Have You Ever Got The Shivers Geocaching Alone

February 19, 2005

: I would like to know if im the only one who gets scared geocaching alone

:huh: If not tell me your story

Thanks

Edited February 19, 2005 by apaandsunlookingforfun

February 19, 2005

Yeah, some freaky wierdo was folowing me in the bush and on the trail, so I left.

Read my LOG.

mrking

February 19, 2005

s*** u must have been piissed :huh:

5.3k · February 19, 2005

Yeah, some freaky wierdo was folowing me in the bush and on the trail, so I left.

Read my LOG.

mrking

Intereating log. Reading the page it looks like Klingon,

I cache alone quite a bit, the only place I really did not like was a cache in a homeless camp that happend to be next to a nasty pit bull that appeared to be tied just a few feet from the cache. I was a new cache, so I figured it was placed by someone of below average grey matter.

I never went back to find the cache and I think it was archived.

Edited February 19, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

February 19, 2005

Yeah, the the cache was all writen in Klingon. When I saw it I was sure a hard core geek must ahve done it. :huh: It took me about three hours to decode and finally understand what the decode wanted me to do. dadgum Star Trek geeks!:o

Overall it was a good cache except the placement of the cache.

I went back early the next morning when noone was around to get it.

2.5k · February 19, 2005

I usually cache alone and have never felt uncomfortable with the situation except where the trail was such that I didn't want to do it alone in case I should fall. In those few cases I found another way around the area.

38.2k · February 19, 2005

Yes, last night. I was headed out to bag the Rocky Lounge cache and spent the night on the side of the mountain in my daughter's 20 degree sleeping bag, wwhich I couldn't zipper shut, instead of my own zero degree bag.

The thermometer on my pack read 8 degrees below zero when I woke up. Yep, I can honestly say I had the shivers while geocaching alone :huh: .

February 19, 2005

I was recently away on a trip to Chicago, and hit a couple of caches after it was dark. I usually don't do this, but I thought it would be fun to do a couple of out of state caches. Of course, being in the woods at night, in the rain, with "wild animals" around seemed like a set up for a horror movie. While I'm not usually taken to being scared, I spent a fair amount of my time wondering what I was doing out there!

Here's the page from one of these:

O'Hare TB Hospitality Club

February 19, 2005

Well, there was that one time I got snow in my boots 3 miles from the car...

February 19, 2005

The only time I ever remember being in an uncomfortable place was when I was hiking along some railroad tracks...the cache area was pretty deserted back in the woods, and I saw a butcher's knife stuck in the ground...

February 19, 2005

I've got the shivers geocaching in a group as large as 8 or so. Creepy places are creepy places! When there is a ghost story involved, it's good. If it's got more to do with the living, it's not so good...

2.2k · February 19, 2005

nope, never! i am always aware of my surroun...........oooooooo! shiny!

1.4k · February 19, 2005

Only once. I found myself far from my rig sitting on a rock logging a cache in Montana.....watching the sunset.

Sunset? All I have is a tiny aaa maglight. The hike back down through the trees was just under a mile I think, but it was darker than dark and there were noises in the bushes. My light was just bright enough to see the trail at my feet.

Spooky stuff.

February 19, 2005

No, you are not the only one who gets the shivers caching alone…I loved caching sooo much that I would just ignore that lurking feeling...taking my dog with me, getting an occasional friend to tag along. I swore that my fear was unfounded, that I would not let my irrational thoughts keep me from something I loved so much. Last fall I was on the interstate and spotted a close by cache at a rest stop (I knew better). The description seemed safe enough, no “nature trail” or anything like that, but as I sat in the parking lot readying my GPS, I noticed a scraggily man looking at me as he passed my car. Since he walked to the buildings I didn’t think more of it. The cache was located in a grove of about 10 pine trees at a secluded, far corner of the property. As I came out of the grove I immediately saw the man, just a few feet from me, going in! He was NOT a fellow cacher and though it may have been a coincidence it still gives me chills to think what might have happened if I’d stayed at that cache a few more seconds. My point is, always be aware of your surroundings, don’t EVER let down your guard, and don’t ignore that inner voice. P.S. That was the last time I went caching….hope I can shake it.

