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Anyone met another geocacher in the field?


saulmiller

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I've met other geocachers in the field a few times (not counting group caching trips where we actually planned to meet). It happens more frequently with newer geocaches (as opposed to older geocaches that all the locals have found already). And it happens more frequently on weekends at popular locations (as opposed to weekdays, or at mundane/remote locations).

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Depends if it's intentional. I went looking for one cache, and we ended up with about 8 cachers there. Or a recent cache we ended up with 16 of us, but it was also an event that weekend.

 

I've also stopped when I see a cacher around where I know there's a cache. Sometimes just say hi or sometimes it wa some I couldn't find, so we both look for it,

 

To increase your chances of meeting someone try a FTF, or being the first to find on a new cache. It's likely there will be others. Or try during a decently big event with people coming from out of town, they'll be caching as well. Or you could just go to that event, and meet them.

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Last month - find number 151 - I bumped into another cacher. That was the first time that I unintentionally met someone on the hunt. I went to a CITO event this year, and obviously met some cachers there. I also metup with a CO a few weeks ago, because a couple of stages of a multi had succumbed to Mother Nature, and he wanted to check on and repair them.

 

I have had a couple of people on the Hike and Bike trails ask me if I'm geocaching (as they rode by). I've also spotted the same name in several logs with the current date, making me believe I am "right behind" someone; never caught up to them though.

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It all depends on where you live and how many other geocachers live in the same area.

 

I've met other geocachers while seeking a cache quite a few times but I've never run into another geocacher when I was FTF or around the time the FTF was made.

 

A couple of years ago I attended a WWFM event in Zurich and then went out caching for a few hours afterwords. I ran into other geocachers at almost every cache I visited.

 

 

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The easiest way to meet other cachers around here is to get to a newly published cache within 15 minutes, go to an event (duh..), do a series of traditionals in the first 2/3 weeks after publishing or do a PT.

Less likely to meet other cachers? Multi's (longer/harder ones), older caches, any caches that take more effort than stop, find, log, next.

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The onlytime I have ever ran into another cacher was when I was in Utah. It was the farthest cache I have found from my home. I remember looking at him waiting for him to go away so I could find the cache, and he was doing the same thing. it wasn't until he commented on my GPS that we put it together haha

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Been geocaching for only a month or so. Only found about 14 geocaches so far. I have yet to meet another geocacher in the field searching. Is this common? Or do other folks out there run into geocachers regularly?

 

Nope, I don't run into many cachers and I've been caching since 2008! Granted I have less than 1000 caches... It's usually fun, though, to meet someone along the way. You kinda scope each other out and try to establish if they even are a cacher.

 

Like this one time:

Me: Are you a geocacher?

Him: No <spits out toothpaste>

Me: Okaaaay.... <slowly moves away from strange guy brushing teeth near cache>

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For the last five years, up until this last August, I had never met another geocacher while out geocaching. Then, in August, I met quite a few. What was the difference? First, I was heading to the Block Party, and went after GC12 & GC17. I met three couples while coming from GC17, and teamed up with another cacher on GC12. We met three more cachers on the way into GC12.

 

In a nutshell, I see the probability of meeting other geocachers as being related to the popularity of the cache, and having a decent size time window (an hour hike, rather than a quick P&G). Having a major event in the area (Block Party) didn't hurt either.

 

Skye.

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I have not been caching long, but met up with a couple while attending to a maintenance log on a badly placed cache on my behalf, cheap magnet. It was great to meet them and we had a good chat about caching.

The best one was meeting a cacher while I was setting a cache. Both of us pulled into the same car parking area in a remote area where I was going to set the cache and said hello and got talking. The lady was out walking her dog, I was setting a cache and during our talking it became apparent she was a cacher. So, as she was new to the area, I offered to show her around. We both had the same interests and had a fantastic afternoon looking at the native orchids and other flora as well as the gold mines and diggings. It was an outstanding afternoon.

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I've met quite a few other cachers in the field, mostly as part of a FTF race :).

 

The most bizarre was on a remote multi that had gone unfound for three weeks since publication. Thinking it was a good opportunity to go for a drive in the mountains and perhaps grab a FTF, I ventured up there, parked the car and began walking down the trail towards the first waypoint. As I approached, I heard a vehicle behind me - it was the CO who had a couple of other cachers with him that he'd brought out to find his cache.

 

Seeing as I was on foot while they were in a vehicle, they reached the cache before I did but kindly let me claim the FTF.

