geocacher asked for help

[+Team Wilkinson]

Hi everyone, my name is Aaron and I'm new and addicted to geocaching. I have a real quick Question about geocaching and geocaching etiquete. I was recently sent an email from another geocacher about a gc we had just found. The geocacher wants a hint from me about the cache. They said that they had been to gz several times but could not find the cache. I've never meet this geocacher before and I'm not the co. Is it appropriate to help them out?

[+J the Goat]

Hi everyone, my name is Aaron and I'm new and addicted to geocaching. I have a real quick Question about geocaching and geocaching etiquete. I was recently sent an email from another geocacher about a gc we had just found. The geocacher wants a hint from me about the cache. They said that they had been to gz several times but could not find the cache. I've never meet this geocacher before and I'm not the co. Is it appropriate to help them out?

 

I would politely suggest that they contact the CO first. They may not want hints given out on their cache. Take it from there. If the CO has been inactive for a while, maybe a hint in alright. If the CO was contacted and said no, then keep any hints to yourself. Or offer to go back to GZ with them, and then go out for a few more caches afterwards. Good way to meet a caching friend

[+geodarts]

Many cachers will provide help if a friend calls them up from the cache location. Others do not like this practice. This is not that different than the phone call from a friend. Perhaps it depends on whether you would feel comfortable in asking for help in this way.

 

To me, the search is the least interesting thing about a cache. So I have been asked to provide help and have asked in turn. A lot depends on the nature of the cache and the cache owner. And I would help a newer cacher with the fundamentals that would point them in the right way.

 

As long as the person is emailng, I agree with J the Goat and would start with the CO. But it is only a game, and prople have different practices and different ways of looking at etiquette.

Edited November 18, 2010 by mulvaney

[+BlueDeuce]

Hi everyone, my name is Aaron and I'm new and addicted to geocaching. I have a real quick Question about geocaching and geocaching etiquete. I was recently sent an email from another geocacher about a gc we had just found. The geocacher wants a hint from me about the cache. They said that they had been to gz several times but could not find the cache. I've never meet this geocacher before and I'm not the co. Is it appropriate to help them out?

 

I would politely suggest that they contact the CO first. They may not want hints given out on their cache. Take it from there. If the CO has been inactive for a while, maybe a hint in alright. If the CO was contacted and said no, then keep any hints to yourself. Or offer to go back to GZ with them, and then go out for a few more caches afterwards. Good way to meet a caching friend

 

Yep. Agreed.

 

Are they a new cacher as well? Covering the basics is certainly okay and might be the encouragement they need.

[+BlueDeuce]

To me, the search is the least interesting thing about a cache. So I have been asked to provide help and have asked in turn. A lot depends on the nature of the cache and the cache owner. As long as the person is emailng, I agree with J the Goat and would start with the CO. But it is only a game, and prople have different practices and different ways of looking at etiquette.

 

The search is the least interesting thing about a cache?

[+geodarts]

The search is the least interesting thing about a cache?

 

For me the cache itself provides a focus of where to go, like a register on a summit I suppose. But I can only think of a handful of caches where the search itself stands out -- one of them was a DNF where 9 of us spent almost an hour at a bus stop in the city. The cache turned out to be missing, but when the CO replaced it, it was one of the most unique containers I have seen -- so perhaps it was the container rather than the search even with that one. But we never would have looked that long if we had not known about the CO's creativity.

 

I probably will not be inspired if it is a search for a needle in the haystack, a bison in a tree, a tupperware container in poison oak, a film can in a lamp post, a micro in the middle of juniper, a small container across the street from a house with large picture windows, a nano hidden with soft coordinates on a steel bridge, or a container where the CO advises you not to let the people in the business know why you are there. But a quick find at the end of a long hike might make everything worthwhile.

 

At this point, I have enough smilies so that anything that is designed to be tedious is probably not going to be that much fun and anything obvious is going to be forgotten in a hurry unless there are other considerations at play. There were other things besides the search that brought me in the game. And keep me in the game. The search itself is towards the bottom of all of that.