1k · February 19, 2005

Get the shivers? You bet! Last February, when it was down in the single digits, I went caching alone several times, and almost froze my a** off!

February 19, 2005

Yep. One of my caches is at an old CW battledground. Everytime I go out for a maintenance run and even when I was placing it I can feel eyes on me. It's very unsettling.

But I'm strange and believe in ghosts, Bigfoot, UFO's, Nessie, that the cache will be there everytime I go out, and that coords should always be dead on. Kidding about the last one.

I also have another at a supposedly haunted disused bridge that me and the wife had a very very weird experience at. I try my best not to go out for maintenance alone. I wait until someone reports a problem and then go out if I have to or get a friend to ride with me. The wife won't even go near the place. If I can get these pics transfered from the videotape they are on I will post them.

X

February 19, 2005

I got scared when we noticed a couple of the caches we were seeking had been chewed up by bears, and today when I placed a new one and there were big cat tracks in the snow.

February 20, 2005

Here is one for you. This picture was taken with a motion activated camera in the middle of the woods. Where? I do not know, but this could be you instead of the dear if you go night caching....

It just gives me the shivers thinking about it.

Edited February 20, 2005 by mrking

February 20, 2005

That was scary. Thanks for the pic. Never do I cache at night. Don't think I'll start now.

1.6k · February 20, 2005

Actually caching at night isn't very scary for me. Generally, I have my headlamp on, and I have my maglite attached to the back of my bag.

The maglite is great because not only is it good to see what the noise up ahead is, but if the noise up ahead turns out to be a small dinosaur, you could club it to death...

On occasion, I bushwack the last 500 feet or so to a cache. Generally, this scares me. But one time, I was out on my own, the rest of the team was at the top of a hill. I bushwacked to a cache. I kept going deeper and deeper. I was only like 500 feet when I went in, but it was so much more walking because I had to get around lots of brush. I had no clue where I was, and I was scared crapless. Then all of a sudden, a deer pops its head out ten feet from me and runs away. I almost wet myself. At that point, I was thoroughly creeped out, and wondering how long it would be before SAR got called out. Then, all of a sudden, there was a break in the brush, and I found myself staring at the cache. After getting what I needed, I looked up to see a trail, and just down the hill from that, a major highway...

February 20, 2005

Yes. I should have known better. Lesson learned.

February 20, 2005

I went to this cache during the day but i had a "Social Obligation to attend" Decided to go back at night and it was clear up in these creepy woods up and down hills and valleys... I turn around and ran out of there... Something just gave me the creapist feeling and i don't know what it was... Maybe the little LED flashlight i was using and all the noises and not being able to see at all with no one to hear me scream.... But i Love night caching... do it at least once a week because im always busy during the day

February 20, 2005

I was caching alone very recently in a wooded area of a suburb. I came across a group of teenagers armed with alcohol and paintball guns near the cache. I decided to skip this cache and go around them through the woods. Once past them, a volley of paintballs started hitting the trees around me. I didnt run, but just kept walking. That is the only bad experience I have had so far being alone. As a group, we've not encountered any problems.

February 20, 2005

My wife and I did some night caching last night after a date out.

We went in carrying plenty of gear, headlights, 3 Surefire Litthium flashlights, two 6 watt bike headlights, and a 12 watt bike headlight.

The night only cache and the 3 graveyard caches went fine, saw lots of local wildlife, rabbits, possums, heard a couple of the local coyotes.

