Caching In Populated Areas

[Captain Chaoss]

Quote:

If anyone seems to be paying too much attention to you, just gesture with one hand (the one not holding the GPS) and say, in your best Alec "Obi-Wan" Guinness voice, "You don't need to know what I'm doing here. You never saw this film canister under this rock."

 

LOL...good one! That will get anyone to hightail it out of there fast.

 

 

My luck I'd unknowingly do this in front of the Star Trek Fan clubs annual picnic and Vulcan Roast.

 

Headline:

 

Geocacher Mauled by trekkies after eronious Sci-Fi gesture.

 

 

just scream " Leonard Nimoy did come ! Live long & prosper Spock ! " Those nerds will fall for anything.

 

As your running away, don't forget to yell "May the force be with you"

Edited December 23, 2003 by Captain Chaoss

[ATMouse]

I'm wondering if our current state of alert has inhibited anyone from the search. I know that living near an international border has me spooked a bit. Really, think about it: strange person with electronic equipment, loitering about for no good reason...

 

Tom Ridge would have me locked up forever.

 

"No, Mr. Secret Service Man, I was just looking for an ammo box..."

[+Johnnie Stalkers]

I'm wondering if our current state of alert has inhibited anyone from the search. I know that living near an international border has me spooked a bit. Really, think about it: strange person with electronic equipment, loitering about for no good reason...

 

Tom Ridge would have me locked up forever.

 

"No, Mr. Secret Service Man, I was just looking for an ammo box..."

Wonder if this is why my "Presidential Motorcade Locationless" didn't get approved?

[+TotemLake]

Pull out a trash bag and start your CITO a little early. It's amazing how many people will instanly look the other way because they don't want to be guilted into doing the same thing.

[+Team Tecmage]

Ha! Try Geocaching while BLACK! I look suspicious where ever I go to hunt urban caches. I have no disguise, though I am considering making one. I have some boots and a hardhat and a clipboard to start with. Lately I just imagine myselt to be "invisible" and try to ignore onlookers. I have experienced only one encounter during 14 months of hunting caches. Fortunately I had logsheets and maps with me to explain my odd behavior. Most of you probably wonder where I'm coming from with this, but you have to live it to know it. It is like Driving While Black and Shopping While Black and etc.............

No need to imagine here. Tracy and I each carry a GPSR and someties make a production out of trying to triangulate on a cache. Usually, people look and walk away.

[+Johnnie Stalkers]

[+KerryG]

Up until my last cache, I never encountered anyone. However, yesterday I head over to "Da Island Mon" not really knowing what to expect there and hoped there wouldn't be anyone lurking around early on Christmas Eve. When I arrive at the coords, there are two families with young children feeding the ducks. I couldn't very well start searching around at their feet or even try to look around at a short distance as I didn't want their parents to think I was some kind of perv there to watch young kids. All I could do to not get any real attention was simply sit on a large rock facing away from them staring off at the lake. Fortunately, they ran out of bread within a few minutes and left the island all to myself. (excellent spot btw)

 

My kids are teenagers so they aren't of any stealth usage and my cat wont go on a leash.

 

The GPSr as a cell phone really keeps anyone from looking at you especially if you are loud enough and your conversation is boring or annoying.

[+Sparky-Watts]

 

The GPSr as a cell phone really keeps anyone from looking at you especially if you are loud enough and your conversation is boring or annoying.

This accurately describes all of my cell phone conversations!

[+Trudger]

I dunno, I've always liked the attention that public micro hunting draws. I've caught myself hamming it up a bit. I cache with a Pharos CF GPS unit, and a Dell Axim X5 PDA, so there's a lot of on screen tapping and pressing. I've even started using my finger, instead of the stylus for effect. I'm out in the park Dr. Bonesing the heck out of that Axim. I don't draw too much attention, but the fact that I actually have what appears to the casual observer to be a tricorder, and I'm scanning the area for "something" just makes me laugh inside. Does this make me a Star Trek geek? I think it does.

