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Running into Other Geocachers Etiquette


Six in Stix

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Yet another newbie question. I did a search and didn't really find the answer to this.

If you are seeking a cache and you see others who you think might geocachers, too - do you make contact with them? Keep to yourself? Wait for them to leave before going after the cache yourself?

 

An example might be another person going down an unofficial path that obviously leads towards the cache. They are on their way and you arrive to see them going down the path. Do you follow as you had planned? Or wait? Or something else?

 

Complicating matters is that you can't know with 100% certainty that they ARE geocachers. They could be muggles. Oh the dilemma!

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts! I don't wanna be a geocacher without manners <_<

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Briansnat once suggeted the following:

 

The person approaching says "Ho arst ye a geocacher". The correct confirming response is "Yay, a geocacher am I". The two geocachers then approach each other and put their right arm on the other person's left shoulder and standing at arm's length, begin to skip around in a circle chanting (very loudly) "Geocachers are we, runny munny me, taki-tiki-takey, yaba daba hee". They do this for no less than 3 minutes, after which they join in the hunt.

 

 

 

Me I just go up and introduce myself and ask if they mind if I join the hunt or if they would rather wait.

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It depends. :( Recently when we saw a guy at a huge, TB-hotel cache over in Yuma, my greeting to him was "Find it yet?" <_<

 

Other times when I see the other person's GPSr and they are doing the "drunken bee dance" around a spot, I'll introduce myself and ask if I can join in the search with them.

 

Running into others at a cache is a great way to meet other local cachers. :)

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Briansnat once suggeted the following:

 

The person approaching says "Ho arst ye a geocacher". The correct confirming response is "Yay, a geocacher am I". The two geocachers then approach each other and put their right arm on the other person's left shoulder and standing at arm's length, begin to skip around in a circle chanting (very loudly) "Geocachers are we, runny munny me, taki-tiki-takey, yaba daba hee". They do this for no less than 3 minutes, after which they join in the hunt.

 

 

 

Me I just go up and introduce myself and ask if they mind if I join the hunt or if they would rather wait.

DANG IT!!!!

 

And I JUST changed my freakin' sig line quote!!! <_<:(:):D:o

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Thanks guys. I have been doing as Knight2000 does - and just putting away the GPS and acting like a Muggle. I guess I don't feel comfortable determining a Muggle from a Geocacher yet, so maybe that is a good approach. Certainly, if I met up with someone right AT the cache and it was obvious, I'd say hello. :D

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"Find it yet?" has worked so far for me.

 

I found a fellow GC'er at a new cache. He was doing the DBD and I started laughing then my wife noticed him. We worked independantly in the same area both striving for that FTF. But laughed as each of us would go over an area the other had looked at. It was good to meet a fellow cacher. We traded stories about our favorite caches in the neighborhood and a couple of clues on ones that were only solved by one of us that the other had found.

 

Neither of us found it that day - it was a sneaky little cache that took a couple of more trips to find, but it was fun to see other machines and watch as both of our GPS'rs were bouncing from the building and power lines overhead and we would move in about a 50' circle chasing GZ.

 

Now, if he had said or even implied that he was at the site first and was really serious about the FTF, I probably would have left him and come back later. But he was open to meet and chat.

 

The way I see it, my name is not written on the log yet and neither is another cachers, come on up, introduce yourself and lets chat and hunt.

 

On the other hand, I saw a large group at a puzzle cache (one family - mom, dad and a couple of kids) that took a bit of work to work out the puzzle. I left to go get a different cache, then came back after they were gone. I had worked out the puzzle and figure they had too, but I didn't want to piggy-back on their work or appear to. And it looked like a family thing so I let them have the family time.

Edited by Airhead-kb
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I glance at my GPS, look at them then say "Looking for something?", and glance down at my GPS again. If they cache they give a sheepish look and say "maybe". If they look at you like an armed drug dealer then they are a muggle.

 

I never glance down and say 'Are you looking for something?' they might not notice the gps.

 

I just lift the gps high and wag it at them. If I don't get a look of understanding I just pretend I was waving. 'Nice day isn't it?'

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I was caching in a beautiful little park near where I live. Came upon an older lady and a young man kinda running around in circles carrying a small black bag right at GZ and I hollered out: Find it yet?"

 

The old lady said oh no! We are here to take pictures of my grandson. Made me feel like a dadgum fool so I just said, Oh OK and turned and walked off. Went back later and found the cache.

Edited by lacomo
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I had my first caching trip last weekend - borrowed a friends GPS, that turned out to be dud. Needless to say, we failed to find the cache. Anyway, as we arrived, two people were getting in their car (this was the middle of nowhere). I was surprised at my reaction - I felt very 'shifty' and a bit embarrassed!

 

Maybe I need GC assertiveness training so I can stand proud and declare to the world "My name is Chris, and I hunt for plastic boxes!" I now have my own, used but working (Thanks ebay!) etrex Venture, and as soon as it stops raining my daughter and I will resume the hunt where we left off. I will attempt to greet strangers with a smile and an enthusiastic hello. After all, 'muggles' are just cachers without a GPS! :)

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