Tips on stealth

[dartfro9]

Does anyone have tips for stealth around muggles

[+Manville Possum]

Does anyone have tips for stealth around muggles

 

Sure. Be sneeky and don't let them see you.

[+niraD]

Grab a bag and pick up trash while you search. When you spot the cache, drop it into your bag with everything else. Then take a break to sign the log, and get back to work. Replace the cache while you're picking up more trash. Throw the bag of trash in a bin on the way out.

 

Bystanders see someone picking up trash and move on. They've got a mental box to put you in, so they stop paying attention to you. Plus, you get to practice CITO while you're at it.

[+noncentric]

My advice would be to try and seem inconspicuous. Try not to seem like you're being evasive, as that can make you seem suspicious. The best way to not be noticed is to blend in and do things that seem 'normal'.

 

Bending down to tie your shoes or dropping your keys and bending down to pick them up can be a good way to look under a bench to see if a cache is there. If you do see the cache under the bench, then don't reach for it while bending down. Instead, sit on the bench and reach for the cache when no one is looking directly at you.

 

If you're trying to search for a hanging cache in a tree, then maybe pretend to be talking on your phone and walk around the tree in circles. Then you can casually glance up at the tree while talking on your phone.

 

What I've noticed is that the grabbing and replacing of the cache is the part that draws the most attention and suspicion. Once you have the cache in hand then it's less likely that anyone is going to notice or care what you're doing. People won't be interested in someone that's writing on a piece of paper, but they will be curious about someone that's picking up a container and/or putting a container in a hidden spot.

 

Once you spot a cache, then you don't need to reach for it right away. Notice where it is, then think about how you can grab it without being noticeable. In some cases, there may just be too many muggles and it's better to just walk away from that search. Come back another time when the area is less crowded.

[+cerberus1]

I don't believe in stealth.

The rare times we hit a cache that might require "stealth", I simply access the spot like I belong there.

Furtive movements/actions (I believe) make you more noticeable.

[+wmpastor]

Does anyone have tips for stealth around muggles

 

Sure. Be sneeky and don't let them see you.

Maybe, but the the true art is being sneaky without looking sneaky!

 

The pick-up-trash tip is good because then people glance at you, think they know what you're doing, and move on.

 

Or start with caches in the woods - no one is around, so no sneakiness is required.

[+edexter]

Trash picking (CITO) is an excellent cover as are all versions of "act like you belong here". From the CO's perspective, the only reason to tell you to "use stealth" is so the cache will not be discovered by muggles. For a cache where the CO has suggested you "use stealth" but then placed you in a position where the use of stealth is completely impossible during normal daylight hours (a cache that requires a careful hands and knees search in a public park comes to mind) you can either come back later when there is no one around, walk on and ignore the cache, or hunt for the cache and explain what you are doing to passersbys who ask. I interpret the phrase "use stealth" as meaning "you will be searching in public view and are likely to be noticed". If this places you in embarrassing circumstances, that is also the COs intention and you can choose to play along or not.

[Moondoggie]

My advice would be to try and seem inconspicuous. Try not to seem like you're being evasive, as that can make you seem suspicious. The best way to not be noticed is to blend in and do things that seem 'normal'.

 

Bending down to tie your shoes or dropping your keys and bending down to pick them up can be a good way to look under a bench to see if a cache is there. If you do see the cache under the bench, then don't reach for it while bending down. Instead, sit on the bench and reach for the cache when no one is looking directly at you.

 

If you're trying to search for a hanging cache in a tree, then maybe pretend to be talking on your phone and walk around the tree in circles. Then you can casually glance up at the tree while talking on your phone.

 

What I've noticed is that the grabbing and replacing of the cache is the part that draws the most attention and suspicion. Once you have the cache in hand then it's less likely that anyone is going to notice or care what you're doing. People won't be interested in someone that's writing on a piece of paper, but they will be curious about someone that's picking up a container and/or putting a container in a hidden spot.

