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Avoiding Muggles


apogee

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Here's a question I didn't see covered in a topic search. [Someone Markwell me if there's a FAQ.] What exactly are the rules for grabbing a cache when there are muggles in the vicinity? I understand the need for not giving away a location, but are you supposed to avoid carrying a GPSr in plain view? Is it better to grab the cache and examine it in private? If a cache is in an urban park, it can be hard to avoid people without spending a lot of time in the area.

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When I am geocaching I don't hide my GPS. I am only careful when I am in the area of the cache itself. Curiosity about what I am doing has led people to join in this hobby in the past. Do be extra careful if the there are muggles about when you get near the cache, and if necessary come back later. There have been far to many caches plundered because someone was not careful when they found a cache. :P

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The rule is don't get caught. Sometimes it is better to find it and walk away until whoever might of seen you is gone, then return the cache.

That's about it.

One of the things that I do to avoid being seen is to go to the high-visibility caches at a time when no one else is around. Like at dawn on the weekend, or when everyone else is at work or school during the week.

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You can always use my tried and true trick:

 

I was looking for a cache in a busy park and this lady and her dog started walking my way. Rather than give myself away, I sat on a rock and placed my GPS to my ear. I started talking like I was on my cell phone.

 

"Where are you guys? I thought we were meeting here for our daily walk? Oh, you're on the way? Good because I am sick of sitting here waiting for you! See you soon!"

 

The lady just looked at me, smiled and walked on past. I sat on the rock until she was way down the path and then started looking for that cache again. :(

 

Of course, I have met some muggles while looking for a cache and they seemed truly interested in what I was doing. I explained geocaching to them and gave them the web address.

 

I just try to decide on the spot if the person would understand what I was talking about or think I am a terrorist. If they look like they would understand, I explain it (if they ask) and don't try to hide what I am doing. If they look like they would be clueless, I lie. :(

 

But typically, I just make sure I am aware of my surroundings and I keep to myself. I can be sneaky when I want to be. :huh:

Edited by Imajika
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The cel phone idea seems to be a common one.. One guy at a cache near here was just about to grab the cache box when a bus full of old ladies showed up (Ashtabula County is famous for it's covered bridges and they were touring them).. He put his gpsr to his ear and they ignored him.. then he got the cache..

 

not going to very public areas during peak times of day is definately the best option...

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Pretending your GPSr is a camera also works. :(

 

My favorite, especially on remote caches that have taken lots of time to get to is to use my rock hammer. I just pick up a rock and clink on it. Drop the rock, pick up another and clink on it. Continue until nobody is paying any attention to you then grab the cache, go to the car, trade and then make my back to the cache picking up a rock, clinking on it, dropping it until I can replace the cache. :(

 

I have done this is the middle of a group of off roaders on quads and it worked just fine. :huh:

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And once you have the cache, move away from the hide area before opening it and going through the contents. I have found by sitting in the open, rather than trying to hide, makes you more invisible. But again, do the trading and signing away from the hide area if Muggles could possible come around a corner and surprise you. I also carry a camera with me and love to take photos. Just today my son was 'in the act' when my husband gave the muggle warning. I grabbed the camera while my son struck the 'lean again the nice stump' pose and no one was the wiser. :huh:

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I met some cachers who told me when they run into a muggle, they put their GPSs to their ears, and start talking like it was a cell phone... :huh:

 

I have an urban micro cache that is in a very small park with alot of houses nearby, and a half basketball court, and with a jogging path through it. It worries me far more then any of my other caches, as it has lots of traffic. I have to trust that the cachers who search there will know when to walk away, rather then give it away.

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If I detect incoming muggles I usually do one of two things:

 

(1) Unfold my OS map over cache and pretend I'm planning my route (can be prone to people offering to help you find your way).

(2) Grab a bit of food out of my bag and pretend I'm having lunch (most caches looking like lunchboxes).

 

At one site I was just replacing the cache and I heard voices so I quickly went for option (2) and grabbed some food. The family that was coming round the corner saw me sat by a tree eating and decided that I had picked a great spot to have a picnic then sat down, got out their food and started eating too. I waited a while but they looked pretty settled so I used option (1) to cover their line of sight and very carefully replaced the cache, resumed eating for a while then left.

 

Tricky business this geocaching!

