If Someone Spots You Searching What Do You Say?

[+Milbank]

Well my son and I searched for our first caching yesterday I was wondering what I would say if someone seen us in the area and asked us what we were doing.

 

I told my son if someone asked we would just tell them we are exploring.

 

Is it a good idea to tell them what you are really doing or not?

[+cache_us_if_you_can]

It all depends on the person asking. If it's law enforcment, I'll tell them exactly what I'm doing. Anyone else is fair game to whatever story pops out. Sometimes I'll say I'm geocaching, and if the are inquisitive, I'll explain the game to them. Other times I wont

[+Team GPSaxophone]

I tell them I'm an undercover bomb squad agent and if they see me running, they should try and keep up

[+pedron]

I tell them I'm an undercover bomb squad agent and if they see me running, they should try and keep up

i like that response, i reserve the right to use it on occasion with your permission of course!

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

If Someone Spots You Searching What Do You Say?

Got any spare change you can spare for a nam vet sweet cheeks.

[+Milbank]

ROFL...

[+Stem]

I base my response on my first impression of the person who spotted me. If they seem to be ok and not muggle material, I will explain to them in as much/ little detail as they desire. If I think a muggle they may be, a well fabricated mis truth about whatever pops in my head will do fine.

[Find Now, Log Later?]

Just say you are "geocaching." Most people unfamiliar with the term won't want to appear unknowledgeable; they'll just say "oh" and walk away in a state of confusion.

 

If geocaching is a legitimate activity, there should be no reason to lie about one's activities. I think the real reason adults lie about their geocaching activities is because they are embarrassed to admit that they are simply playing a "hide-go-seek" game.

[+buck09]

Gotta size them up quickly. I've only had 66 finds, but have run into several people so far. For the ones that look like they would "get it", I explain what I'm doing and tell them a little about the sport. Most of the people I've done this to were, at worst, indiferent.

 

I've also run into several people who I knew wouldn't get it / were beligerent. My excuses so far:

 

- Looking for my dog. (Don't own a dog)

- Exploring the park.

 

I've thought of several smart*** remarks, but my better judgement prevents me from using them:

 

- I can't find my mommy.

- Out planning pagan rituals

- Hiding from black helicopters, looking for tinfoil hat.

- What are *YOU* doing out here?

- Hunting snipes

- My lizard told me to come here.

- Looking for a big "W"

[WH]

I find that if you start making farm animal noises, they tend to give you a wide berth.

[+Seamus]

"My preciousssss! Where is my precioussssssss?!"

[+New England n00b]

If Someone Spots You Searching What Do You Say?

 

I BENT MY WOOKIE!

Edited May 6, 2004 by New England n00b

[+The Leprechauns]

I commented on this in the forums nearly two years ago when I was a newbie. I listed a bunch of funny excuses that my daughter and I had come up with to explain ourselves. It was then noted that I was perhaps unintentionally teaching my daughter to lie about something that is, as Basson Pilot rightly notes, a legitimate activity.

 

So now we don't lie anymore. What we do is to give varying shades of the truth, that is, in level of detail, depending on who is asking us:

 

1. We're out enjoying the park. Isn't it a beautiful day?

2. We are playing a scavenger hunt game.

3. We are playing a game that uses GPS units to find things (use if I've obviously been staring at the GPS, doing the bee dance to get a better fix, etc.)

4. We're geocaching. (They will either walk away or ask about it.)

[+Milbank]

1. We're out enjoying the park. Isn't it a beautiful day?

2. We are playing a scavenger hunt game.

3. We are playing a game that uses GPS units to find things (use if I've obviously been staring at the GPS, doing the bee dance to get a better fix, etc.)

4. We're geocaching. (They will either walk away or ask about it.)

 

Very good, thanks!

[+Milbank]

The Leprechauns,

 

I just looked at your profile, very nice.

 

Great photo's. Your reply to my post was very good. thanks again.

 

I see what you mean about teaching our children to lie.

 

I will be using items from your list if anyone does ask me.

 

Is your forum username also your last name?

I have thought about using my last name too or putting my name in the sig so if there are others interested in geocaching in my area it would be easy to find me.

 

I like the way you added your kid's info in with your profile. I really want my son to be involved in this with me too.

 

Thanks for the great reply, very helpful..

Edited May 6, 2004 by Milbank

[+golem3]

I was out with a fellow cacher (rhinogirl) and a muggle came up to us (well his two dogs came up to us first) and asked what we were up to. He seemed pretty cool, so I told him and he said he'd heard about it before and asked some questions, so I gave him a quick overview. He seemed fairly interested, so I hope I have turned someone else onto this activity. Maybe he'll hide a cache for us to find in the future. My thought is not to keep it secret (just the locations of the caches secret) and get as many people hooked on caching as possible.

[+WalruZ]

2. We are playing a scavenger hunt game.

 

This is what I usually say. Most people understand at some level what that means and will not ask for further details. It can always progress to geocaching if that seems like a good idea, but it usually doesn't.

[+The Leprechauns]

The Leprechauns,

 

I just looked at your profile, very nice.

 

Great photo's. Your reply to my post was very good. thanks again.

 

I see what you mean about teaching our children to lie.

 

I will be using items from your list if anyone does ask me.

 

Is your forum username also your last name?

I have thought about using my last name too or putting my name in the sig so if there are others interested in geocaching in my area it would be easy to find me.

 

I like the way you added your kid's info in with your profile. I really want my son to be involved in this with me too.

 

Thanks for the great reply, very helpful..

Thank you for the kind words and I am glad that I've been able to help you. I've helped a couple of other people on my way to 2,000 forum posts!

