How do you know it’s safe????

[rtrezrsnhvn]

So this morning I spent several minutes staring at a gas meter that looked suspicious to me… meaning it didn’t look like the rest of the unit it was on.. and I had to decide how hard I yanked, pushed and pulled before deciding if I was looking in the wrong spot or if I was about to blow myself up looking for a geocache (that I think we are the only family in Oshkosh NOT to find)….

How do you know in some of these situations that it’s safe to pull at/probe etc? RT10 was the cautious one and kept saying “don’t Mom.” I know those types of hides exist, but how do you know your not in harms way before you push or pull too hard.

Are there certain things you look for to know you’re on the right trail or do you use PAF alot and get a better hint? I’m feeling really clueless….

[Lostby7]

These hides are in my opinion generally a bad idea and should be archived once found. If you have any question about the safety of a hunt you should stop. No cache is worth injury….well no major injuries anyway.

[rtrezrsnhvn]

well since I didn’t find the cache, I don’t think it’s an issue ;)…. I just know that it is possible for a cache to be located on one. this one has many finds so I don’t think it’s an issue….

[Team Northwoods]

It is best to stand back as far as you can and chuck rocks at it. Safety first! Don’t want to be too close if you are wrong.

***Opinions expressed are mine alone and will change based upon new information. ***

[Lostby7]

@Team Northwoods wrote:

It is best to stand back as far as you can and chuck rocks at it. Safety first! Don’t want to be too close if you are wrong.

+1

[Team_Sandman]

@Lostby7 wrote:

These hides are in my opinion generally a bad idea and should be archived once found. If you have any question about the safety of a hunt you should stop. No cache is worth injury….well no major injuries anyway.

I totaly agree with Lostby7

[rtrezrsnhvn]

Well I know with certainty thanks to some inside information that I was definitely in the wrong area. This cache is not a hazard…

My point is that we go searching for this stuff and may be totally on track or totally off base. I guess it’s no different than scaling a railroad trellis and having a cop stop you. We put ourselves in situations looking for these containers and we could end up having our day end quite differently than we planned. (I have a hospital bill from a tree fall to prove that as well last summer.)

I don’t like the thought of the decoy meters or electrical boxes because I’ve always cautioned my kids to stay away from them, so I’m being a bad example when I do it. Some of this goes back to geocaching 101 about safety – using sticks to poke, using common sense, opening containers away from you, etc. I see alot of stuff on youtube that encourages us to look at everything as a possible spot for a container and shows containers that are clever decoys from a building or setting. I’ve yanked on meter boxes, fence posts, and pipes/nozzles because I know they are out there. It might not be the smartest thing to do sometime.. KWIM?

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