 

But back to the original topic: these are all considerations in what I would tell a new cacher asking for help.

Edited November 18, 2010 by mulvaney

[+BlueDeuce]

The search is the least interesting thing about a cache?

 

For me the cache itself provides a focus of where to go, like a register on a summit I suppose. But I can only think of a handful of caches where the search itself stands out -- one of them was a DNF where 9 of us spent almost an hour at a bus stop in the city. The cache turned out to be missing, but when the CO replaced it, it was one of the most unique containers I have seen -- so perhaps it was the container rather than the search even with that one. But we never would have looked that long if we had not known about the CO's creativity.

 

I probably will not be inspired if it is a search for a needle in the haystack, a bison in a tree, a tupperware container in poison oak, a film can in a lamp post, a micro in the middle of juniper, a small container across the street from a house with large picture windows, a nano hidden with soft coordinates on a steel bridge, or a container where the CO advises you not to let the people in the business know why you are there. But a quick find at the end of a long hike might make everything worthwhile.

 

At this point, I have enough smilies so that anything that is designed to be tedious is probably not going to be that much fun and anything too obvious is going to be forgotten in a hurry unless there are other considerations at play. There were other things besides the search that brought me in the game. And keep me in the game. The search itself is towards the bottom of all of that.

 

But back to the original topic: these are all considerations in what I would tell a new cacher asking for help.

 

Stop by anytime and we'll hit a few local caches that I know about.

[+ventura_kids]

If they spent the time to email you, they obviously can't find that geocache.

I'd answer their question.

 

If you see them at an event later on, I'm sure you can strike up a conversation, and possibly make a new friend.

[+geodarts]

I will also ask the person how much of a hint they want. Sometimes people want a gentle nudge. Some people just want to make the find.

[+briansnat]

Hi everyone, my name is Aaron and I'm new and addicted to geocaching. I have a real quick Question about geocaching and geocaching etiquete. I was recently sent an email from another geocacher about a gc we had just found. The geocacher wants a hint from me about the cache. They said that they had been to gz several times but could not find the cache. I've never meet this geocacher before and I'm not the co. Is it appropriate to help them out?

 

I would politely suggest that they contact the CO first. They may not want hints given out on their cache. Take it from there. If the CO has been inactive for a while, maybe a hint in alright. If the CO was contacted and said no, then keep any hints to yourself. Or offer to go back to GZ with them, and then go out for a few more caches afterwards. Good way to meet a caching friend

 

I think that is the right way to go. Direct him to the cache owner.

[+Ike 13]

I've heard rumors of a cacher with 25000+ finds who emails locals for hints before coming to town so he can find the caches faster.

 

I don't know how true this is. The best practice is to direct them to the CO.

[+musthavemuzk]

I've heard rumors of a cacher with 25000+ finds who emails locals for hints before coming to town so he can find the caches faster.

 

I don't know how true this is. The best practice is to direct them to the CO.

 

so its wrong to find out about caches when going to a new to you area?

 

Monty

[+michigansnorkelers]

What a coincidence; this just happened to me!

 

I was contacted out of the blue by someone asking for help on one stage of a multi. It was published about a month ago and the only two logs since included my shared FTF. Now, this multi was cleverly done and took a lot of effort to set up. In over 800 finds, I have never run across anything to match it. I almost posted a DNF myself until another geocacher came along. It took both of us to get to the final stage.

 

However, this person did not post a DNF to the cache page, and had not contacted the CO. But, they had already gone through the effort to find the first two stages.

 

I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to be friendly, and helpful, but didn't want to step on anybody's toes.

 

So, I came up with a suitable hint that I forwarded to the CO. After getting his permission, I emailed the hint to the cacher, along with friendly advice on geocaching etiquette in the future.

 

I feel satisfied that I helped a fellow geocacher without upsetting the CO of a fantastic multi.

