areas that have yet to be re-used, a couple of years later, while stop-sign and other P&G hides proliferate. I guess that's what the new kids want.

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In rural areas, they are also wondering "who the *** are they?"
They sure talk funny in your rural areas!. :lol:
Yeah, is that pronounced "who the star-star-star are they?" or "who the asterisk-asterisk-asterisk are they?" or possibly "who the wildcard-wildcard-wildcard are they?" or...
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Its the searching part that make us look like a sore thumb. The longer you search, the worse it get. :ph34r:

Pay no attention to the guy who's been tying his shoe for the last 10 minutes. It's none of your business. :laughing:

 

Oddly, some places, like New York City, most people ignore other people. Only time I've been questioned in NYC was when I was climbing on a wall in front of a store. As has been mentioned, a woman was leaning against the sign in front of a restaurant. The cache was at the bottom of the sign. I dropped my backpack right behind her, and tied my shoelaces, and grabbed the cache. Went off and signed the log. Returned, dropped the backpack again, checked through it, and replaced the cache. I was less than two feet from her two feet!

On the other fin, for my GeoArt series (which will probably be archived in the next few months), my coords and hints are pretty good. Read the hint, and you should know where to look. I hate urban stealth caches that do not give a good hint. Like the nano glued to the bottom of a landscaping rock, where there were hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of rocks to check. That's what I classify as a 'nasty' cache.

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Its the searching part that make us look like a sore thumb. The longer you search, the worse it get. :ph34r:

Pay no attention to the guy who's been tying his shoe for the last 10 minutes. It's none of your business. :laughing:

 

Oddly, some places, like New York City, most people ignore other people. Only time I've been questioned in NYC was when I was climbing on a wall in front of a store. As has been mentioned, a woman was leaning against the sign in front of a restaurant. The cache was at the bottom of the sign. I dropped my backpack right behind her, and tied my shoelaces, and grabbed the cache. Went off and signed the log. Returned, dropped the backpack again, checked through it, and replaced the cache. I was less than two feet from her two feet!

On the other fin, for my GeoArt series (which will probably be archived in the next few months), my coords and hints are pretty good. Read the hint, and you should know where to look. I hate urban stealth caches that do not give a good hint. Like the nano glued to the bottom of a landscaping rock, where there were hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of rocks to check. That's what I classify as a 'nasty' cache.

I did that very similar that in Hong Kong as well... People there are really ignoring everybody around them. Most of caches in Hong Kong had really good hint... very likely to keep you from searching too long.

 

For cache owners that want their caches to last a long time in high muggle area, just give away the dead on hint. I will tell you why, the more we look around trying to find it, the more chances that someone will notice us and look further into the situation of why we are there and the cache might disappear. I give good hints on alot of my caches because I want people to find them and leave. The longer they hang around, the more likely problems will happen.

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Nobody cares if you wave your etrex, talk to yourself, and every once in a while mumble where the *** is it? A final, "stupid scavenger hunt" keeps most people at bay. Dont need to explain scavenger hunt, geocaching they need 20 minutes of talking.

 

I have sure lost many contact lenses for a guy that doesn't wear contact lenses. I hate it though, when well-meaning muggles want to help me look.

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Nobody cares if you wave your etrex, talk to yourself, and every once in a while mumble where the *** is it? A final, "stupid scavenger hunt" keeps most people at bay. Dont need to explain scavenger hunt, geocaching they need 20 minutes of talking.

 

I have sure lost many contact lenses for a guy that doesn't wear contact lenses. I hate it though, when well-meaning muggles want to help me look.

 

What do you tell them when they ask why you're wearing glasses?

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Nobody cares if you wave your etrex, talk to yourself, and every once in a while mumble where the *** is it? A final, "stupid scavenger hunt" keeps most people at bay. Dont need to explain scavenger hunt, geocaching they need 20 minutes of talking.

 

I have sure lost many contact lenses for a guy that doesn't wear contact lenses. I hate it though, when well-meaning muggles want to help me look.

 

What do you tell them when they ask why you're wearing glasses?

I hope they don't ask.

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This discussion has really helped me refine my thoughts.

