Muggles- What's The Big Deal?

[Steepee]

Hi,

 

I'm very new to the sport, but have a question. I've been looking through the FAQ's to learn more, and have read a bunch of posts about avoidng being seen. Should I worry about people seeing me do hunt caches? I would think it would be neat to share what I'm doing, maybe they might get interested and become geocachers themselves.

 

Thanks,

Steepee

[+Stunod]

Or they might steal the cache. Use your best judgement on what you tell "outsiders"

[+Nappy10]

Its great to tell others about what you are doing...that you trust. There are a lots of people out there that just like to destroy things such as this. Be careful! Dont flaunt around to every stranger what you are doing looking for "hidden treasure." Before you know it, the cache will be thrown about the pavement and gone. I've seen and heard about it all too often.

[+Renegade Knight]

If you are caught seeking a cache, by all means tell them what you are doing. They may just decide it's a great game. It's the people who you don't see who can call you into the police and create a scare out of nothing. It's best to be discrete, then if caught honest.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Most of the people I've talked to about it think geocaching sounds really cool. As long as there's not one in their neighborhood. One of my coworkers has just bought a condo along a really pretty local bikepath. When he told me where, I said, "I know that spot, I've gone geocaching in that area!"

 

"Oh." he said, "any way I can get that stopped?"

[+briansnat]

You're better off not being seen. You never know how people will react. Some may call the cops and report a suspicious activity, some may come back and steal the cache and once in a while you may recruit a new geocacher.

 

If you are caught, be honest and explain what you are doing. But generally, its better off for the cache if muggles don't know its there.

[+Robespierre]

I often take young muggles with me, in small groups. I have a personal rule.

I do not take them to a local cache, unless it is mine. Even good teens whom I know have "friends" who cannot be trusted. News gets around. I will not risk your cache. If it is 15 miles away, it is probably not much risk. I work with teens and younger all the time. They can not keep a secret, but if the cache is too far to walk to, it is likely OK.

Edited July 16, 2004 by Robespierre

[+AtoZ]

Where do you buy your invisbility cloak?????? Sorry but the talk about "NOT BEING SEEN" just brought the thought to my mind. Last night I did about the most public cache I have ever done, i.e. middle of a park surrounded by houses kids practicig soccer in the field next to me. Okay I have done caches where people were around but then it is in the middle of a green belt. But how do you look inconspicious turning ove rocks in a park?????

I was for a lose as to what to do, expecially when some guy parks 10 to 20 feet from me and sits in his car doing who know what. Now that I thought was weird. I looked for about 10 minutes after he parked before I got weirded out.

cheers

[+Mopar]

Where do you buy your invisbility cloak??????  Sorry but the talk about "NOT BEING SEEN" just brought the thought to my mind.  Last night I did about the most public cache I have ever done, i.e. middle of a park surrounded by houses kids practicig soccer in the field next to me.  Okay I have done caches where people were around but then it is in the middle of a green belt.  But how do you look inconspicious turning ove rocks in a park?????

I was for a lose as to what to do, expecially when some guy parks 10 to 20 feet from me and sits in his car doing who know what.  Now that I thought was weird.  I looked for about 10 minutes after he parked before I got weirded out.

cheers

Walk away and come back another day.

I would never risk someone's cache just for a smiley. Just come back again, maybe when it's drizzling, or a weekday when less people are around.

Edited July 16, 2004 by Mopar

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

 

"Oh." he said, "any way I can get that stopped?"

What a jerk. I think I'd let my dog poop in his garden

[+Enspyer]

Even good teens whom I know have "friends" who cannot be trusted.  News gets around.  I will not risk your cache.  If it is 15 miles away, it is probably not much risk.  I work with teens and younger all the time.  They can not keep a secret, but if the cache is too far to walk to, it is likely OK.

This is really annoying when I am a good teen geocacher and my friends are not trustworthy. So far I've only lost some else's travel bug to an untrustworthy friend, but even that is really not good. I prefer explaining geocaching to a muggle if I am no where near the cache, because then if they really want to find it they'll have to come through geocaching.com and if they're just out for easy vandalism they'll go somewhere else. It adds nicely to the mystery if they person goes away the idea that 'there is a hidden box somewhere around this giant park...' but has no idea where (I stress the LOW VALUE of objects in the cache and how the best part is GETTING THERE, especially in neighborhood parks- I don't want everyone for 3 blocks scourning the park for a 'treasure'.)

[+AuntieWeasel]

What a jerk.  I think I'd let my dog poop in his garden

Yes, he is, a bit. Unfortunately, I don't have a dog. I'll just have to poop in his garden myself.

[dampeoples]

Most people could care less what you are doing, truthfully.

[+Cache Viking]

Where do you buy your invisbility cloak??????  Sorry but the talk about "NOT BEING SEEN" just brought the thought to my mind.  Last night I did about the most public cache I have ever done, i.e. middle of a park surrounded by houses kids practicig soccer in the field next to me.  Okay I have done caches where people were around but then it is in the middle of a green belt.  But how do you look inconspicious turning ove rocks in a park?????

I was for a lose as to what to do, expecially when some guy parks 10 to 20 feet from me and sits in his car doing who know what.  Now that I thought was weird.  I looked for about 10 minutes after he parked before I got weirded out.

cheers

Walk away and come back another day.

