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Thread: Why be stealthy?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Bangor, ME
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    6,343

    Default Why be stealthy?

    First of all, I don't necessarily feel or practice what I am about to say, but sometimes the thoughts do cross my mind. And I have a hard time discrediting those thoughts. Plus, the forums have been slow so I thought this might start some discussion.

    Facts (Or my interpretation of them):

    1. Most cachers love to tell everyone they run into about all the fun involved in caching. Family members, people we meet on the trail, old friends, new friends, people who start meaningless discussions with us in our passings, we just want to get the word out and share our stories.

    2. In the current stage of Geocaching, cachers should feel confident that the caches they are searching for are placed legally and with permission, especially those in high muggle areas.

    3. If someone sees you sneaking around an area looking for a cache, you will arise much more suspicion than if you openly look for it, explaining what you are doing if confronted.

    Following that philosophy, why do so many cache pages ask that we be stealthy? Should we really be concerned with that expensive film canister being found by onlooking muggles? Why do we bother to be stealthy while looking for a cache? Why not let any interested parties join in and learn the fun of caching? And in the event the cache was not placed legally or with permission, is it so bad we lose that cache? If we are caught sneaking while finding a cache, doesn't that just make the watchers assume Geocaching is an underground activity?
    DNFTT! DNFTT! DNFTT!

    "The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's to late to stop reading it..."

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Halifax NS
    Posts
    82

    Default

    bravo, that is how I feel too
    Make love not micros

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,972

    Default Sometimes....

    I was reccently hunting for a micro in a very active area. A local swimming hole on a 90+ degree afternoon. This was one of only 2 on this particular map page for the NH DeLorme " No Page Unturned ". Being that it was under a structure that was occupied, and I really wasn't leaving without signing the log, ( almost 90 miles out of my way ). I started a conversation with the muggle in the area. " Have you ever heard of Geocaching? " I figure the person who hid it, must know the area and has to figure that muggles will be there when the park is open. Stealthy.....well kinda. I didn't just reach in grab the container and sign the log. Which would have aroused much more suspicion. Place a cache in an area like this and take what cachers do with your hide. There are plenty of areas left in New England where no one visits for days. I have recently been there. It's called the " woods ".
    Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    ME
    Posts
    3,529

    Default

    Interesting points. I happen to get a kick out of nicely placed Nanos - do I approached my town about using a restored plow to place a cache. The Public Works director was honored and said, "go for it" - "should I help them when they are hunting or just smile and wave". Although the road is busy the neighbors are not real close.

    So I bought and placed a nano. It required one sit down and sort of let your fingers do the walking to find it. Lots of folks found it and had fun. It was midway between some other caches in town and the plow was actually a vintage relic.

    Well, early spring we thought it had been muggled but I went back to replace it and found the original. More recently - it was muggled - no where to be found. Now, what are the chances that a non-cacher would find a very tiny nano hidden on a great big plow?! And if they did - why to H _ _ _ would they take it? So, first time gone - I replaced it.

    Now, I discover this has, yet again, been muggled. All within a couple of weeks. Now, one reason this is a shame it that we have permission for this cache to be here. On town property and with the blessing of the public works foreman.

    I will replace this cache one more time - maybe even more deviously. If it gets muggled again - there is another plan.

    This is just one of those easy to grab areas, in a rural community, that is not in a lamp post. Although I have done lamp post caches and guard rail caches it is still fun to do something creative. I love the posts when folks do my xtra light cache.........it just goes to prove may things may be a container. And what about CaraBEANer? Now that one is very cool too!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,972

    Default In 3 weeks

    Hopefully it will be available when we come up for the Folk Festival. FG loves the micro hides. We will be caching on Sunday, and only a few in the Bangor area.
    Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

  6. #6
    d’76 Guest

    Default

    I recently gave up on being stealthy when caching in the Central Maine area when It would be imossible and an emense waste of time. I like Brdad said a "film canister" I had a hard enough time finding parking at the local swimming holes let alone be stealthy.

    Good points Dave

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Bangor, ME
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    Default

    Hollora, I have been reading the logs on the Relic. It's hard to believe it was muggled. But maybe it was. I found a cache this weekend the owner thought was missing so they archived it a month ago (we were working with old data). It was right where it should be, but well out of normal reach. Old 470 was missing a few times - after a few DNF logs - Hiram, who had found it before, looked for it and verified it was missing. I went to replace it a couple days later, and it was there, only a few feet from where it should have been! Another time I checked on it, and the container was not only there, but the previous container which went missing was right there too!

    Anyway, I hope the relic will stay for you this time. It'd be nice to have a camera on these caches like this, wouldn't it?
    DNFTT! DNFTT! DNFTT!

    "The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's to late to stop reading it..."

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Unity, Maine
    Posts
    3,874

    Default

    I agree Dave . . . in certain cases and certain examples. For me it all boils down to a "gut check." If it appears as though the folks/muggles at a site might be curious about geocaching and are not the type to ruin the experience for others by taking the cache I'll often explain what I'm doing and why I'm there.

    There have been other times however when the muggles didn't appear to be the type who would be all that interested and could lead to the cache going MIA. Probably a little bit of bias and prejudice on my part, but again for me it all comes down to my feeling as to whether the folks will be interested in geocaching or not.

    For a long time now I openly geocache . . . there I've said it . . . I'm out of the closet . . . I'm a geocacher and I'm proud. In all seriousness in most cases when I'm searching for a cache I'll have my GPSr out and if folks approach me and ask what I'm doing I'll let them know . . . pretending that I've stopped in middle of nowhere to make a call on my "cell phone" gets to be a little ridiculous after awhile . . . besides I figure I may eventually get another person to geocache and I can't tell you the number of times folks have told me that they have a GPSr at home and are intrigued with the idea of geocaching.

    This said . . . I do believe there are times to be stealthy and practice some commonsense. For example, I have a cache in middle of downtown Unity -- right next to a bank, telephone company, insurance company, town office, post office and paging company. Now Unity isn't exactly a hotbed of illegal and/or terrorist activity, but I've asked folks to try to be a bit stealthly so a) the cops aren't called on them as they wander to and fro (because quite frankly some folks would rather call 911 when they see suspicious activity rather than ask folks what they are doing) and b) while my match container isn't wicked expensive I did take some time to glue on super-magnets and I don't relish replacing this cache time after time.
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

    "Death is only one of many ways to die."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Unity, Maine
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    Default

    And then there's the Fitz cache. . . .

    That was one cache where folks clearly had other thoughts on their mind when they asked what I was doing and didn't stay long to hear my explanation of geocaching . . . odd that they weren't all that interested, eh?
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

    "Death is only one of many ways to die."

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Unity, Maine
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by hollora View Post
    . . .. Lots of folks found it and had fun. . .
    HaHa . . . you're a funny gal Hollora. Your idea of fun and mine are quite different . . . it only took me what, 3 and a 1/2 times to find that cache? By the way, and this is me being serious for a minute, this was a very good micro cache . . . providing the micro stays put.
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

    "Death is only one of many ways to die."

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