However, when we were back onto the paved trail heading for some regular caches we started hearing larger things crunching though the undergrowth. At one point my wife was thinking it was two legged, (I wasn't sure though). At another point as my wife was finding the second stage of a devious multi-cache I started hearing something trying to be stealthy coming toward us, (it sounded bigger than the local critters). The sound was enough to ratchet up my situational awareness to a high level. I had enough light power that the surrounding brush was well lit up but the noises kept approaching. That was enough that my wife had her can of OC spray out and I had my hand on my legally carried 45. Nothing ever did show up though, Thank God. Probably nothing more than a bunny rabbit but as this is an urban park we would rather be prepared for all scenarios.

We ended up completing the cache and left the area via a different route rather that walking back through the park.

Semper Fii

February 20, 2005

I cache alone frequently. I've never really had much of a problem because I quickly back out of areas that don't feel right, sometimes not even getting out of the car. I don't need a smiley that badly.

This one caught me off guard. I was on the trail, away from my car, when I started to get creeped out.

It turns out that this section of the park may be what I've seen referred to in the forums as a "pickle park". :huh:

The red cautionary text on the cache page was added after GeoCraig and I visited the area and then conferred with the owner.

And I have since decided not to return, unless it is with some burly men. :laughing:

February 20, 2005

I cached tonight for the first time at night really enjoyed, it but it was in area's where I felt at ease with it was in urban area's.

But that picture of the cougar just the thought. :laughing: :huh:

Edited February 20, 2005 by Skyman

February 20, 2005

Hmm,, Anybody going caching at night in wooded areas should excercise prudence and caution.. and should learn some survival skills. I am an advocate of that and a practioner. (See my profile). Also, you should never go into the forested areas alone at night. You never know what you may encounter. Learn about what is out there to encounter... and not just the geocaches.. Always remember that fire will fend off animals.. except one, and that is man. Man is the most dangerous animal in the world. Always be aware of your surroundings.. even in the urban jungle. Women do this instinctively.. learn from them..

Just some thoughts on the subject. This forum space doesn't have enough room for all that a person alone, especially at night in the woods, should be aware of.

February 20, 2005

Re: the cougar and deer pic:

Wouldn't that deer have smelled the cougar to let it get so close?

February 20, 2005

:laughing: Well I took my daughter and granddaughter out at dusk in the woods south of Jonesborru Georgia to get a cache. By the time we got the cache and started walking out it was very dark, all we had was a led light on my keychain to see by. We swore we heard noises as we walked out. I assured them it was only the local wildlife. As we approched the road there was another car parked nearby. Well we made it home safely. Logged our find. The next day I read the logs and there was another cacher out in the woods with us, he moved off the trail when he heard us coming back from the cache. Thank God we did not run into a psyco. I'll allways carry lights for every one in the group from now on.

LESSON LEARNED...

Ken & Dee :huh:

February 20, 2005

Re: the cougar and deer pic:

Wouldn't that deer have smelled the cougar to let it get so close?

I have two WAG's at your question.

1) The lion killed the dear elsewhere and drug it to that spot, to eat it.

2) The dear was already dead and placed at that spot to get a picture of the cat. (baiting the cat for a picture)

Edited February 20, 2005 by madratdan

February 20, 2005

Maybe the cat is chasing the deer (ie. they are running through the shot). If the deer walked up and stopped, the first motion sensor pictures flash would have went off and spooked the deer. He wouldn't stay there long enough to let a cat creep on him, and have a second flash go off. This is my theory.

Edited February 20, 2005 by DJ Calamari

February 20, 2005

I don't understand why people are asking questions about the picture.

I hold these truths to be self-evident:

Deer are killed by big cats on a regular basis.

At some point in the killing process, the big cat is very close to the deer.

Why is it so hard to believe that a camera could have captured this moment?

February 20, 2005

We went in carrying plenty of gear, headlights, 3 Surefire Litthium flashlights, two 6 watt bike headlights, and a 12 watt bike headlight.

Well done bringing all that light.

