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How Many Cache Alone?


Team BlackZ

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I almost always cache alone. I have, on occasion, taken Darby the Wonder Pup with me.

 

There are notable exceptions to my solitary cacher rule. Last week, I had the pleasure of trying to keep up with BruceS for a day or so. It was big fun. (I hope I didn't slow him down.)

 

Depending on how good the search function is on these new forums, you may be able to find a thread from a year ago when someone posed this question.

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My wife has almost 40 finds, I have almost 180. All her finds were while with me. I don't have my calculator, but I guess that means I cache alone roughly 75 percent of the time. Actually it might be slightly lower. I did find a dozen or so in group hunts with other geocachers and 2-3 with my brother, so it's more like 70 percent.

Edited by briansnat
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I usually cache alone but I really enjoy getting together with friends and hitting a bunch of caches and hanging out afterwards. Its definatelly a different experience and I almost think that I rather cache alone when it comes to a pure caching stand point. Less time is wasted as I get in, get out, and get on with my life.

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I'm always alone. I hike and mountain-bike alone by principle, simply because most of my excursions either on foot or on bike last 5 hours or more, sometimes up to 8 or 10 hours, and I am going at a rapid pace the whole time. Love that cardio fitness, but not many of my friends are too keen on spending half the day out there doing that kind of stuff.

 

As a result I know the woods and mountains behind my school better than the back of my hand, and better than just about anyone else except maybe some forest rangers. It has gotten to the point where I routinely venture several miles out without map, compass, or anything except some water.

 

Now the safety aspect is a different issue. If you twist an ankle, or bail while riding your bike, or get hypothermia now that it's getting colder, or get attacked by a bear or mountain lion... being alone is no fun at all.

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I almost allways cache alone. That might be because I don't have any friends I can get interested in Geocaching. They don't know what they are missing.

If you cache alone, you can do things at your own pace.

There are more solo cachers out there than I thought.

Edited by Vader
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I cache alone, yeah

With nobody else

I cache alone, yeah

With nobody else

You know when I cache alone

I prefer to be by myself

 

Every morning just before breakfast

I don't want no coffee or tea

Just me, a good geoacher

That's all I ever need

'Cause I cache alone, yeah

With nobody else

Yeah, you know when I cache alone

I prefer to be by myself

 

The other night I laid sleeping

And I woke from a terrible dream

So I caught up my pal Magellan

And his partner GPS beam

And we cached alone, yeah

With nobody else

Yeah, you know when I cache alone

I prefer to be by myself

 

The other day I got invited to a party

But I stayed home instead

Just me and my pal geocaching.com

And his brother Garmin eTrex

And we cached alone, yeah

With nobody else

Yeah, you know when I cache alone

I prefer to be by myself

 

My whole family done give up on me

And it makes me feel oh so bad

The only one who will hang out with me

Is my dear old granddad

And we cache alone, yeah

With nobody else

Yeah, you know when I cache alone

I prefer to be by myself

 

All right, all right - it's weak, but true... ;)

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I usually go with friends and sometimes with family (nephew, parents) because i want to share the experience of cahing with others, but i have difficulties:

  • After 2 or 3 caches with the same friend then he is not interested on it than in the day i explained him Geocaching
  • I'm always busy 6 days per week, it's difficult to find a friend that is free for caching
  • I like hike for hours and i haven't friends that doesn't like it.

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i work on weekends so i almost always cache alone. the northern califonia coast is very beautiful so i enjoy the view and the quiet. i have taken friends a few times but usually not. i also have over 60 finds and have never met another geocacher. is this unusual?

 

Our first two meetings with other geocachers was around 70 something. They were both on thier first try, not sure how to average that out.

 

Me and the wife always go together. That's one of the draws to the sport for us. Time alone together, we went on a "Cache Machine" event one time, those folks were way too fast for us. Most of them were either long time outdoorsfolk, or had a solid background in hiking etc. before geocaching, we're a couple of desk jockeys. Frankly in poor physical shape.

I've lost a couple of pants sizes thanks to Geocaching, so has the missus, but I think unless it is a BBQ or some other meeting in one spot, it'll be a good while before we do a run with others.

We did take one long time friend of ours out with us. Fiasco is the kindest way we could put it. They were wiped out and disgusted with the whole process at the BoJangles.

;)

Edited by Cat'N'Geo
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This question got me curious. I started geocaching so I would have something to do outdoors with my daughter. Then I got hooked and started finding lots of caches on my own, when my daughter was staying at her mom's house. More and more, though, we are both finding it to be more fun to go cache hunting with others, whether it be a group at an event cache, hosting an out-of-town visitor, helping some newbies, or getting together with another family who we introduced to the sport. After 577 cache hunts, our numbers break down as follows:

 

Daddy Leprechaun alone: 305 hunts (53%)

Both Leprechauns: 114 hunts (20%)

Daddy Leprechaun, with others: 140 hunts (24%)

Both Leprechauns, with others: 18 hunts (3%)

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I don't cache alone. It's a combination of a couple of issues - the major one being that I am just not comfortable being out in the boonies by myself. This is then followed closely by the fact that I've got four kids and a husband. My husband likes to cache (kind of - he likes the going - doesn't so much care about the end result), therefore if he wants to go along, the kids come too.

