Who are all these cachers?
When we first started caching in 2004 I would often check the Moncton area caches to see the recent finds and see if there were new cachers out there. THe Moncton area was a small close knit group, and it was easy to follow their adventures through the recent logs. When MGA started we began to see names from other areas of NB and from NS. At that point there were not too many cachers in the Maritimes and we were able to get to know a lot of the cachers and follow their adventures on MGA. When we went to events in NS and NB you would meet all the cachers that yu had been seeing online.
Well things sure have changed. Last weekend we ventured into Nova Scotia with Chignecto Duo to attend the Spring Kick Off. (We had a great time caching on the way to and from the event with a total of over 40 caches). This was our third time at this event and it continues to grow. Curlys Portables was packed with 200 cachers and family and friends. 108 cachers logged their attendance. Incepit was the only other NB cacher that we knew. We saw a few longtime NS cachers that we knew but we did not know most of the people there. (We enjoyed chatting with old friends like cheesepizza and Bush Babies). Not only did we not know the cachers, we had never heard of them.
The next day was entirely different. We went to the monthly breakfast event at Cherry’s in Moncton. We thoroughly enjoy this event and look forward to it. There is often 40 or more people. There is a large group of regulars in attendance so I get up and wander around chatting with everyone, exchanging stories, etc. There is usually a small group that comes in from Saint John and/or Freddy. It often feels like a club meeting. We really love this event. Upon leaving, I was left with the feeling that we knew the area cachers and knew wjat was going on. (BTW after the event we again headed out caching with CD and ended up in Amherst and wandered all the way to Joggins).
This is paragraph 4 and I am finally getting on topic. Well if I felt I knew the local cachers and the local caching scene, I was going to change my mind again. Spring has arrived early and people are out of the house and looking for caches. Our inbox is starting to fill up with logs on our caches and I do not recognize most of the names and most of those that I recognize are people that I have never met and know very little about them.
Thinking that these cachers are from far away, I did a cursory look at the caching histories. I discoved cachers from the nearby areas such as Barachois , Cocagne, Bouctouche, Richibouctou, and from Albert County. Some are newer cachers but others have actually been caching for quite a while and have a few hundred finds Here are some of the names. Sorry if I misspell any of them.
Marc&Carole, moleblanc, 5christophers, nannytoo, hijello, banacheck, trois mousquetaires, meandmybabe, dashe-for-cache, EBE51, Kaamyoung, noco2.
In addition, we also had logs from Martinwrench a Cocagne area cacher that we have never met and who has been quietly caching since 2006 and has over 500 finds, many with his young son Tyler. We also had logs from falcongill a cacher we have never really noticed before but he has over 200 finds, including many tough series such as the Dobson trail and the Shediac to Malakoff series.
I hope some of these new people show up at some of the upcoming events and that we finally get t meet them.
As usual I have wandered all over the place so I guess I will stop here.
I am not sure if that all made sense, but what do yu expect at 3 in the morning.
It makes perfect sense, Pa. Even for us, with just 2 years caching, we can see the sport growing and changing, new faces, names and people. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with it all! But it’s still the best game around. 🙂
It goes the other way too, I have been caching for 3 years and every once and a while an old name pops up that cached for a bit 7 or 8 years ago and goes out to find a few and I think they are someone new, but they found a few hundred caches back in 2003.
meandmybabe did most of our route 11 series this weekend and did minor maintenance for us. Always appreciated. They also met falcongil, another of the cacher on my list above.
I’ve been caching since December of 08 so I have not been around as long as some but it always surprises me to see names pop up on logs that I have never seen before, only to find that they’ve been caching a LONG time. Seems like some people go through phases where they cache for awhile, take a break, then start again.