[Az-Geocaching] Please consider the container you hide

[Roping The Wind]

I dont see anywhere in the article where it says anything about the supposed 
'pipe bomb' being a geocache? Or did I miss it? Maybe it was just a prank by 
some local kids... perhaps it wasnt a geocache at all. Not sure why those 
articles about the pipe bomb give geocaching a black eye.

>From: Artemis Approver <artemis.approver at gmail.com>
>I would urge everyone who is bringing people into this hobby to also be
>mindful of the actions we appear to be doing while we are being sneaky. 
>Some
>people are as sly as a pregnant yack and this brings a lot of attention 
>upon
>them while they try to find or hide a cache.

I find it almost impossible to NOT look sneaky or suspicious when searching 
for 95% of the urban geocaches I have ever done! Why should I have to be 
'sneaky' to find a geocache? Yea, I keep an eye out around to make sure no 
one is looking. But with some of these really difficult to find urban micro 
caches... when you have to spend 30 or 45 minutes searching... you are going 
to start looking suspicious. There are no two ways about it!!! Oh and I love 
the cache descriptions that say "please use stealth to not give away the 
cache location" (you know, the micro cache hidden in the center of a 
business building complex with the large glass windows all around that you 
cant see into!). I got an idea... how about just not hiding the cache in a 
place where someone would possibly be spotted anyways!? I think a good rule 
of thumb is (and I have said this many times before)... if you have to put 
"please use stealth" in your cache description... maybe it isnt such a good 
place to hide a cache? Perhaps geocachers just need to use more common sense 
when hiding caches these days. I guess that is what Artemis is asking 
anyways. I mean, is it really smart to hide a micro cache in a highly public 
place like a mall or a shopping center? Or perhaps near a utility source of 
some kind... like electric boxes, water treatment plants, etc? I have also 
found a few geocaches under neighborhood group mail boxes! There are lots of 
places in the urban area of Phoenix to hide geocaches that are away from 
public eyes.... like in the mountain parks for instance. There are literally 
hundreds of acres of desert mountain parks in and around the Phoenix area to 
hide caches in remote locations where people dont go very often.... and 
yes... many of these mountain parks have wheelchair access nature trails. So 
caches can still be hidden with 1 terrain ratings for those who are 
physically challenged. Take Flagstaff for instance... they have a beautiful 
and very large park that is not developed much except for really nice flat 
hiking and even jogging trails. Buffalo Park is large and has lots of places 
to put geocaches. Places that are away from public eyes and yet right in the 
urban area. Why hide one in front of the local library (or inside it as 
someone has done!) or on the front steps of the post office or police 
station (ok, no one has done that yet, but I can see someone doing that 
someday!) or in any other location that will arouse police or security 
suspicions?

There are still lots of original geocaches around... those with low GC#'s 
like GC5*** and GC1** etc. How comes those stand the test of time and many 
of these urban caches placed these days only last a few months? No one has 
every really had an issue with an ammo box in the middle of the desert 
before (unless someone paints "explosives" on the side of it.. DUH!). When I 
first started geocaching back in January of 2001.. most of the caches I 
found where in desert or forest or wilderness type envirnoments. Even the 
urban caches were in desert fields and parks and such. Even the more urban 
type caches never really required any great degree of stealth to find. 
Nowadays, it seems like everyone wants to hide a cache to be 'sneaky' and 
make us use a great degree of stealth to find their caches. Why!? If you 
want to hide a micro cache that is tough to find.... why not hide it in the 
desert or the woods somewhere... someplace where geocachers can spend some 
time searching and not looking like they are acting as a terrorist or 
criminal or something? Anyone who knows me knows I dont like trying to find 
uber micro caches. Although I would be much more inclined to want to try and 
find one if it was in a place where I can spend some quality time searching 
and not looking suspicious to people all around me. It's not that I dont 
like trying to find a needle in a haystack... I do enjoy the challenge 
sometimes... but I am tired of having police and security guards and such 
coming up and asking me what I am doing!!! Many of the very creative and 
very small micro caches I have found in the city could just have easily been 
hidden in a more remote location and blended in just fine.

On the subject of cache containers: As much as I like ammo box caches... 
maybe using a see thru clear container is a smarter choice. Then when some 
freak (95% of america these days or so it seems) finds it... they can see 
what is in it and they will not jump to conclusions and call the bomb squad 
out! I really like Puz-zel's cache boxes... he makes most of his out of wood 
and they blend in nicely with the environment and they look rather natural.

Anyways, my 0.36 cents worth.

Scott
Team Ropingthewind