 

Once you spot a cache, then you don't need to reach for it right away. Notice where it is, then think about how you can grab it without being noticeable. In some cases, there may just be too many muggles and it's better to just walk away from that search. Come back another time when the area is less crowded.

 

Holy Canoli!!! Hadn't even thought of this. Great post and ideas, thanks for taking the time to reply to the OP so thoroughly! this is going to be great

[+SeattleWayne]

You can wear sunglasses so people don't notice where you're looking. I have my dog with me on most geo-adventures so people think I'm just walking my dog or whatever.

 

Also, once you get an idea of where urban caches are typically hidden, that'll greatly reduce time spent looking when you already have an idea of where the cache is.

[+Manville Possum]

I don't believe in stealth.

The rare times we hit a cache that might require "stealth", I simply access the spot like I belong there.

Furtive movements/actions (I believe) make you more noticeable.

 

That is how I geocache in public places. It looks less suspicious than trying to act "stealthy".

[+NanCycle]

"Just taking pictures of ________" is also good cover. I've used this, and the CITO approach.

Having kids and/or dogs with you is also good, if you can teach the kids not to yell out "I found it."

[+skramble]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

[+noncentric]

"Just taking pictures of ________" is also good cover. I've used this, and the CITO approach.

Having kids and/or dogs with you is also good, if you can teach the kids not to yell out "I found it."

Taking pictures:

-- I've searched for caches along the side of a road and when I notice a car is coming. No cars for miles, but of course one has to come by while I'm caching. What did I do? I held up my GPSr to take pictures of the landscape. I figured that the car occupants wouldn't notice that the device in my hands was not a camera.

-- Other times, I've stopped to take pictures of flowers/trees/slugs/mushrooms while waiting for muggles to pass me on a trail.

 

Dogs are good cover too. I don't have my own, but was walking a friend's small dog and took him to a park where I knew a cache was hidden under one of the picnic tables. I sat on the ground next to the dog to rub his belly, which gave me a good vantage point to spot where the cache was hidden. Then I got up and sat on that side of the table, where I could reach and grab the cache without having to bend down and look. No one in the crowded park noticed me.

[+noncentric]

Maybe, but the the true art is being sneaky without looking sneaky!

+1

I've seen cachers trying to be 'stealthy', yet just making themselves even more suspicious.

-- They look around to make sure no one is in sight, which looks suspicious.

-- They suddenly stop what they're doing and pretend like they're not doing anything, when someone approaches, even though that person could see them the whole time. That looks suspicious, like when you walk into a room and suddenly everyone stops talking.

-- They rush out of their car and run to GZ, in a place where people usually don't run from a parked car into the trees.

-- They pull off their search pretty inconspicuously, but then one person says "I found it" and their friend(s) walk over and they stand around in a circle looking at something.

 

Of course, this whole time I can see them, so they're really not doing a very good job of being stealthy. These are at places where I know a cache is hidden.

[+Calypso62]

Forget stealth! In an urban environment, I put on my hi-viz vest, I hold a sheet of paper (if I don't have a clipboard with me) and a pen. I then go searching as if I'm the only person on the planet. In other words, I totally ignore everybody around me. I'll occasionally refer to my paper and jot down a few random words. I never look around when I'm retrieving or replacing the cache and I always sign the log at GZ. After replacing the cache, I usually wait a minute or two before moving away using that time to check which cache I'll search for next.

 

A funny story.....

While searching for a cache near a road maintenance site in a suburban street, dressed in my hi-viz vest and holding my clipboard, I had a lady who was a resident from the house opposite call me over to thanks me for the wonderful job the road maintenance gang was doing. I thanked her for her lovely comments and told her I would pass them on to the team. She left very happy. I continued my search and found the cache!

[+noncentric]

Another thought occurred to me. The way to be stealthy can depend on where the cacher is located. I'm not just referring to urban vs rural, but also to country.

 

Behaviors in one country may be viewed more/less suspiciously than those same behaviors in another country. It's just a fact of life that people in some places are more cautious or 'on edge' than in other places.