Edited November 20, 2010 by michigansnorkelers

[+d+n.s]

We've asked for help once. It was on a pretty simple step in a multi we were just blind to for some reason. We sort of wished the hints had been less spoilery just to be able to take a little more pride in the find and enjoy some more discovery, but it was worth it for such a cool final.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't care if someone did it on my cache and I think its probably safest to have them ask the CO. That said, you ould always e-mail the CO themself and make sure THEY are okay with YOU helping another cacher on the cache. I'm not sure why this would be a better solution, but it is another option I supppose. I guess it would let you make two new aquantances.

[+popokiiti]

We've asked for help once. It was on a pretty simple step in a multi we were just blind to for some reason. We sort of wished the hints had been less spoilery just to be able to take a little more pride in the find and enjoy some more discovery, but it was worth it for such a cool final.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't care if someone did it on my cache and I think its probably safest to have them ask the CO. That said, you ould always e-mail the CO themself and make sure THEY are okay with YOU helping another cacher on the cache. I'm not sure why this would be a better solution, but it is another option I supppose. I guess it would let you make two new aquantances.

 

I like this option!

[+MightyParagon]

I think if you ask for help, state how much help you want. I have had a couple of COs pretty much tell me what/where it was. And I just needed a bigger hint.

 

I have learned now that I may ask for help, but all I really want is a small hint to get me going--especially since the iPhone can jump you all over the place.

 

I am embarrassed to ask the CO, to be honest. In my head, it's like posting a DNF--marks me as a dumbhead. <well, that's how it feels!>

 

I am willing to give up and go back another day. But after that, if I really want to see the cache (cool container or something), I would ask for a hint.

 

I'd be a little upset if the CO refused to give me a hint. I doubt I would bother looking for any more of his hides, that's for sure.

Edited November 20, 2010 by MightyParagon

[+hikingirl3]

I actually just did this myself. I had a lighthouse geocoin that needed to go to a lighthouse-related cache. The closest one I could find had trees cut down near the cache, which resulted in some DNFs. Then some other geocachers with a lot of finds started finding it again. I really wanted to put the coin there, so I e-mailed one of the recent finders to ask for a hint as I was unfamiliar with the area, AND I have nowhere near the number of finds the more recent visitors had. After her help though, I decided to go to a different lighthouse, as it sounded like I was going to get poison ivy

[+ventura_kids]

I've heard rumors of a cacher with 25000+ finds who emails locals for hints before coming to town so he can find the caches faster.

 

I don't know how true this is. The best practice is to direct them to the CO.

 

not a he.....it's a she.

She has over 100 lifelines that she can call for help.

 

I think that here in the city, no one cares if you tell someone where the lampost hide is.

I'll agree with the "ask the owner" comments....IF it is a famous or very clever hide.

 

I always try to get at least one phone number to call in case we have car trouble. Normally we just call for dinner plans with the locals. It's pretty rare that we call for a hint. Sometimes we call ahead and check out locations of gas and food spots.... and it's important to know what city areas are dangerous to be in after dark. Normally we spend a minute or two searching, and then move along.

 

If somone needs a hint on any of my hides........please help them. thanks.

[+rogge88]

 

In my head, it's like posting a DNF--marks me as a dumbhead. <well, that's how it feels!>

 

 

Well then I´m pretty dumb because I got lots of DNF's

[+ipodguy]

That's happened to me before and I usually provide some help. I start by asking where they did search, tell them if they were "hot" or "cold" and after that I'll give some additional clues like how high to look, if they should look in a bush or in a tree or a rock - stuff like that. If it looks like they're really struggling, I'll ask if they just want the answer. I try to help them along with the hunt without giving everything away first.

[+theshows]

I've contacted a previous finder for a hint before. There was no current e-mail for the owner who has not logged in for a long time.

 

My thoughts....if an owner wants to have a cache, they should be able to be contacted. If not, I'll ask someone else. I THINK the cache is missing. I went several times and described where I went to the previous finder. He said he would actually go look to see if it's there.

[+ventura_kids]

I actually have DNF'd the same cache 5 times.

I have 3 DNF's on several caches.

 

It's more fun to find it myself. If I need a hint....it's usually just a question like "Is it really there?"