 

I generally don't mind urban caches that require stealth to grab or replace. I'm less happy when it requires luck. I don't care for caches where you must poke around a lot.

 

I was recently faced with a 1.5/1.5 cache that was downtown in a big city. There was a courtyard between two buildings where people smoked, had coffee or just hung out. The GPS led me to a spot where there were 3 circular planters. Each was 5 feet in diameter. Each had 4 metal bands around it, spaced from top to bottom. I quickly figured out that the cache was under the lip of one of the bands. That gave me roughly 180 linear feet of metal to search by walking around and feeling. Fortunately, the hint was very clear.

 

It turns out the cache was in the one spot where you could sit on a bench, reach back, and make the grab.

 

Had I realized the CO was bright spot, enough to have put the cache in the one good spot and to have correctly rated the difficulty, it would have been much easier. Hindsight is 20/20.

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In urban settings, I find the more "stealthy" I try to be the more suspicious I look. So I go into urban settings like I own the place, get in, find the cache, get out. Don't care who's watching. If I get spotted and the cache gets compromised, well then that's the cost of doing business for the hider. Sounds harsh but I've yet to see an urban cache disappear following MY visit.

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In urban settings, I find the more "stealthy" I try to be the more suspicious I look. So I go into urban settings like I own the place, get in, find the cache, get out. Don't care who's watching. If I get spotted and the cache gets compromised, well then that's the cost of doing business for the hider. Sounds harsh but I've yet to see an urban cache disappear following MY visit.

What ^^^ he ^^^ said. I don't do costumes, vests, hard hats, none of that. I (and the wife) just go for it. If you look like you're worried about someone seeing you, they will. Just act normal, like you belong there and know what you're doing. I get asked more about what I'm up to by the nearby ranchers along rural back roads than I ever do in towns and parks.

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In urban settings, I find the more "stealthy" I try to be the more suspicious I look. So I go into urban settings like I own the place, get in, find the cache, get out. Don't care who's watching. If I get spotted and the cache gets compromised, well then that's the cost of doing business for the hider. Sounds harsh but I've yet to see an urban cache disappear following MY visit.

What ^^^ he ^^^ said. I don't do costumes, vests, hard hats, none of that. I (and the wife) just go for it. If you look like you're worried about someone seeing you, they will. Just act normal, like you belong there and know what you're doing. I get asked more about what I'm up to by the nearby ranchers along rural back roads than I ever do in towns and parks.

Agreed. Maybe it's a great opportunity to introduce muggles to geocaching. I've done it a couple times. Each time, the locals already knew about the cache and just said "You're close. Just keep looking."
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This discussion has really helped me refine my thoughts.

 

I generally don't mind urban caches that require stealth to grab or replace. I'm less happy when it requires luck. I don't care for caches where you must poke around a lot.

 

I was recently faced with a 1.5/1.5 cache that was downtown in a big city. There was a courtyard between two buildings where people smoked, had coffee or just hung out. The GPS led me to a spot where there were 3 circular planters. Each was 5 feet in diameter. Each had 4 metal bands around it, spaced from top to bottom. I quickly figured out that the cache was under the lip of one of the bands. That gave me roughly 180 linear feet of metal to search by walking around and feeling. Fortunately, the hint was very clear.

 

It turns out the cache was in the one spot where you could sit on a bench, reach back, and make the grab.

 

Had I realized the CO was bright spot, enough to have put the cache in the one good spot and to have correctly rated the difficulty, it would have been much easier. Hindsight is 20/20.

 

So, in almost a total 180 from my previous post in this thread, I recently found a similar cache in a busy place where it was the same situation you mentioned; there was a bench that, if you sat in the right place, you could easily get the cache without much trouble and without drawing attention. It was in a busy outdoor mall, but the CO did an excellent job of describing where to sit, almost to the point of being letter-box like (ie. stand so a particular sign is at 11 o'clock, and this particular store is at 1 o'clock, then turn around and look for a bench at 6:40 and sit there). The previous cache I mentioned earlier made me feel almost guilty, but this particular one at the outdoor mall was very fun and exciting, and made me feel like I was a good stealthy detective.

 

So a lot of it, at least in my experience, has to do with how well the CO sets it up and makes it fun rather than luck in a crowded environment.

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