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I have found one of the best ways to become invisible in urban caching with lots of muggle activity is to use a clipboard. A safety vest even adds to the ruse. If you look like you belong then people have a tendency to ignore you. Of course ALWAYS have a story ready in case they ask. For instance if it is a guard rail hide a clip board, safety vest and story about safety or insurance surveys is bound to work. Palm the container and use the clipboard (the metal box style clipboards work great) to keep your paperwork on as well as to screen the cache container.

 

It is the people who look like they are being sneaky that garner the most attention.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Marine Biologist (Rodney & Sandy)

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I just got a valuable piece of camouflage that will help in muggle-dense areas. While clearing out our embroidery company's extra inventory, I noticed a USGS hat in the pile. I immediately pounced on it and claimed it as mine. What's more natural than a USGS worker carrying around a GPS while verifying coords for benchmarks? (No need to say that there may not be one in the area.) Add the clipboard and vest mentioned in the above message and I should be pretty much invisible to anyone.

 

S-4-C

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I haven't run into too many problems with muggles so far, but I have yet to geocache in the summer. My only trick is to carry the container away from the hiding spot before perusing it. Although come to think of it, having the dog with me always helps too. Nobody questions what you're doing, especially if you have a plastic grocery bag handy to whip out for picking up the "poop."

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I just got a valuable piece of camouflage that will help in muggle-dense areas. While clearing out our embroidery company's extra inventory, I noticed a USGS hat in the pile. I immediately pounced on it and claimed it as mine. What's more natural than a USGS worker carrying around a GPS while verifying coords for benchmarks? (No need to say that there may not be one in the area.) Add the clipboard and vest mentioned in the above message and I should be pretty much invisible to anyone.

 

S-4-C

Thanks to Strapped-4-Cache and everyone else for the suggestions. I'm just down the road from the USGS office in Menlo Park (CA), so I may stop by their gift shop and see if they have any patches or clothing items. The bottom line seems to be blend in with your surroundings and make it appear you're doing something other than geocaching.

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Excellent points on don't let anyone see you retrieve or replace the cache and moving away from the hiding spot. It's okay to be seen with the container as you sign in as long as you're not skulking about.

 

I've found that when you need to really get into your hunt on a harder cache, it's okay to really get into it. Just have an excuse if someone asks what you're doing. But it's important that when you find the cache, KEEP LOOKING AND MOVE ON! Then start scouting for people watching you. If you are intently hunting for something you will get noticed. That's okay as long as you don't pick up the cache right then. Now you know where it is so you can move away, scout for people watching and then if you're clear, go in and scoop it up.

 

Watch out for office buildings and apartments, it's hard to tell if people are looking.

 

It's also helpful if you have the option of a good partner who can distract persistant onlookers. I was able to replace a full sized cache within feet of a loiterer because Sissy distracted her.

 

Hope this helps!

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Someone mentioned wearing USGS hat and orange vests. On the same subject what do you wear when caching? Camoflage or regular civilian clothes. I can see how camo might keep you concealed when 200 ft. off the trial in the woods but could also make you look more suspicious if seen snooping around in the woods.

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I don't have a problem - for some reason, benchmark hunting is, FOR ME, a lot more interesting than caches (I've only bothered to look for one - I know where another is, but walked right by on the way to a benchmark)

 

So, like someone else said, a clipboard, my hardhat, orange vest, and a commercal grade HT hanging on the belt, I LOOK like I belong poking around for benchmarks.

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My wife and I geocache together and we look young. I always get the "I caught you getting ready to do the nasty" look from passersby. Just last weekend we found a cache in what seemed to be a secluded area when I guy walked by staring at us. I had the cache out and didn't know what to do with it, kinda like getting caught with your pants down.

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I had an interesting run-in with a muggle... I'm not sure what you'd do in the situation, but my story is posted at this cache.

I've had a similar experience to buck09, only we were in a less-travelled area of a big city, and the muggle was about a decade younger and slightly more lucid. After explaining the whole concept, she wanted to look for the cache with me. When we found it, I encouraged her to sign the logbook as a find. She was just thrilled to do that and wrote a ton of stuff about the area that the cache was hidden in back when she was a kid! I think most people are fascinated by the game, and will join in on the hunt to see what its like even if they don't know beans about satellites and that little thing you hold in your hand.

 

But, as buck09 said, you have to size people up pretty quickly...