I think that quality illumination tools are the most inmortant thing to bring when night caching (excluding obviously all the stuff you should normally bring when out in the woods). An led keychain light is not something i would consider a quality illumination tool. Anything with the word "Surefire" on it is. Any two-legged predator and probably most four-legged types) would be stopped dead in it's tracks by a split-second blast in the eyes from a Surefire flashlight in the dark. That is assuming that they could even sneak up on the person wielding the light. I personally carry two Surefire Nitrolons with me while night caching. One has the upgraded P61 lamp in it (120 Lumens). For general navigation, my LED headlamp does the job most of the time, but I will break out the Nitrolon to inspect that twig snap, to look 500 yards down the trail, or to just calm my senses. I also carry with me a second headlamp, an LED flashlight, a spare bulb for the Nitrolons and extra batteries for everything.

February 20, 2005

I also have another at a supposedly haunted disused bridge that me and the wife had a very very weird experience at. I try my best not to go out for maintenance alone. I wait until someone reports a problem and then go out if I have to or get a friend to ride with me. The wife won't even go near the place. If I can get these pics transfered from the videotape they are on I will post them.

Oh come on, say what happened. I love caching and I love ghost stories! <_< Pleeeease!!!

Oh, one major time that I forgot was doing a few caches in Green Lakes State Park. We were a little over a mile from the car and it was fall. Locating the trail was very hard because of all the leaves. I thought we could grab one more cache and then continue to the road our car was parked on. Unfortunately, that road was a major route instead of the little county road I was thinking of. We ended up trying to return to the car the right way, but it was a very large park and the sun was going down. Earlier we'd gotten a bit lost and worried, especially because it looked like a bad storm. We'd wandered around the whole area so much it took quite a long time before we found the right path out, and then we were walking along a dark road for a ways. After that I've not gone on a hiking type cache without my ham radio HT, because with that I know where I can always reach people!

Wow long story! In the logs I tried to be all brave-like but that's the real thing above.

February 20, 2005

I don't understand why people are asking questions about the picture.

I hold these truths to be self-evident:

Deer are killed by big cats on a regular basis.

At some point in the killing process, the big cat is very close to the deer.

Why is it so hard to believe that a camera could have captured this moment?

The Cachers were scared off by the Bear that took the pic?? <_<

I have a light that I call the 'Big Johnson'... it has 500,000 candle power but I can't move very far from the vehicle with it.. Other than that, I would just use a maglite 5 cell. Always keeping my partner in sight and he the same with me..

February 20, 2005

Oh, one major time that I forgot was doing a few caches in Green Lakes State Park. We were a little over a mile from the car and it was fall. Locating the trail was very hard because of all the leaves. I thought we could grab one more cache and then continue to the road our car was parked on. Unfortunately, that road was a major route instead of the little county road I was thinking of. We ended up trying to return to the car the right way, but it was a very large park and the sun was going down. Earlier we'd gotten a bit lost and worried, especially because it looked like a bad storm. We'd wandered around the whole area so much it took quite a long time before we found the right path out, and then we were walking along a dark road for a ways. After that I've not gone on a hiking type cache without my ham radio HT, because with that I know where I can always reach people!

Enspyer, How does the Ham Radio work for you? All the time? I have been investigating the use of a satellite phone when out in the Roadless areas of mountainous regions here in the Pacific Northwest. I haven't made the plunge yet to get a satellite phone.. really expensive... but was just wondering. <_<

February 20, 2005

ok guys i dont mean cold shivers i mean scary ones <_<

February 20, 2005

: I would like to know if im the only one who gets scared geocaching alone
If not tell me your story

Thanks

not until i saw your avatar! <_<

February 20, 2005

<_< Ha ha ha

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Good one

February 21, 2005

Oh, one major time that I forgot was doing a few caches in Green Lakes State Park. We were a little over a mile from the car and it was fall. Locating the trail was very hard because of all the leaves. I thought we could grab one more cache and then continue to the road our car was parked on. Unfortunately, that road was a major route instead of the little county road I was thinking of. We ended up trying to return to the car the right way, but it was a very large park and the sun was going down. Earlier we'd gotten a bit lost and worried, especially because it looked like a bad storm. We'd wandered around the whole area so much it took quite a long time before we found the right path out, and then we were walking along a dark road for a ways. After that I've not gone on a hiking type cache without my ham radio HT, because with that I know where I can always reach people!