 

Trudge

Edited December 27, 2003 by Trudger

[+AslCacher]

I was looking for a magnetic key holder on a caboose a couple of weeks ago. I was crawling all over and under it. I was feeling all around the wheels and springs under the caboose. I was lucky that it was very cold and not too many people were around. I'm not sure how you could search for this one without looking very strange. I guess you could tell people you were doing the yearly inspection. I never did find the cache. I need to go back to that one. The bad thing is that it is an 8 hour drive to get there.

[+Sparky-Watts]

I was looking for a magnetic key holder on a caboose a couple of weeks ago.  I was crawling all over and under it.  I was feeling all around the wheels and springs under the caboose.  I was lucky that it was very cold and not too many people were around.  I'm not sure how you could search for this one without looking very strange.  I guess you could tell people you were doing the yearly inspection.  I never did find the cache.  I need to go back to that one.  The bad thing is that it is an 8 hour drive to get there. 

When you go back, just buy one of those striped "engineer" caps and pretend to work for the railroad! You may get some funny looks, especially if this is in a park (like it sounds), but folks will leave you alone!

 

EDIT: For added effect, just keep whistling "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" over and over!

Edited December 28, 2003 by Sparky-Watts

[Captain Chaoss]

Need a Markwell here. Where are the pics of those guys who dressed up as Batman and a Viking, and did night caches in the city ?

[The King Kachers]

When you go back, just buy one of those striped "engineer" caps and pretend to work for the railroad! You may get some funny looks, especially if this is in a park (like it sounds), but folks will leave you alone!

 

EDIT: For added effect, just keep whistling "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" over and over!

Mental note to self:

Buy an engineer's hat before going to train themed caches That just might work LOL

[+Sparky-Watts]

When you go back, just buy one of those striped "engineer" caps and pretend to work for the railroad!   You may get some funny looks, especially if this is in a park (like it sounds), but folks will leave you alone!

 

EDIT:  For added effect, just keep whistling "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" over and over!

Mental note to self:

Buy an engineer's hat before going to train themed caches That just might work LOL

I've got the overalls to go with the cap, if ya need to borrow them!

 

[Captain Chaoss]

Sparky, whats the matter with that cat your wife is holding ?

[+Sparky-Watts]

Sparky, whats the matter with that cat your wife is holding ?

ROFLMAO!!!!!!! I think we gave her one too many doggy treats as a kitten!

[+wildearth2001]

Just use your GPSr as normal.  Turn to your caching partner and say "The radiation levels are REALLY spiking here.  Shouldn't we be wearing the suits?"

ROTFLMAO

 

I'm going to have to try this one.

 

F_M

I have done it. Worked quite nice because I am known in my area as a science geek. I always have some sort of gizmo knowbody has ever heard of with me. I mean I take my GPS to high school (im a sophmore in HS) with me.

 

EDIT: I wasn't geocaching I was following the magnetic field to plan out a crop circle (out in the desert). Drowsing rods, magnetic compass, laser, and yes I had my GPS.

Edited December 29, 2003 by wildearth2001

[+wray_clan]

I was looking for a magnetic key holder on a caboose a couple of weeks ago.  I was crawling all over and under it.  I was feeling all around the wheels and springs under the caboose.  I was lucky that it was very cold and not too many people were around.  I'm not sure how you could search for this one without looking very strange.  I guess you could tell people you were doing the yearly inspection.  I never did find the cache.  I need to go back to that one.  The bad thing is that it is an 8 hour drive to get there. 

Were you searching for this? (we found it...on the second or third try)

[+Bob&TheGang]

We did some micro hunting a few weeks back in a city park and while trying to find our first micro, I was getting a little paranoid about being seen. So, for a few minutes, I put my GPSr up to my ear as if I were on a cell phone I was just curious if anyone else has any funny stories about caching in populated areas

Bring you kids (if have some). If you don't, barrow some.

 

If someone sees a kid poking & looking around, they will think its just a kid being a kid.

 

If someone sees an adult poking & looking around, they are likely to call the police.