 

Two years ago, in June 2002, I was exactly where you are now. My daughter and I were thrilled to find our first geocache. We had all the same questions that you are asking. People helped us in the forums. Now it is my turn to help others. I hope that, in two years, you and your son will still be just as enthusiastic as you are today.

 

Don't go out of your way to advertise geocaching. Like many other hobbies that aren't quite mainstream, not everyone will be interested in hearing about it. Pick your targets carefully.

 

I would advise against using your real name in the forums, as your username, or in logbooks. This is for privacy reasons. If someone wants to get in touch with you because they see you live in the next town over, they can write an e-mail to you via your profile.

 

Our name "The Leprechauns" is based on our Irish heritage and because my daughter is a competitive Irish step dancer in addition to being a topnotch cache finder. I could tell you my real name, which is very Irish, but then I'd have to kill not only you, but everyone else who read this forum post, and that would suck, so I won't.

[+carleenp]

would advise against using your real name in the forums, as your username, or in logbooks. This is for privacy reasons. If someone wants to get in touch with you because they see you live in the next town over, they can write an e-mail to you via your profile.

 

I agree. I don't know who would be nuts enough to use his or her own name in here!

 

Anyway, I have found that trying to make something up is often pretty useless for me because I am a bad liar. So the people don't believe what I tell them and I look even more suspicious to them. My solution now is to simply say that I'm playing a GPS game. If they ask for more info, I'll be happy to explain it to them.

[+Milbank]

I could tell you my real name, which is very Irish, but then I'd have to kill not only you, but everyone else who read this forum post, and that would suck, so I won't.

 

ROFL.....

 

I guess you could also just say "I'm just playing with my new GPS".

[+DavidMac]

In all the cases where this has happened to me, I have been completely honest. In most cases, telling somebody that "I'm just geocaching" is all it takes for them to lose interest and move on. Sometimes, I have come across people that have heard of the game but have no interest in it; they say so and then move on. This seems to be the case about 90% of the time. Only 3 or 4 times have I come across someone who seems interested in the sport, and then asks a few more questions about the game and the workings of the GPS. One group was a family with young kids who were avid highpointers and who sounded interested in the sport. Other times have been couples who sounded interested but who decided that GPS was too technical for them.

 

I've started carrying the geocaching brochure with me, in case I come across someone who seems genuinely interested and who appears to have the possibility of being a good addition to the sport. I also keep it around to back up my story in case I am ever questioned by police, since it does a pretty good job explaining the basics of the sport and highlights it's family-friendly nature. I haven't been asked about caching by anybody since I started carrying a copy, however.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Would you hold my pet, while I look up a phone # in my cell phone.

 

[+carleenp]

LOL!

 

Is that a bull snake? Looks like one, but smaller than I usually see. ???? But I am not up on my CO snakes.

[+Threshold]

If Someone Spots You Searching What Do You Say?

 

I BENT MY WOOKIE!

The doctor said my nose would stop bleeding if I'd keep finger outta there...

[+Team GPSaxophone]

would advise against using your real name in the forums, as your username, or in logbooks. This is for privacy reasons. If someone wants to get in touch with you because they see you live in the next town over, they can write an e-mail to you via your profile.

 

I agree. I don't know who would be nuts enough to use his or her own name in here!

Not so loud! people will start thinking I'm not really a Smurf

[+SunshineGang]

I like the answers I see here. mostly I make a quick judegement.. If it's a bunch of young kids that might vandlize the cache after we leave. I would just make something up.. but otherwise we tell people that we are geocaching and if they are interested we tell them as much as they want ot know

[+Torry]

Tracking down some radioactive TupperWare.

 

Hi there! The name's Diogenes. (sniff sniff) Nope. You aren't the one.

 

Used condom inspector ma'am.

 

The crawl space is full, I'm looking for some new sites.

 

Just counting the ladybugs. Ladybugs are our friends. Do you like ladybugs?

 

Wanna see an elephant?

[Major Catastrophe]

Just hold your GPSr up to your ear like a cellphone, and start loudly carrying on in a manner sure to embarass anyone around you. The muggle(s) will quickly leave the area, and you can continue your search.

[+dasein]

After nearly 550 finds, we've never had anyone ask what we were doing. Oh wait, there was that security guard in the park across the street from the county courthouse... we told him the truth and showed him the cache page. Other than that, we'd just say that we're trying out or learning how to use our new GPS. We try to avoid situations with lots of aliens about--we don't like having to be stealthy.

[+SixDogTeam]

My dog and I were examining a guard rail in a park looking for a magnetic micro- key hider cache, when this woman with her dog walks up. Said hi, what's dogs name etc. while continuing to look on knees, upside down, on back etc. She never asked what we were doing, but just hung around talking so so I told her we were looking for a key-hider that someone had left there. She helped us look, then left when I found it. Never asked a darn thing!! You treat each instance differently as conditions warrent.

[+wvcoalcat]

Personally, I try to explain what I'm doing as detailed as possible.

When their eye's glaze over and they enter a deep, trance like state, I can make my escape.

(Hmmm. This seems to happen pretty often with my friends too when they make the mistake of asking "What did you do this weekend")

 

edit-spelling

Edited May 7, 2004 by wvcoalcat

[+Ficky]

Sunshine-Gang,

 

Not all kids will just destroy a cache. I am still in highschool and cache with at least 5 other friends so u can't say that all kids will wreck caches.

 

Now to the topic:

 

I usually say I am doing a science project on local flora and fauna with a gps. People I usually see will leave me alone because either the don't know what that means or that I'm about six feet tall and can be a menacing person when i want to be.

 

Ficky

[+Bull Moose]

I assess the person and choose my response accordingly. They range from "None of your business" to "looking for a ball my dog lost" to the truth.