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The 10 Types of Geocacher | The Geocaching Junkie

February 8, 2016
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Which type* are you?

1. The FTF Hound

Everyone knows at least one. That person who drops everything when a new cache is published so they can be the one to claim “I found it FIRST, before all you amateurs!!” This person will gladly sell their granny to get their name on the logbook first and have been known to rugby tackle geocachers they might meet on their way to GZ for a newly published cache.

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2. The Stats Addict

How many counties have you cached in in a day? What’s the fastest you’ve found 100 caches? How many months in your longest FTF streak? These are just some of the things that the Stats Addict actually care about. The fact you found one cache while on holiday in the South of France and the scenery was amazing means sweet FA to them. They need facts, figures, STATISTICS!! They thrive on the stuff. These people are keeping Project-GC in business.

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3. The Mountaineer 

This cacher is not one for numbers and doesn’t care for park & grabs. They want a long walk in the mountains or else, why bother? They have more than likely climbed every mountain in the region, often several times and laugh at a cache being rated T3 when it’s up a slight bank.

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4. The Old School Cacher

This person has been around since the dawn of geocaching itself and probably still goes geocaching with a map and compass, without any GPSr and certainly without a smartphone. Similar to the Mountaineer, the Old School Cacher sticks with long walks in the mountains or the countryside and believes that finding urban caches is simply not real geocaching.

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5. The Challenge Cacher

This person bases all their caching practices around challenge caches. Their logs will be filled with phrases like ‘I needed this D/T for my Fizzy Grid’, or ‘I needed this month for the Jasmer Challenge.’ They believe there’s no point in aimlessly finding caches, you need to have a set goal. They will have either already finished or be in the middle of completing every challenge available. The day the challenge cache moratorium was announced they sat in a corner rocking back and forth and weeping inconsolably.

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6. The Hider

This person likes to hide caches more than find them. The thrill is not in finding the cache but in someone else finding theirs. They live for logs and favourite points. They are likely to have boxes full of new geocaches to hide somewhere in their house. Everyone loves a hider, as they keep the rest of us in business!

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7. The Numbers Junkie

It’s all about the numbers for this geocacher. They will gladly get up at 4am to get 200 caches in one day. They run through the milestones like they’re going out of business and will laugh hysterically at the notion of setting foot out of bed for less than 50 caches.

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8. The Non-Conformist 

This person was born to break the rules. Maybe they take swag but don’t leave anything. Maybe they don’t write their names in the logbook. Maybe they prefer to take a photo log instead. I hear you say in shock ‘but you have to sign the logbook?!’ Not this person. “It’s only a game”, is their mantra.

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9. The Cache & Dasher

Why walk for 14 miles to find a lunchbox when you can just slow down the car, lean out of the window and grab a nano off a crash barrier? Life’s too short for long walks in the countryside, according to this geocacher. The maximum walking distance to the cache will be 200 metres but containers accessible without leaving the sanctuary of their vehicle are best.

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10. The Reluctant Participant

Someone who reluctantly accompanies any of the above nine types, and is basically a muggle who opened a geocaching account under duress. Usually seen looking tired and bored in the company of any other type.

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This is not an exhaustive list. Don’t see your type here? Let me know your type in the comments!

Happy caching!

Sarah

© 2016 | Sarah Murphy | All Rights Reserved

*Any similarity to real persons living or deceased is entirely coincidental.

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103 thoughts on “The 10 Types of Geocacher | The Geocaching Junkie”

  3. My geofamily is a little of a couple. Me personally… I don’t think I fit into any of these. I am more if an ‘Anything and Everything’ cacher. Anywhere I go I pull up the app, anything close by? I have done them all, except a letterbox and a whereigo.

    1. We do the same thing whenever we are in an area that we are not in a lot! ‘hmmm…. I wonder if there might be a cache here…… let’s look!!! ” 🙂

  5. We are a little this and a little that… So we are the unpredictables… Who knows how we will cache next week! Depends on the weather and kids and time and event and dog… And well how the wind blows lol.

  6. I share the opinion that is difficult to consider person 100 % one type of cacher. I feel to be fusion of mountaineer and actually hider…but sometimes when friends call us outside we are also co ftf hunters and casual stat addicts (we are not slaves of filling zero days and DT matrix). thank god we are also not doing GC for numbers and do not climbing T5s
    Nice article Sarah!