[+WarNinjas]

I used to be more worried about it then I am now. Caching with others helped me. There was times I would show up to a cache and if someone was around I would move on. Now I often will just go look for it like I belong there. It is crazy how if you don't think you are doing something wrong others wont trip off of it.

[+lee737]

I always have my sons with me, 7 and 4. Nobody takes any notice or asks any questions pretty much regardless of what we do or where we go..... They are also pretty useful at grabbing logs out of tight containers, and containers out of tight hides.....

[+hzoi]

As an aside, but related to the topic, I've often found that "stealth required" often means "I didn't get permission to hide this cache."

[+cerberus1]

As an aside, but related to the topic, I've often found that "stealth required" often means "I didn't get permission to hide this cache."

Agreed.

[+J Grouchy]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

 

Ummm...no. That's the very OPPOSITE of stealth. It may get you a pass with the typical passer-by, but LEOs/land-owners/tenants/land-managers are MORE likely to approach you in such a get-up.

[+cerberus1]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

Ummm...no. That's the very OPPOSITE of stealth. It may get you a pass with the typical passer-by, but LEOs/land-owners/tenants/land-managers are MORE likely to approach you in such a get-up.

Yep. Surprised when folks say they actually do that.

Any department I've belonged to know who most of the road/utility guys are, and all the supers (often by first name).

Getting nailed for impersonating a city employee isn't worth a cache...

[+uxorious]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

 

Ummm...no. That's the very OPPOSITE of stealth. It may get you a pass with the typical passer-by, but LEOs/land-owners/tenants/land-managers are MORE likely to approach you in such a get-up.

 

Vest, hardhat and clipboard work quite well. If anyone does approach you it is legal to wear this get up, as long as you do not try to pass yourself off as an official of some kind. I have a hard hat with a Geocache sticker on it, never had a problem any where I've wore it.

[+uxorious]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

Ummm...no. That's the very OPPOSITE of stealth. It may get you a pass with the typical passer-by, but LEOs/land-owners/tenants/land-managers are MORE likely to approach you in such a get-up.

Yep. Surprised when folks say they actually do that.

Any department I've belonged to know who most of the road/utility guys are, and all the supers (often by first name).

Getting nailed for impersonating a city employee isn't worth a cache...

 

You cannot get "nailed for impersonating a city employee" unless you use their patches and/or say that is who you are.

 

This has come up several times over the years. I looked into it and talked with a lot of LEOs about this. It is not illegal to wear a hard hat and vest. It would be illegal to impersonate a city employee, but just wearing a hard had and vest would not do it.

[+skramble]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

 

Ummm...no. That's the very OPPOSITE of stealth. It may get you a pass with the typical passer-by, but LEOs/land-owners/tenants/land-managers are MORE likely to approach you in such a get-up.

 

We aren't worried about land owners and managers approaching us of course, as we courteously explain that we're looking for the container the CO had their permission to place there. It's that typical passerby we actually do want the pass from.

[+J Grouchy]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

 

Ummm...no. That's the very OPPOSITE of stealth. It may get you a pass with the typical passer-by, but LEOs/land-owners/tenants/land-managers are MORE likely to approach you in such a get-up.

 

Vest, hardhat and clipboard work quite well. If anyone does approach you it is legal to wear this get up, as long as you do not try to pass yourself off as an official of some kind. I have a hard hat with a Geocache sticker on it, never had a problem any where I've wore it.

 

There's also the fact that it's utterly ridiculous and unnecessary...

[+uxorious]

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

 

Ummm...no. That's the very OPPOSITE of stealth. It may get you a pass with the typical passer-by, but LEOs/land-owners/tenants/land-managers are MORE likely to approach you in such a get-up.

 

Vest, hardhat and clipboard work quite well. If anyone does approach you it is legal to wear this get up, as long as you do not try to pass yourself off as an official of some kind. I have a hard hat with a Geocache sticker on it, never had a problem any where I've wore it.

 

There's also the fact that it's utterly ridiculous and unnecessary...

 

This of course is your humble opinion. However, the kind of caches I would use this on are ridiculous and unnecessary.