Enspyer, How does the Ham Radio work for you? All the time? I have been investigating the use of a satellite phone when out in the Roadless areas of mountainous regions here in the Pacific Northwest. I haven't made the plunge yet to get a satellite phone.. really expensive... but was just wondering.

I find what I have, a handheld radio that works on 2 meters to be very reliable. It would be better if I invested a few dollars into a better antenna, but still it's nice to have. Once you listen and talk to people a little, you know which local repeaters will have people listening at all hours. Repeaters are basically a way to relay your message further. I've heard more than one 911 all on the air, so its nice to know that technology is available.

The 'coverage' isn't good enough to have a long conversation from many locations, but most places I go I could communicate enough to get across an emergency situation. It's often better in forests and such, I find, because there aren't lots of buildings with metal in the way.

You should do some online searching to see what local clubs are around you, and they might be able to answer any questions more region-specifically.

On topic: Ham radio can relieve shivers often! It can help in emergencies, and even just talking people can help you not panic!

February 21, 2005

Hey hey hey

February 21, 2005

(deleted by moderator)

<_< :lol: :lol: :lol:

Edited February 21, 2005 by mtn-man

1.6k · February 21, 2005

Don't swear or even come close to it.

I'm assuming you meant to type "fooler" or "farter"

Edited February 21, 2005 by Anonymous'

February 21, 2005

You kiss your mama with that mouth kid?

Settle it down......sheeeesh

1.6k · February 21, 2005

You kiss your mama with that mouth kid?

Settle it down......sheeeesh

I probably should edit my post shouldn't I?

February 21, 2005

Twice. Once when visiting a cache in the National Grasslands area as the sun was setting. The trek back to the car involved a longish hike through gullies and dry washes. The perfect place for an ambush if you have watched enough westerns. Then the coyotes starting howling. The thought of climbing up a wash wall with more than one set of eyes staring back at me kept me hyper for most of the hike. With the care in sight I started to relax, which, as we know is not the thing to do when you are in ambush country, when there was a sudden, large movement in the mesquite. I had startled a lonesome doaggie on the praire. Absolutely chilling. Compensation came shortly later as I watched a large meteorite trail blaze across the sky.

Again when I was trying to be the first to the Pink Ribbon cache in Colorado. Snow was on the ground. I saw the paw print of a mountain lion. A large paw print. To go on or go back. I went on. I developed a swivel headed walking pattern looking for what might be watching me.

February 21, 2005

Well, I wasn't alone when it happened. I was caching with my oldest daughter and my friend and her 2 daughters. We were at a place called 40 Acre Rock in SC. It was getting dark and we were pretty deep in the woods. We heard coyotes. My friend freaked out right away. She wanted to hurry up and get the kids out of the woods before it was completely dark. I was calm and quickly led us out of the woods. On the way out though, I saw a strange looking fog/lights. No one else saw it, just me. This place is very near where Clan X-Man said he got freaked out. I don't really believe in anything like ghost, but that freaked me out.

February 21, 2005

The whole country side around where jamrasc is talking about is dotted with ghost stories. You can't swing a dead muggle around here without hitting a ghost. Now if only the same could be said for caches...

February 21, 2005

Ooooohhh! Explain please.. There are several possibilities...

(deleted by moderator)

......... and is that really a pic of you as the avatar? Come on.. was that necessary?

Edited February 21, 2005 by mtn-man

7.2k · February 21, 2005

No explaination needed, thank you.

Nothing to see here, move along.

Back to the topic....

Have You Ever Got The Shivers Geocaching Alone

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