Cache Site Ettiquite

[+FiveDucks]

Please forgive me for probably repeating a previously asked question.

What is proper ettiquite when I arrive at a cache site and someone is already there searching?

[+briansnat]

I just say hello and ask if they mind if I join them. If the answer is positive (and it always has been) we then discuss whether we'll tell the other person if we find it or not.

 

Some people will just yell out "I got it" and every one else will gather to sign the log. Others prefer that the finder spots the cache then walks away, announces he found it and lets the rest of the party continue the search.

[+robert]

Brian hit the nail on the head.

 

When we go out we don't just walk away after we found it because folks tend to remember that. Put on your poker face and keep looking then after a few minutes walk away. Throws the others off your scent trail.

[+AtoZ]

just yell "found it" and run away.

cheers

[+Docapi]

Make sure it is a geocacher first by giving The Sign

 

Sometimes cell phone users hide their activities by pretending to be geocachers

[+The Leprechauns]

If it's an FTF or White Jeep opportunity, a head shot is probably the best etiquette. It would be really tacky to put a round or two in the other guy's legs, and then force him to watch as you score the find.

[+the hermit crabs]

Once or twice, when we were feeling uncharacteristically brave, we did as briansnat suggested and joined the other searchers. But more often than not, if we see anyone else around, we panic, scrunch down in the bushes, and cower there silently until they go away. Or, if there's an escape route available, we turn around and scurry away and come back another day. Sometimes we even turn around and go home if there's another car at the parking location.

 

(we aren't called the hermit crabs for nothing...)

[ScottFla]

This happened to me last Saturday! We were so excited to meet fellow cachers, we simply wandered up and after we all spoke, we all started searching. This was after my 18 month old grabbed the other parties GPS and made for the hills! He wanted the FTF!

[+bigdog999]

guess it all depends if it's for a FTF or not. In this area, what with WaldenRun, WH, The Hermit Crabs, etc, you have to fight for those FTFs. Surprisedly enough although we are pretty cache-heavy around here, I've only once ran into another cacher.

[+BDstarcachers]

I have met many cachers this way. It is fun and real nice to visit, especially when I run into someone I've seen logs, but never met.

I always introduce myself and ask if they mind if I join them.

I have never had a cacher say No.

I let them sign the log first if they were there first (just a courtesy).

FTF are very sensitive so I approach that situation carefully, but again,

the cachers in my area are all so nice and if I go out for a FTF, I usually

know who the regular FT finders are..It becomes a competition with only

a few cachers in different areas.

I enjoy running into other cachers.

[+HoppyFamily]

Heh, a similar thing happened to me the other day, but the other cacher showed up <i>after</i> I found the cache. When I found the cache I walked about 50 feet away to a bench on the other side of the trail to go through it and sign the log. I usually do this at the cache site, but the site was too visible from the busy trail.

 

While I was doing this, I heard two people tromping around in the woods. They were definately not being stealthy, as I heard them shouting: "Do you see it??" "No, but my GPS says it should be right here!" "Maybe look under the log!"

 

So, I kinda made a guess that they were looking for the cache. Anyway, I didn't want to sit and wait for them to give up and leave (the cache was rated a 1.5/1), so I walked up to the guy and said "Err, um.... I have it" and I handed it to him.

 

Well, he seemed fairly grumpy and acted like I ruined his hunt. Sheesh, would he rather that I let him not find it at all?

[+Miragee]

Something like that happened to me one day, but with a different outcome. I was sitting on a bench near the clever cache container with the cache contents in my hand. I was just about to return it when I saw a man and boy approach. I said to myself, "I'll just wait till these muggles pass by."

 

When they walked behind me, the man said to the boy, "How far is it now?"

 

I asked if they were Geocaching and when they said "Yes." I said, "I have the cache contents in my hand." After we talked for awhile, I asked them to turn their backs while I replaced the contents.

 

Then I got to watch them try to find the clever container without the cache page printout or the clue . . .

 

 

 

I finally let him read the past logs in my Palm to get the hint that allowed me to find the unique container.

[+Shanynrose]

Happened to us last weekend on a pre-event caching run. I was out of view signing the log and my partner called out that some cachers had just pulled in behind us - couldn't have been anyone else that day, time, and location. I finished up, replaced the micro, and stepped into view.

 

We just introduced ourselves and compared stats for the day, then met up again at the event. Gave newbie me, who didn't know *anyone*, a couple of familiar faces to say "Hi!" to.

 

I do find myself wondering, though. Especially when I'm wasting time in the vicinity - talking on my "phone", taking pictures, whatever - and I see someone pass the same point two or three times =)

Edited July 2, 2005 by Shanynrose