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I have found one of the best ways to become invisible in urban caching with lots of muggle activity is to use a clipboard. A safety vest even adds to the ruse. If you look like you belong then people have a tendency to ignore you. Of course ALWAYS have a story ready in case they ask. For instance if it is a guard rail hide a clip board, safety vest and story about safety or insurance surveys is bound to work. Palm the container and use the clipboard (the metal box style clipboards work great) to keep your paperwork on as well as to screen the cache container.

 

It is the people who look like they are being sneaky that garner the most attention.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Marine Biologist (Rodney & Sandy)

Amen to this one. I've used it a lot in urban caches. Also, avoid looking like an aborigine on a walk-about in the cities and try not to look like a poindexter in the middle of the woods.

 

People in the real woods are often pleasantly curious and positive so I don't panic. My trick for city parks is to NOT look like I'm hiding something. The yard apes will investigate if they see someone acting suspicious.

 

I think some folks are TOO paranoid insome instances. I don't worry about hiding from the soccer mom with her dog or the mall walkers out to check the gladioli. The tweeners and teeners are the biggest problem and if it gets too difficult I'll start paying attention to power lines or acting like a surveyor.

 

I also use the opportunity of getting caught as a chance to explain the hobby. It's a good recruitment tool.

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Another ruse is a trash-out bag. Actually picking up trash on the way out can explain visibly why you were back in that part of the park. Has the added benefit of being a good steward of the land and promotes one of the features of geocaching that can sell us to park managers.

That's a very good idea. Keeps our caching areas clean

 

Would that be a give away later?

 

Clean areas contain caches?

 

:mad:

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I've started keeping the earbud to my cell phone in place while caching. With sunnier weather my shades are usually on too. :mad:

If I'm approached I just begin talking into my sleeve. No one want to mess with someone wearing shades, a wire running up to their ear, and talking into their sleeves. B)B)

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aw, i had one cache in florida that i spent 2 days trying to find. weather in the 80's and muggy. the cache was supposed to be hidden under a baordwalk. and you couldn't get to it off the boardwalk. so i'd get down on my hands and feet and hang my head over the side of the boardwalk. no way can you explain that to muggles, and by that time i didn't care anymore.

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I live in the French countryside, and not talking to muggles would definitely be considered strange. On the couple of occasions I've met them, I make a point of telling what I'm doing. Anyone out for a walk round here is likely to be at least politely interested, and very unlikely to trash the cache for the hell of it. Who knows, you may get someone interested - who lives near you - and who will place interesting caches for you to find !

 

(YMMV, of course...)

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SBPhishy - that's not a tazer, that's a prop gun from the last "Aliens" movie! :D

 

Back on topic - I struggled with this decision on a recent (DNF, DPM, (IMO) hunt. I just decided to let them think I was a psycho. Soon after I arrived everyone left! >:D Muhahahahaha.... although I noticed birds were dropping in mid-flight too... Maybe I forgot the deodorant that day... Hmmmm.... :rolleyes: Anyway, they really did leave. Quite odd, but then again you meet all sorts.

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My son just got invited to attend a summer program for gifted youngsters at Stetson University in DeLand Fl.I went on the website to chk what courses he could take and found

DEL-201 TREASURE HUNTING ~

Real life treasure hunting at its best! There is a world-wide game being played in which people race around trying to find hidden items. These boxes are hidden everywhere - you probably passed one on the way home today and didn't even know it was there! Learn how to investigate the latest technology: Global Positioning System (GPS), which allows us to participate in the search, practice the techniques that will make us premiere hunters, create treasure boxes of our own to hide, and, of course, get out there and find our share of the loot!

(Grades 6-9/July 5-9, 2004)

Imagine that!

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I know I'm late to post on this one, but I thought I'd add my strategy. It worked when I was looking for a blasted Altoid box on a busy street corner. I always carry a camera and when a muggle asks what I'm doing as I search through the bushes or whatever, I reply that I am doing a photo study of cob webs, or whatever topic is appropriate to the surrondings and where I'm searching at the time. Satisfied a couple of them, anyway.

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I remember a story from awhile back. A group of geocachers were getting REALLY uncomfortable being overly-observed by a curious group of geo-muggles.

 

So one of the geocachers kinda froze, looked at his GPS with 'alarm', and said: "Hey, I'm getting a higher radiation level over here!" The rest of the group caught on instantly and said: I'm getting a higher level over here too!" "So am I!" "This is scary!"

 

The geocacher group was instantly left in peace. ;)

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