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I met the FTFer of my first cache while I was checking on it. Also met another cacher last weekend doing a trail near where I live. Funnily enough, I've done a few walks where it was later clear from the log online that someone had either been just in front or just behind me but never bumped into them.

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This incident falls in the unexpected encounters category, at GC23FWT Just Add Ice:

 

My Log:

 

Very simple to get within 70m of the cache then it went downhill from there. It turns out that my improvised hip waders (garbage bags) very quickly leaked. I was more than halfway out so I wasn't going to turn back at this point; I've had soakers before and the water wasn't too too cold.

 

Getting overconfident within 20m of GZ led to a Stand-By-Me-like plunge up to my waist into an invisible deep spot. This provoked an exclamed "son of a B****!!" from me. My outburst flushed out something that was at GZ but it wasn't a raccoon -- it was a tiggrrr! What are the odds of running into another cacher at a mostly-winter-visited cache, in a rainstorm, at dusk?

 

Luckily she had the cache in hand so I didn't have to make the find (or risk the raccoon factor). She passed me the log which I signed, and then led me out a less-deep path (also using improvised hip waders).

 

Thanks!

 

Their Log:

 

....so, today was the day for my revenge.... I came back prepared this time with my Polish hip waders and made the trek across once again. Funny how a even a touch of daylight makes the world a happy place. Wasn't as bad as I had imagined the other night and I managed to find a route that didn't go past my thighs. Once at GZ I took a few minutes to enjoy the view and snap a few pics, then got back to the reason why I was in the middle of a swamp in a light rain lol. Made the find within a couple minutes and signed myself in.

 

As I was about to replace the log, I started hearing a voice behind me. ????. I peered around the tree and saw another person! What are the odds?!?! It had to be a fellow cacher! I waited a few moments, and after hearing a big splash and a loud string of semi profanity, I decided that was probably the best time to announce my presence. I popped out and said hello!...which almost sent the poor guy right back in! After composing himself, frinklabs made it to the tree and we shook hands. Very nice to meet you! I offered him the log, he signed and I replaced the cache exactly as I found it. We made our way back to the cars and had a nice geochat before heading off.

 

Thanks for this awesome adventure! I had a blast testing my so called 'metal' lol. Favorite for me! Absolutely beautiful spot and I'm glad I came back to finish this when I did. TFTC! :D

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I've been hoping to someday meet other geocachers, especially since I don't have any friends who enjoy geocaching and will go with me. So far, I've only met one other cacher, quite by accident. I had searched for a cache at a local park and logged a DNF. A week or two later I was with my sister walking her dog at that same park when we noticed a gentlemen with his kids circling around a tree. I suddenly remember that was the exact spot I had been searching weeks earlier - GZ for my DNF. We introduced ourselves and ended up finding the cache with their help.

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Been geocaching for only a month or so. Only found about 14 geocaches so far. I have yet to meet another geocacher in the field searching. Is this common? Or do other folks out there run into geocachers regularly?

 

We were in Tallinn (Estonia) a couple days ago getting a cache in Town Hall Square. Just after we returned the cache to its hiding place a cacher from Germany came up and introduced himself. As he was signing in another cacher (also from Germany ) arrived so we had a mini-event. While we do occasionally run into cachers close to home, this seems to happen to us more often away from home and especially in Europe.

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Sure, many times. Often of an attempt at an FTF, but not always.

 

When my group made the ET Highway run, we met people from Canada, Germany, 2 couples from our home state, two couples from just a short distance from where we live (we know them but did not know they were also doing the ET Highway).

 

Going to an event takes the randomness out of meeting others.

 

Have fun with this silly goof. It is full of surprises.

 

Cache Happy

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Sure, many times. Often of an attempt at an FTF, but not always.

 

When my group made the ET Highway run, we met people from Canada, Germany, 2 couples from our home state, two couples from just a short distance from where we live (we know them but did not know they were also doing the ET Highway).

 

Going to an event takes the randomness out of meeting others.

 

Have fun with this silly goof. It is full of surprises.

 

Cache Happy

 

i was out caching with my son one afternoon, we had just walked away from a cache hidden up in a tree and a chap cycled past. for some reason a moment later i turned round and the chap had vanished! we watched and surely enough, his legs soon appeared from the tree! so we went to say hello! we were in the middle of nowhere!

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Sure, many times. Often of an attempt at an FTF, but not always.

 

When my group made the ET Highway run, we met people from Canada, Germany, 2 couples from our home state, two couples from just a short distance from where we live (we know them but did not know they were also doing the ET Highway).

 

Going to an event takes the randomness out of meeting others.

