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Urban Caching: Tips for city Caches?


VRTrooper84

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Hey Folx!

I'm hailing from Toronto, and Prince Edward County, ON region.

 

Relatively new to Geocaching.  Noticed that caches seem to come and go rather quickly in the city due to mugglers.

Country caches seem to stay around longer, due to foliage and less muggle activity.

 

Any good tips for URBAN cache disguises and tricks to keep caches out of hands of city muggles?

So far I've noticed MAGNETIC caches are popular for urban hides.

Also came across a cache that was a false electrical panel cover, which is genius!

 

Any other tips?

 

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Places where geocachers can search without being seen are a good start.

 

If the hiding place is exposed, the cache has to be well hidden from non-geocachers, but you don't want geocachers to have to search too long (or that will attract unwantwd attention to your cache).  A good hint can help achieve that.

 

Oh, and fake electrical panels are only a good idea when they are far from real ones, in places where their could not be a real one.  In the proper spot, they are a good example of something only geocachers will notice.

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I've cached a fair bit in NYC.  For the most part, people keep in their own zone, and ignore everyone else.  We were hunting a cache.  Another cacher came up and said:  I'm pretty sure it is there.  Pointed at a sign just behind the heels of a lady waiting in line for a restaurant.  I put down my backpack just behind her.  Fumbled through it, and grabbed the cache.  We all signed the log.  I bent down behind her and tied my shoelaces and rehid the cache.  Nobody saw anything!  My caches in NYC are MKHs.  

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7 hours ago, Harry Dolphin said:

I've cached a fair bit in NYC.  For the most part, people keep in their own zone, and ignore everyone else.  We were hunting a cache.  Another cacher came up and said:  I'm pretty sure it is there.  Pointed at a sign just behind the heels of a lady waiting in line for a restaurant.  I put down my backpack just behind her.  Fumbled through it, and grabbed the cache.  We all signed the log.  I bent down behind her and tied my shoelaces and rehid the cache.  Nobody saw anything!  My caches in NYC are MKHs.  

Niiiiiiiice.  Oh so satisfying when you can stealth cache.

 

Funny how you ran into another cacher.  That's never happened to me yet.

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One tip I've used is to paint the cache container black. This blurs the lines of the container and can help it blend in to its surroundings, depending on the chosen location. Many of the containers I've used in my urban hides have been magnetic but I have used sections of landscaping logs in garden beds to hide bison tubes or 35mm film canisters in. A very specific hint can also contribute to the longevity of a cache hide in an urban environment.

 

I have a series here in Sydney, Australia called "TFTC Sydney" where the TFTC stands for "Totally Findable Tourist Caches". As the name implies, the caches are targeted at visitors, especially overseas visitors, (although there's not too many of those around Sydney at the moment due to Covid19 restrictions on travel to Australia) who want a quick and easy find while out enjoying the sights. The series has been well received by the geo-community. The hints are quite specific, sometimes overly so, which means cachers can arrive at GZ and pretty much put their hand on the cache immediately. They're not spending time searching which can look quite suss to lots of Muggles passing  by. The caches have pretty much stayed in place and not disappeared. Also, there has been quite an influx of local newbies to the game. This series has provided a positive experience, in really nice locations, to kick-start their geo-adventures. Here is a link to the first cache in the series that I placed in July, 2019. The gallery has some quite nice photo's of two of Sydney's icons. ?

 

https://coord.info/GC8B1QV

 

 

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If the cache is in a public place give a VERY precise hint so the finder can walk up and put their hand on the cache immediately, without going into suspicious behaviour to search for it. That can attract attention and if you want your cache to last you don't want to attract attention. To lower the risk of your cache being muggled, only put hard to find caches in places where people can search without attracting attention.

This is one of my caches. It used to be a grotty back alleyway, but times change and it's being gentrified, with initially workmen doing building work and then cafes moving in. The area has changed and now there can be witnesses to a search. I left the difficulty rating the same for the now muggle factor, but added a very precise hint and a spoiler photo, because I don't want the cache to be muggled by drawing attention to it. The graffiti keeps getting changed, but the power box stays the same.

GC4BKBP Verily it's in Verity

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