I would never risk someone's cache just for a smiley. Just come back again, maybe when it's drizzling, or a weekday when less people are around.

I'll have to agree with Mopar "Walk away and come back another day." On a recent trip to Ohio I finally got this one Came back again and again.

[+tirediron]

What a jerk.  I think I'd let my dog poop in his garden

Yes, he is, a bit. Unfortunately, I don't have a dog. I'll just have to poop in his garden myself.

Ewwwwwww... thanks for that visual Auntie... NOT!!!!

[+as77]

Recently, there has been a tendency in my area for hard multis to appear in highly muggly areas. Like there is a difficulty 4.5 micro in the middle of the city park in an open area (lawn decently mowed) with houses and playground closeby, lots of people walking by, people sitting around in their gardens just 50 feet away, etc. Frankly, I just hate those. For some people it might present a special challenge but I just can't enjoy these. As if I'm going to crawl under the park benches for an hour while being watched, yeah right. I prefer to search for a cache in total privacy. And why should I go at 4 a.m. just to avoid muggles?

 

The other nuisance is fishermen. I have done a lot of caches near creeks and lakes and these guys are just everywhere. The worst kind of muggles: they don't go away but sit there for hours. Once a micro was hidden about 10 feet behind the back of a guy who was sitting there fishing. It really makes me upset. I wish all caches were hidden in isolated areas.

[Proximus Centauri]

Where do you buy your invisbility cloak??????

 

The same place you get your marauders map- oops I mean GPSr

[+TotemLake]

Where do you buy your invisbility cloak??????  Sorry but the talk about "NOT BEING SEEN" just brought the thought to my mind.  Last night I did about the most public cache I have ever done, i.e. middle of a park surrounded by houses kids practicig soccer in the field next to me.  Okay I have done caches where people were around but then it is in the middle of a green belt.  But how do you look inconspicious turning ove rocks in a park?????

I was for a lose as to what to do, expecially when some guy parks 10 to 20 feet from me and sits in his car doing who know what.  Now that I thought was weird.  I looked for about 10 minutes after he parked before I got weirded out.

cheers

Walk away and come back another day.

I would never risk someone's cache just for a smiley. Just come back again, maybe when it's drizzling, or a weekday when less people are around.

Sometimes it isn't as easy as that... I just got muggled here after ensuring I was the only one on the path. The guy came up on me so fast it was like he blinked in and there I was red-handed.

 

I could only chat with him about it and fortunately he related it to something akin to orienteering and thought it was a great way to get people out and enjoy the outdoors.

[Neos2]

The other nuisance is fishermen. I have done a lot of caches near creeks and lakes and these guys are just everywhere. The worst kind of muggles: they don't go away but sit there for hours. Once a micro was hidden about 10 feet behind the back of a guy who was sitting there fishing. It really makes me upset. I wish all caches were hidden in isolated areas.

 

I catch fish (or at least I try), and I cache (again, at least I try!), and personally I wish there were more caches placed near where I fish so I could do both at once! it would be something to do when the fish weren't biting.

 

I really don't think most people who were fishing would really care if you continued to search in the area they were fishing in---of course, it wouldn't be stealthy, and you would probably have to explain yourself.

 

Just don't cross the fishing line.

[+KYHilltopper]

I have started carrying a few copies of the Tri-Fold brochure which is available on Geocaching-U.com and it has helped a few times. It is a way of telling a bystander what you are doing and has all the web site info so they can learn even more. It would also be useful for explaining to the nice man in blue what you are doing in the woods behind the school yard/soccer field/playground etc. It is better if you can do all this away from the actual find, say at the parking place when you drag out your backpack, walking stick, water bottles and GPSr with external antenna attached to the small metal disk on top of your hat and the fellow in the next parking spot is looking at you like you had an antenna on your head (oh yea, I did).

 

Happy Hunting

 

KYHilltopper\Clint

[+Ed & Julie]

"Untrustworthy friend"

 

Isn't that an oxymoron??

Ed

Edited July 18, 2004 by The Badge & the Butterfly

[+art begotti]

at least in my area, we have a lot of paranoid people. my dad is afraid that every time i go out to geocache, im going to get arrested. and i dont blame them... with terror alert going whoopdedoodles and me crawling under a bridge... maybe discrete is really important, eh?

[+Renegade Knight]

"Untrustworthy friend"

 

Isn't that an oxymoron??

Ed

Not if you are a teen.

 

Once you grow up though, you don't keep those friends. Instead they give you a new term to chew on. "Company Loyalty".

[+TotemLake]

"Company Loyalty".

Now there's an oxymoron. I have yet to see a company loyal to their employee when it comes down to the bottom line.

[+Couparangus]

maybe discrete is really important, eh?

 

It is better to be discreet than discrete, whilst Geocaching...

[+Gizmo & Brazin]

Unfortunately, I don't have a dog.

Auntie, I have three dogs, one of which is a newf. Send me your address, I'll be glad to help you out!

[+eGadgetGeek]

One way to be able to find caches in populated areas, is to put on an orange vest and carry a trash bag. People will think you are a park employee on trash patrol. What's one more piece of equipment in addition to the GPS, PDA, digital camera, and backpack.

[+as77]

I don't know... park employees don't turn over every stone and don't climb under park benches, do they?