 

Have fun with this silly goof. It is full of surprises.

 

Cache Happy

 

i was out caching with my son one afternoon, we had just walked away from a cache hidden up in a tree and a chap cycled past. for some reason a moment later i turned round and the chap had vanished! we watched and surely enough, his legs soon appeared from the tree! so we went to say hello! we were in the middle of nowhere!

 

I was caching in Rome awhile back and went to find a cache near the Colosseum. It was one of those hides in a hole in a wall that an be seen from a distance. I walked up to it, removed the cache, signed the log, then replaced it. As I was walking away I saw someone I thought to be a geocacher walk toward the hiding spot. It looked like he had a GPS on a waist belt. He walked up to the spot and looked back at me. I nodded my head and gave him a little wave and went on may way. A few minutes later a police car pulled over an two police got out (both in plain clothes, one was the "geocacher" I saw). Neither one spoke English and I don't speak any Italian. Eventually they got a nearby street vendor to translate and they were convinced that I wasn't doing anything wrong and let me go on my way. They even replaced the cache.

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We have surprisingly met cachers on many occasions when away from home in addition to those we have met at events

 

Some of the ones that come to mind

 

Near Victoriaville QC, about 700 miles from home, a car stopped while we were signing a cache to ask if we found it. When they found out who we were, they asked us to fish out the travelling cache in our trunk as word had spread that we had it.

 

In Hawaii while on a cruise

 

Looking for a cache in a park in London UK, when a gentleman on a nearby bench called out o us to ask if we were looking for the cache that he had in his hand

 

At an Interstate rest stop in PA when someone was copying our TB on our vehicle

 

At a cache near the original stash in Oregon

 

While doing a GR series in FL

 

Met newbies at an Interstate rest stop in SC

 

At our Lobster cache while doing maintenance

 

In a hotel lobby in Houston Texas, we met cachers from Manitoba. They had the intention of surprising us with their find count, so they first asked us how many we had found. Our answer sorta ruined their surprise

 

ETC ETC ETC

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The greatest number of 'unplanned cachers met' happened to us in Majorca. As we were converging on what should have been a micro in a tall seawall, so were several other couples and a few singles, and we were coming from different directions spaced about 30m apart when we realized what was happening. It was pretty obvious -- all of us were staring down at a handheld GPS receiver, so it was pretty funny. We had a grand time searching the wall together, but wound up with a big group DNF.

 

That story continued when I placed a Colorado geocoin in the hands of a couple of Germany who agreed to launch it for me when they got back home. It's mission was to find its way back to a bug hotel I was running here in Colorado at the time. They lost track of it for some months, but finally got it into circulation. In the 'end' (not quite) about a year later it found its way to a muggled 5/5 puzzle cache in Europe. After a year or so, I lost hope of ever seeing it again. Two years later, and with NO log of any sort, it magically reappears in a cache in Idaho. I only discovered this when I was notified that someone had picked it up from that cache. I wrote to them and asked whether or not they were CERTAIN of the number they had recorded, and yes, the number matched and they described to me a Colorado geocoin. To top it off, they planed to visit relatives here within a short period of time, and we met (an intentional meeting this time!) so that they could finally return it to its home. How in the world it got from a muggled 5/5 in Europe to a cache in Idaho is anyone's guess.

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The greatest number of 'unplanned cachers met' happened to us in Majorca. As we were converging on what should have been a micro in a tall seawall, so were several other couples and a few singles, and we were coming from different directions spaced about 30m apart when we realized what was happening. It was pretty obvious -- all of us were staring down at a handheld GPS receiver, so it was pretty funny. We had a grand time searching the wall together, but wound up with a big group DNF.

 

That story continued when I placed a Colorado geocoin in the hands of a couple of Germany who agreed to launch it for me when they got back home. It's mission was to find its way back to a bug hotel I was running here in Colorado at the time. They lost track of it for some months, but finally got it into circulation. In the 'end' (not quite) about a year later it found its way to a muggled 5/5 puzzle cache in Europe. After a year or so, I lost hope of ever seeing it again. Two years later, and with NO log of any sort, it magically reappears in a cache in Idaho. I only discovered this when I was notified that someone had picked it up from that cache. I wrote to them and asked whether or not they were CERTAIN of the number they had recorded, and yes, the number matched and they described to me a Colorado geocoin. To top it off, they planed to visit relatives here within a short period of time, and we met (an intentional meeting this time!) so that they could finally return it to its home. How in the world it got from a muggled 5/5 in Europe to a cache in Idaho is anyone's guess.

 

I love those kinds of stories

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