 

I haven't had to resort to a vest and hard hat more than a couple times over the years. But it works quite well when a cache is hidden along a store front, on a busy main street in town. Or when the cache is in plain site in a park where lots of people are hanging around. Anywhere where someone thinks they are fooling anyone by pretending their GPS is a phone or camera while looking for a cache.

 

Others I've talked with, who have used a vest and hat, say it helps them go for caches they would normally feel too exposed to go after. In my humble opinion any thing that helps you find more caches is not ridiculous and unnecessary.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

This is a quote from a post I made back in 2013. Relevant here:

 

I've used many methods of being 'stealthy' depending on the circumstances. All of them involve the principle of just doing what you're doing as if you belong there and observers will apply their own stealth TO you.

 

I frequently poke around buildings and public places with a clipboard, spending lots of time inspecting things and areas that I know to be cache-free, so that when I walk over to the big crack where the BT is and stick my hand in there, I won't be doing anything that the homeless guy across the street hasn't watched me do five times in the last five minutes.

 

HOWEVER, I personally wouldn't don a hardhat and vest to search. They'd work great with ninety-nine percent of the potential observers, but that last guy could cause you unnecessary hardship.

 

With a clipboard, you could be anybody, doing any task. But, with the defacto official accoutrements of a safety worker or another person dressed for physical danger, you attract MORE interest. Most people would see you and wonder what was going on, but SOME people would be more curious or concerned, and that would increase the chance that they would approach you.

 

Another aspect of that is that if you're seen by someone who feels that they're the person who should know if someone from the power company or phone company or a construction inspector is poking around and they don't see a truck, then you immediately transition from being a object of passing interest to a target of suspicion.

 

How many times have you seen the hero in a movie notice that the guys in the guard uniforms are wearing dress shoes, and immediately take them out?

 

If I was curious about a lone hard-hatted worker poking around a public building without any apparent reason to be wearing a hardhat, and noticed that they were wearing sneakers instead of more-protective footwear, I'd consider finding someone that I knew worked there. A popular "Public Service" phrase here in the US is "If you see something, say something."

 

A police officer will approach you if they don't know what you're doing and usually be open-minded, but that approach will change if you're actually pretending to be something you clearly are not.

 

So, my point is, learn to use others' ideas of what stands out and what doesn't against them while caching, and don't get clever. Wearing a vest and hardhat states "I am an Official!"

 

And no, you're not.

[+Furrhan]

I often use the GPS on my android tablet when caching. It usually gets me pretty close to right on top of the cache and in this day and age no one takes a second glance at a young person like me (I'm 26) walking around with a tablet in hand. Well, except the one guy who decided to berate me because I'm apparently a typical millennial and too absorbed with my devices to disconnect and observe the world around me. Not sure what his problem was. I wasn't even doing anything - just walking. Ah well.

 

I've actually been lucky so far and I've only been caught with the cache once. It was one of the first caches I found and I didn't know how to react so I just explained the game until the person got bored and left. Which was probably silly of me.

 

The only other time I nearly got caught was when I was near the cache and some other people came up the trail with their dog. I said hello and just kept walking down the trail a hundred metres or so before backtracking when I knew they'd be out of sight.

 

In future if I get caught in the town I have a good excuse lined up!

"Oh, I'm conducting an experiment into the decomposition of organic matter in various urban environments as this has important implications for the forensic sciences as well as geobiological studies."

That ought to ensure they don't look too closely!

 

EDIT: Just remembered there was one other time I got caught. Fortunately for me I was wearing rubber gloves since there was a fair bit of rubbish in and around the bushes I was searching in so I just started picking up the rubbish when they saw me and they didn't look twice. Funny how garbage collectors can fly under the radar. Unfortunately I didn't find the cache and I later found out it had been muggled. Oh well.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Furrhan

[+noncentric]

As an aside, but related to the topic, I've often found that "stealth required" often means "I didn't get permission to hide this cache."

Agreed.

I don't completely agree with that. Depends on the location.

