geocaching etiquette

[+longhorn97]

Much of the fun of geocaching is the search. When you spot other geocacher's looking for you're most recent find, what is the etiquette?

1- should you replace the find at risk of being seen

2- hang onto it for a while until the "coast is clear"

3- approach the fellow geocacher

 

follow up question:

What do you do when other searching geocachers are drawing alot of attention especially in city environments?

[+ventura_kids]

Whenever we see another geocacher we say HI !

If we get caught with the cache in our hands, we ask if they would like to turn around and we will re-hide it.

Most of the time we find out where they are planning on hunting next...and we go along with them.

[+WRASTRO]

#3 to start with, then you can decide together how they want to proceed. #2 won't work because if you have the cache in hand they will just keep looking for a container that isn't there. I would think this would be quite bad form.

[+ventura_kids]

option #4 - just hand the cache to them and leave (they won't know exactly where to put it back)

[+Flatouts]

We had a log on one of ours just yesterday - One said they found it but couldn't get the log out to sign - the other said they weren't sure if they would have found the cache as easy if they hadn't observed the other cacher just in front of them. They apparently let him play through. However, they had tweezers and signed the log. Courteous enough to verify that the previous cacher did find the hide.

 

It all depends on the circumstances but in my humble opinion I think it would be down right rude to let a cacher search for something that wasn't there and you knew it - funny for a little while perhaps even worth entertaining but just not right... I'd walk up asking them what did they loose or what are you looking for (just to see what they came up with) then let them off the hook and let them know we are holding it, then take it from there.

 

I do believe we've been in the other shoes on one occasion. To easy of a hide to miss obvious it was missing and then see logs on the same day. No harm they may not have seen us.

 

I did do one in front of two cachers that had met up and started talking. I slipped in made the grab then went right by them to see if they really were cachers and both had their GPSrs on and in hand - I said hi as I went by and placed the hide back. Believe it or not, one logged it the other DNF-ed??

 

No telling what situation you will run into. I said Hi to a cacher coming out of the woods from GZ - freaked him out he got a real a serious look and walked briskly by me without a word... I'm ugly but I didn't think I scared people? Got to the log it was signed that day and I really didn't pay attention to the name. Oddly enough I thought I saw it when I logged still not paying attention then I went back to see who it actually was and poof my log was gone so was the other?? Relogged - now the entire thing just creeps me out.

 

Vince