 

If I manage to swing caching time sans kids, I cache with someone else, be that my husband, or another caching friend - so far I'm up to three different people I go with at different times.

 

I've only found 145 at this point in time, but of those, I've done exactly TWO by myself - one in town here, and the other was one I didn't even have to leave my desk for. Two others I've done locally at night - something of a drive by cache where I took my oldest dau. to man the phone should I not reappear. She stayed in the truck while I did the work.

 

Of the 145, 24 have been done without some assorted child faction along for the ride.

 

As others have noted, when you go with someone else, they always tire before you do. On the other hand, maybe they're just keeping us from getting REALLY out of hand! (You must eat and you must go home at some time, right??) ;)

 

-=-

michelle

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Ok, I really like the new forums. Very good solution to the Infopoop solution.

 

[back on Topic]

Most of the time I cache alone. Schedules between people typically don't work out, and I take it as time to escape from everything if I go rural caching. My days off this week I spent in Cali, courtesy of a very good friend of mine. While there, much time wasn't available for caching, but I managed to bag several in Disneyland and California Adventure. So I guess that caching trip you could say I cached with a group of 3.

 

I'll throw out an invite to the AZ community for a day that I plan on going for a marathon run, or a special occasion, like the Center of the State cache I'm placing next week and enjoy the company that does come with.

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My wife has went with me a few times and loves it, but I generally cache alone as my schedule is a little more flexable. I am not sure who enjoys it more, me or her. Although, I do have a few scrapes on me from her throwing me out of the way to get to the cache first. ;)

 

------------------

Hmmm, if I cache alone and don't tell anyone, and would rather cache than work, does that make me an addict?? I am Redondola, I am a cache-a-holic. ;)

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I usually cache alone. However, I find that navigating and driving at the same time can be problematic. Also, it's safer to go with a buddy, especially for a woman alone in a remote location.

 

I put an ad on Craig's List (www.craigslist.com) for an activity partner, describing geocaching. and someone who works at the same place I do responded. We've done some caching together, and I still do some on my own.

 

I like hiking alone. I see more wildlife that way and I can go at my own pace. I always tell someone where I'll be and bring along my cell phone or a two-way radio, depending on the remoteness of the location.

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Only caches I have done with others have been the event caches all others are Solo. It's "my" time to enjoy the silence of nature. That and I am Happily single with no significant other. That way I don't have to worry about her not liking the sport and taking my tentacles.(See Divorce thread in General Forum for explanation)

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Out of my 415 caches I'd say that around 300 have been solo. I like to cache with others but enjoy being by myself as well. If someone wants to go with me, fine, but it has never stopped me from going it on my own. Knowing a lot more geocachers these days than when I started I have started to do more group hunts.

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i go solo usually 95%+ of the time. Some caches i have someone along to atch my back when i get the jeebies. :)

 

urban i always go solo to attract less attention(one guy wangering around acting like 'rainman' is explainable/ignorable, two are not) :)

 

in the woods is where i have others come along.

 

the reason for soloing for me is two things...

 

1)sometimes a lack of others to go with

2)i like to do it my way and with another person around my rythm is off and i cant find anything. i drive near the cache, around it, find a place to park that is not a parking zone, but not a 'no parking' zone and go nail it. before you know it im back on the road and hve my next cache lined out. anyway, i feel rushed and such having someone else there.

 

so basicly i usually have a distain for dragging others along, even if they are willingly being brought(or forbid the thought, they wanted to go)

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I usually go cachin' with my sister but recently it's either go by myself or not go at all....I think it's suddenly "not cool" for her to be hangin' with me or something. I guess it's all a part of the growing up process. I do take my dog most of the time though; he seems to really enjoy it, and it helps him to not snore during the night 'cause he'll be too tired!! :) Every now and then my Mom will express an interest in doing one or two, so we go out, do a couple, and then I think she has to recuperate for a few months before voicing an interest again! Oh well -- such is the geocacher's way of life...heaven forbid that I try to take a friend with me *again*. I did that once and boy, it did NOT go well. She didn't see what the point was...frankly, does there have to always be a point to something? :) I'm finding that I kinda like cachin' alone though. Nature seems more vivid when it's all you can hear.

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Caching alone or with a few like-minded friends is more fun than a mob of geocachers descending on the cache area, then pretending not to know where the cache is after they find it and snicker as you embarrass yourself looking in the wrong place for 10 minutes.

Been there, done that!

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I almost never cache alone. I usually go with at least one other person. Especially here in the Chicago area, I think people look at you funny if you're walking around alone in the woods. I know I look at people funny if they're walking around alone in the woods.

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I usually cache alone. When I first got my Etrex Vista, the wife and kids went with me once. We have fun, but ever since then everyone's schedules have been so full it is hard to find any free time where we all can get together. I usually find mine in the afternoons when I get off work. I pull my gps out of the dash, fire up cachemate on my visor and enter to coords where I am and see what is close. That's the benefit of my job, I travel all around the Ga area when I work, so I never know where I will be when I end my work day. :)

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I'm alone 80 to 90 % of the time. My wife loves the sport and goes as often as she can find time for it. The kids are mostly teenagers now-they have interests of their own, but occasionally we 'force' them to get out for a 'cleansing' walk. I like going early on weekday mornings-less traffic of any sort. The group thing might be fun-once in a while-I'm in NM, send email.

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