another player at same location

[PoppaBear53]

What is the proper etiquette when you pull up to a site and a person is there looking at their phone, looking at the bushes, looking at their phone, looking at the bushes. Do you drive on and come back later, or jump out and find it together?

[+laker91]

Hop out of your car, walk up to the potential finder and say "Excuse me sir/ma'am, this is private property". Just kidding. Introduce yourself and enjoy the hunt together. I met some good friends on a couple of FTF hunts. One set of friends at 11:30pm on a hide that was only 2 miles from my house and another friend on one that had us "Stumped" for quite a while. Shared the FTF on both of them.

 

No need to be stealthy with them if you can figure out what the other person is doing.

[PoppaBear53]

Hop out of your car, walk up to the potential finder and say "Excuse me sir/ma'am, this is private property". Just kidding. Introduce yourself and enjoy the hunt together. I met some good friends on a couple of FTF hunts. One set of friends at 11:30pm on a hide that was only 2 miles from my house and another friend on one that had us "Stumped" for quite a while. Shared the FTF on both of them.

 

No need to be stealthy with them if you can figure out what the other person is doing.

[PoppaBear53]

Thanks that's very helpful. Just started a couple days ago and it was such a kick to see someone standing there and you know exactly what they are doing. Had the kids with me and we all just busted out laughing. Watched the logs for that cache and doesn't appear they found it. Next time will help.

 

Many hands make for light work.

 

happy hunting

[+wmpastor]

Thanks that's very helpful. Just started a couple days ago and it was such a kick to see someone standing there and you know exactly what they are doing. Had the kids with me and we all just busted out laughing. Watched the logs for that cache and doesn't appear they found it. Next time will help.

 

Many hands make for light work.

 

happy hunting

So it seems they did not post a DNF! Tsk-tsk-tsk!

[+JimC61]

What is the proper etiquette when you pull up to a site and a person is there looking at their phone, looking at the bushes, looking at their phone, looking at the bushes. Do you drive on and come back later, or jump out and find it together?

 

One of the first nights out geocahcing with my kids we came up to one with a woman looking in some bushes. There was no reason for her to be there except to geocache. I wasn't sure what to do so we left. We should have stopped but we were new and didn't really know what to do. Since then we have bumped into people 3 times. Each time we chatted and passed and received a few tips. One time we did search with someone and we were successful. Everyone we met was very nice and eager to talk with fellow geocachers.

Edited July 18, 2013 by JimC61

[+T.D.M.22]

I've had people help me search. I got out of my car at the same time another cacher and her BF pulled up. So there's three of us. And no luck. Then another cacher comes and no luck. Then the CO, walking his dog stops and gives us a hint. Then another couple comes to get the cache. In all there where probably 8 of us. I always help them look, unless I've found it, in which case I encourage them on how easy it is while they have a puzzled look on their faces...

 

Hop out of your car, walk up to the potential finder and say "Excuse me sir/ma'am, this is private property".

I'd love to do that. Usually I ask "Did you find it?" Except that backfired on me one day. I knew there was a cacher in the area. Well I happened to be checking on said cache which and there where people sitting right at GZ looking at their phone, and I said did you find it?

 

Them;What?

Me; Did you find the cache?

Them; oh. No. What cash?

They then wanted an explanation of geocaching, and all that fun stuff.

[+dprovan]

The proper etiquette is to join them. If you've already found the cache and you feel like it, you can stop and laugh or help. Or both. Watch out, though, because joining someone always results in at least 20 minutes of talking about geocaching after the find, from my experience.

 

You only need to be secretive around muggles. They wouldn't understand.

[+WarNinjas]

yep hop out and find it!

[+WarNinjas]

Well I should say if they are actully geocachers. We once were at a rest stop at night looking for a cache and a family came up. With flashlights and all. We said are you looking for what we are and they said yes. Then they said have you found any? ...Any? What are you looking for? They said olives. I guess it was a olive farm. We looked at each other and left. Guess they probably thought we were the crazy ones. Now when ever someone asks what we are looking for we say olives.

[+STexasCacher]

Thanks that's very helpful. Just started a couple days ago and it was such a kick to see someone standing there and you know exactly what they are doing. Had the kids with me and we all just busted out laughing. Watched the logs for that cache and doesn't appear they found it. Next time will help.

 

Many hands make for light work.

 

happy hunting

So it seems they did not post a DNF! Tsk-tsk-tsk!

 

Maybe they just don't log online, or they may log on another site.

[+J Grouchy]

Got busted three times so far. First time was a fellow at a rest stop who saw me looking and asked if I was looking for the "geo-thingy". Apparently he didn't play, but knew about it and told me it was missing. I posted that in my DNF log, but then some folks found it after I was there...so he was either messing with me or it was replaced. Second time was at a cache, some guy walked up while my wife and I were signing and he asked if we found it. We laughed and offered it to him to sign and he said he doesn't sign the logs. Apparently he doesn't log them online, either, since he didn't post there either. Third time was the cache owner who hid the cache right outside his workplace. I was signing it when two guys came out. I thought they might be out on a smoke break when one of them asked if I found it alright. Had a quick chat...nice guy.

 

For me, it's always a bit awkward. I'm a lone cacher and prefer to search on my own, so the one time I approached a cache and saw someone there looking (it was a newly published cache, so it was for an FTF), I just kept on walking and didn't try for it. I posted a note about it later.

Edited July 18, 2013 by J Grouchy

[+ldyparadox99]

Last weekend the husband and I were out on our bikes doing a little series of caches along an old post/coach road. We finally found the cache we were looking for when a big family comes walking up the road. We were pretending to be taking a rest and looking at our phones, but I guess my etrex 20 hanging around my neck was a tad bit of a give away. They call out "don't worry, we're not muggles!". We'd probably have chatted if the kids weren't starting to have a bit of a meltdown. LOL

 

Other than that, I haven't come across any other cachers yet, but it's only a matter of time.

[+heatherie81]

I would totally stop. And you might be lucky and find someone like me - who is kinda new and still appreciates tips and/or caching partners in my area.

I have had 3 experiences with people stopping while I was caching - first was when I was BRAND new, and didn't know what a nano was. My friends and I were searching high and low on a power meter because the hint said "Meter Man" but we couldn't find it. CO lives next door and came out and showed us what a nano was and that it was behind. We prolly never would have found it, but that's the first place I'd look now.

Second, my phone was jumping around terribly in a thorn bush cache, and I was bleeding everywhere (forgot jeans but really wanted the cache). I wouldn't have found it b/c of the phone's GPS, but someone came up with a GPSr and we looked together (he found it, of course).

Third, was a couple months ago, I was trying for a FTF at a bus stop series, but it wasn't on the stop - it was 50 feet away and a LPC. I had never gotten those before, so when he explained what they were to me and how to see the marks to guess where they may be, I was able to go back and get 5 that I had to DNF but my Dakota led me right to a lamp post.

Very thankful every time.

[+uxorious]

I'm one who feels meeting other cachers while looking, makes the hunt much more fun. I usually cache alone, but always enjoy running into others.

 

However, there have been a few times when I've seen someone at GZ doing something that could only be Geocaching, and it turns out they never heard of it. It has made me a little more cautious when approaching someone who appears to be playing the game.