A CO may get permission to hide a cache in someone's Little Free Library, but maybe the neighbors see numerous folks being un-stealthy and get curious. So they call the police. Sometimes people don't bother checking with the property owner first, they just act.

 

Or, maybe a CO gets permission to hide a cache in front of someone's storefront. The business owner and even the neighboring businesses are fine with it, but a customer sees a cacher blatantly grabbing and replacing the cache. That muggle may 'investigate' and take the item home.

 

To me, being stealthy isn't just about 'permission'. My thought is usually more along the lines of "If stealth is required, then maybe this isn't such a great hiding spot?"

[+mcrow]

My go to in more urban areas is to put my cellphone to my ear and walk around until people move on, even make fake conversations if they're close enough to hear. Other places, just making it look like you're picking up trash seems to work.

[+hzoi]

As an aside, but related to the topic, I've often found that "stealth required" often means "I didn't get permission to hide this cache."

Agreed.

I don't completely agree with that. Depends on the location.

...

To me, being stealthy isn't just about 'permission'. My thought is usually more along the lines of "If stealth is required, then maybe this isn't such a great hiding spot?"

Sure, and yes, I certainly agree with your last note.

 

edit to add: I can only assume that some COs get a perverse glee at the thought of geocachers trying to get their all too public cache without getting "caught." I can think of one super public cache I actually enjoyed finding, and that was the micro on the museum steps in Wenceslas Square in Prague (now sadly archived after over 17,000 finds).

Edited May 19, 2017 by hzoi

[+kunarion]

In future if I get caught in the town I have a good excuse lined up!

"Oh, I'm conducting an experiment into the decomposition of organic matter in various urban environments as this has important implications for the forensic sciences as well as geobiological studies."

I was once with caching friends in the middle of town, trying to find a cache among boulders near the cart path. People kept stopping to ask what we were looking for. I told them that it's a very fast, colorful snake. The people wished us luck and left in a hurry.

Edited May 19, 2017 by kunarion

[+ShaunEM]

Have someone watch you "be stealthy" and then you watch them do the same.

 

It's garbage...

 

Just find it efficiently. Try not to reach for it, or put it back while you have eyes ON you.

 

Shaun

[+lee737]

 

I was once with caching friends in the middle of town, trying to find a cache among boulders near the cart path. People kept stopping to ask what we were looking for. I told them that it's a very fast, colorful snake. The people wished us luck and left in a hurry.

 

Very cool..... this would work well in Australia I think....

[amy_maro]

I like to take my 2 year old along in his stroller. You can stop pretty much anywhere under the guise of getting him a snack, putting his shoe back on, etc. And you can use the stroller to block people's view.

[+RufusClupea]

On 5/12/2017 at 9:04 AM, cerberus1 said:

I don't believe in stealth.

The rare times we hit a cache that might require "stealth", I simply access the spot like I belong there.

Furtive movements/actions (I believe) make you more noticeable.

 

I agree.  You might be surprised how few muggles are actually paying attention (or care) what someone else is doing unless it's something that begs to be noticed.  (Setting oneself on fire, screaming, doing acrobatics...)

 

I once hesitated retrieving a cache in a park because there was a vehicle parked some distance away.  Turned out the driver wasn't even in the vehicle, but off doing something in the wilds...  (I didn't ask/care either).

[+TeamBaconZillah]

On 5/12/2017 at 0:12 PM, skramble said:

Fluorescent vest, hardhat and clipboard. You'll be presumed to be a city worker and ignored. Just no happy dances when you find it.

Ohh.... uhhh... thanks, I could of used that info earlier... (note to self... stop the dance) I agree about the comment. One I use regularly.

[+TeamBaconZillah]

Also... If I think I have been spotted,  I squeal like a stuck pig, and wildly flap arms, on the theory that nobody in their rite mind will snoop around where there is a wasp nest... and if I say so myself, I am getting pretty good at it!!