 

For example, today I found a cache that was a 3 inch cylinder. The cache was placed out in the the middle of a dirt lot with a bunch of houses near by and there was no way to be stealthy when trying to retreive the cache.

 

Fortunately, I had my 10 year old daughter with me today.

 

When I say that container, I wanted to log it and get he hell our of there ASAP. It would have been difficult to explain that one to the Las Vegas Bomb Squade.

[+Shumway]

I had a tough one. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...6-CC500110E9B3}

It's on a very busy bridge, tucked behind part of a girder and stuck on with magnets. The access is on the sidewalk / bike path with lots of people using it. When I first searched I felt way to conspicuous to reach under the girder. There mst have been 10 people passing by each minute. When I figured out the exact spot, I decided to come back at dusk to bag it. Not sure if that was a better choice. Imagine what people might think "Hello police.. some guy just stuck a black metal container on one of the bridge girders." On the other hand, seeing the bomb squad blowing up a cache can would make a much more captivating story than this one.

[+Imajika]

I am new to caching and have only been 'caught' once. A man and his dog came up on a trail behind me and my hubby (we looked and thought we were alone). When he came up, my hubby and I were walking around in circles in the woods saying "it says it's RIGHT here". My husband found the cache and pulled it out before we noticed the man. The man asked "What the hell are you doing in those woods?". I just explained it to him because he seemed nice but was just wondering why two adults would be walking around in circles in a wooded area. He just kind of shook his head at us and kept walking. We waited until he was up the trail and signed the log, etc. Then we hid it again. I don't think the man would come back looking for it and he never saw the hiding spot anyway. It was a well hidden cache so I'm not worried about it.

 

On a good note, all the caches I have found so far are in my town. I work for the local police department and know most of the officers. If someone called the cops, I would be ok. I would either know the cop or show them my police ID.

 

The first cache I found was near an aprtment complex. I kept saying to myself "If they call the police, it's ok, I work for the cops.". I kept chanting it in my head while I walked around in circles in a field.

 

But next time if I see someone who is being a jerk about me caching. I am just going to use the cellphone or radiation trick. Thanks for the ideas guys!

[+Huntnlady]

Urban Stealth Techniques

 

One time I was caught by a man while looking for a code word micro under an aqueduct. I must of been thinking about the earthquake we'd had recently, because I told him I was checking for earthquake microstress fractures. He gave a nod of the head and believed me, as if any hand-held device could detect fractures in concrete!

[The King Kachers]

Urban Stealth Techniques

 

One time I was caught by a man while looking for a code word micro under an aqueduct. I must of been thinking about the earthquake we'd had recently, because I told him I was checking for earthquake microstress fractures. He gave a nod of the head and believed me, as if any hand-held device could detect fractures in concrete!

Checked out your "Features" page of your website. Loved the comparisons with sex page! Hilarious! Thanks

[+pstar]

After caching in NYC for a couple of days, I realized that I was much less interesting than most of the other characters walking around and was paid little attention. I did abort seaching for a cache in Times Square on or about New Year's Eve. It is very close to the police station and tensions were high, of course. I felt like I was in the cross-hairs of a sniper's scope.

[+TheNomad]

Taking my daughters on an urban micro hunt works best for me.

 

One time, in a small very populated urban square, I set my 10-yr-old daughter out to be distracting. She started shouting about the lizards (ok, in fairness, she does quite a bit of stage acting and performing), and she caught a couple. While she was blabbering about the cool brown lizards, I was was able to reach down, say in a loud voice "WOW - Look at this one", and snag the small swim-tube micro. In all, it was a very successful caching outing.

 

Now, we use that "trick" regularly. That, and for larger parks, we take a small football and play "catch". Then, dad who "doesn't know his own strength", manages to lob it into the bushes near where the GPS says to look. Then, we're searching in front of everybody for the football... Really, we're searching for the cache.

[+SamLowrey]

Try shouting very loudly "It's here somewhere, if I could only find the frequency!"

Ahhhh, so that explains it.