By Emily Accipiter Stewart (eaccipi)
This month, I had the (un)lucky incident of being too obvious to muggles. I was retrieving a cache that I had solved the multi-puzzle for and thought I was being so stealthy when I grabbed it. I walked roughly 15 feet away from the cache location, and wrestled with getting the log out of the container. After a few minutes of trying (it was rolled so tightly in there even tweezers were struggling to free it!), I was able to jot my
initials and then return it. Easy right?
As I was walking away from GZ, a man walked up to me to ask what I’d been doing. Apparently, I looked suspicious. After explaining that I wasn’t doing anything nefarious and was, in fact, geocaching I was met with a small nod and a warning to “not be weird when there are problematic people out there.” Fair enough, sir.
I really thought I had done everything right in my attempts to not be noticeable to muggles, but apparently I was wrong. I know that I’m much better at stealth than I was when I first started caching, but practice makes perfect and we can always use a refresher whether we’re caching in the middle of the woods (don’t let the moose or bears see you!) or the middle of an urban area.
- Take your time. Before approaching ground zero, look around to see if people are nearby. If there are enough people that you can’t make the grab without it being obvious, circle back in a few minutes to give the area time to clear. Maybe even coming back a different day or time is necessary if there’s a major event going on at GZ.
- Blend in. When I had my incident described above, I was wearing a bring yellow and blue sundress and had wandered between 4 different metal poles checking them out before making the grab. Wearing a less bright outfit and adding in a safety vest could have helped me blend more easily.
- Carry a clipboard. No one questions someone with a clipboard and I’ve found they actually avoid eye contact in case they think you’re going to talk to them and ask them to do a survey.
- Use your phone for decoy. Pretend to be texting or talking on the phone if you need to loiter in a spot; many of us aimlessly stand or touch things when on a phone call and it makes you not as obvious as just standing and looking at the people passing by.
- If all else fails, be prepared to explain what you’re doing. Since all caches need to be placed with some sort of permission, you’re not doing anything illegal. If someone asks what you’re up to, explain at a high level that you’re geocaching and playing a worldwide game using GPS units to locate items hidden around the world. At worst, they’ll think your kind of crazy. At best, you may introduce someone to a sport they’ve never known about!
All tips aside, please be safe out there! Always be aware of your surroundings and be prepared to take a DNF if it’s not safe or there are too many muggles to grab it. In Anchorage, we’ve had two bear maulings within a week, both at spots that have geocaches near them.
Enjoy this hot Alaskan summer,
Emily Accipiter Stewart
eaccipi
President, GeocacheAlaska!