[+K2GW]

I'm also a birder and I always have a small pair of binoculars around my neck when I'm out geocaching in parks or the woods.  A lot more folks have heard of birdwatching than of geocaching and most will totally ignore you if they see binoculars around your neck.  It also allows to walk a bit erratically, go off trail, and stop periodically without raising suspicion.

If a muggle starts to approach you, just stop to look at the top of the trees away from any other people through the binoculars.  If a real birder comes up to you and uses the standard birder greeting of  "See anything good?" , you can try an innocuous answer of "Not today. Just the locals".  

But don't try looking at things with binoculars in an urban environment or toward homes..  ;-)

 

Edited March 17, 2019 by K2GW
typo

[+invisibleman53]

I had a guy ask me what I was doing and I told him I was learning navigation with my Garmin 30 and he walked away. But I like the idea someone above said about acting like you are collecting trash...just another idea.

[+CAVinoGal]

3 hours ago, invisibleman53 said:

I like the idea someone above said about acting like you are collecting trash...

We don't ACT like it, we actually DO it, you know, the CITO thing.  We carry trash bags and pick up litter while looking in urban settings, as well as in parks and rural areas.  We actually had a gentleman come out to us while we were looking for a desert cache near a shopping plaza and thank us for trying to pick up some of the abundant trash in the area!

[+invisibleman53]

I have done that before I got into geocaching. I volunteer for the Army Corps of Engineers to monitor bluebird nest boxes. After gathering 5 thirty gallon bags of trash, you name it, I then had to find a way to get them to a local dumpster. I honestly try to pick up trash, but I do not always remember, especially taking latex gloves with me.

[+cerberus1]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 8:10 PM, invisibleman53 said:

I had a guy ask me what I was doing and I told him I was learning navigation with my Garmin 30 and he walked away. But I like the idea someone above said about acting like you are collecting trash...just another idea.

 

I like that straight-forward, honest approach, and it was explained simply.     Much better than someone "making up" stuff.

We CITO whenever we're out, so we're never "acting", but we rarely cache in towns anymore, and that helps too. 

[+DerDiedler]

A guy in my area is doing the exact oposit of being stelthy. He choose to be over noticeable instead, wearin a reflective west with a print saying "spider scientist". He also carry a magnifier and some other tools like magnetic stic and stuff openly. So he can crawl in everywhere and hes behaviour is always self explaining to people. Of course, he´s looking for spyder.

 

I for my self mostly put on my SEP-field ;) and do what I do.

[+hzoi]

33 minutes ago, DerDiedler said:

I for my self mostly put on my SEP-field and do what I do.

 

Slartibartfast would be proud.

[+IceColdUK]

49 minutes ago, DerDiedler said:

A guy in my area is doing the exact oposit of being stelthy. He choose to be over noticeable instead, wearin a reflective west with a print saying "spider scientist". He also carry a magnifier and some other tools like magnetic stic and stuff openly. So he can crawl in everywhere and hes behaviour is always self explaining to people. Of course, he´s looking for spyder.

 

The only problem with this approach is when you’re challenged by an expert.  A friend claimed to being studying badgers; turned out he was looking at a rabbit warren. ?

 

49 minutes ago, DerDiedler said:

I for my self mostly put on my SEP-field and do what I do.

 

Me too. ?

[+Goldenwattle]

I have used admiring the graffiti a couple of times. I was once sprung by a graffiti artist in an alleyway and he asked me what I doing. "Admiring the graffiti," I replied. We then got into a conversation about the graffiti.

I was also spotted coming out from under a bridge over a stormwater channel, by an older man walking his dog. Luckily I had a camera around my neck. He told me another passer-by had looked strangely at me, but he knew what I was doing there....

photographing the graffiti of course.

Yes, of 'course' I was. We also got into a conversation about the graffiti and both agreed there was some good artwork there.

[+ecanderson]

Stealth is vastly overrated:

 

Edited March 31, 2019 by ecanderson

[+ecanderson]

If anyone is interested in the artwork for the mag signs, I'll be glad to send it to you.  The artwork already exists at the embroidery shop, so no set-up charges.

We already have a few U.S. Survey 'associates' down in Texas!