  10. Your list has reached the Netherlands! Thanks for catalogizing the scene, it’s like looking in a mirror and seeing … perhaps no. 4?

  11. Oh my goodness, I see traits of myself in 8 of these 10 descriptions. That’s the genius of the game I guess. I go out caching for many different reasons, and the next trip probably doesn’t have the same reasons my last trip had. Underlying it all is the desire to meet people with whom wifey and I share a common set of experiences. Great post Sarah!

  12. None of the above. I love a FTF but I won’t run out unless I have my to do list done. I pay attention to my numbers but I don’t obsess over minutiae. I made a point on completing my calendar grid and I want to complete my D/T grid, but beyond that I’m not too concerned. I like to shoot for finding every cache within a 10 mile radius of my house. Since I just moved, that keeps me pretty busy. I actually don’t care where a cache is. I just like to find caches. I plan my activities around caching whenever possible. So I add #11 Geocaching Addict – it doesn’t matter where, what, or when, just let me find a cache.

  13. I’m a hybrid of #2/3/5. I love to go for long hikes in the mountains on days I need to fill in my calendar as long as they cover different quadrants of the maps and the caches I find are needed for my Jasmer challenge. 🙂 j/k

  15. I didn’t even see a type for me. I’m not overanxious about anything (unless I can’t find a cache). I will do urban or rural, day or night, I don’t have any special equipment (just my phone), I don’t have a premium plan, and I cache strictly from the app button “find nearby geocaches.” Maybe I’m just A NOVICE!

  16. Another one would be the “The Souvenir Junkie” that’s what I’ve become. Love getting any type of cache, but really go out of my way to earn that Souvenir

  17. I have been caching since the early morning hours of Geocaching time. I don’t care for FTF hounds. I am mostly old school, but I use a GPSr and printouts. I have a smart phone to find where caches are when I end up in an area I didn’t plan on, and put the coords into my GPSr. I’m not adverse to urban caching but prefer the woods or other natural environments. I am also a little bit of a challenge cacher.

  18. When you suck at geocaching enough to name your team WSSAT (we so suck at this), we have fun looking but don’t stress out when we can’t find it, we use geocaches as a way to find new places we never knew existed, and we have lovely swag to leave where ever it will fit. We are the genteel Geocachers who love the outdoors and have fun with the game.

  19. Another possible type of geocacher would be those of us who like to find and move travel bugs (a travel bugger). We are always looking for caches with TB’s and are disappointed when the hotel has no guests!

  20. I’m a Frustrated Cacher who has been around since dirt and prefer the pre-nano, pre-saturation and pre-numbers days. I appreciate technology and creativity, but not absurdly small containers, power trails and sloppy cachers that now dominate the game. Even with the modern search features there are so many trash caches cluttering up the map I give up trying to find an interesting hide and just go for a walk.

  21. You forgot the “treasure hunter” and “Sight Seeing Enthusiast” I am all about the treasure – I feel like a pirate on a mini treasure hunt and the possibility of cool swag gets me off the couch! Also, I will go lots of places for a fantastic view, a hidden waterfall, or something that is awesome to see that I would not have otherwise known about if it was not for Geocaching!

  22. 11. The explorer. The cacher who loves to discover new places and things and uses geocaches as a tour guide. Geocaching is always included in any travel plans.

  23. The Seasonal Cacher! During the warm seasons I am all of the above, geocaching rules my life. During the winter I don’t cache or hide at all.

  24. You forgot the “playing tennis without a net” or “what’s the point?” cacher. These are the cachers who travel in packs and claim caches on behalf of the rest of the team without actually visiting or finding the cache. Frequently, they’ll have a team name for the log vs. individual names. They make the game less fun for those who are playing to compete.

  28. While I like caching in general, all kinds, my very favorite is the one you left out.. the “Travelling Cacher”. Finding a magnetic inside a cast-iron light post on the Spanish Steps in Rome is not yer average LPC. I love finding caches wherever I travel!

    JW

  29. You need a little bit category. I am a little bit of all of those. I would definitely not say that I am specifically any one of those. I’d like to have to ask but I wouldn’t sell my grandmother for them. I enjoy a nice hike in the woods and will choose that if I can. Guardrail and lamp post caches are fun too depending on weather and my mood. Each of these types is so extreme I can’t even say that I actually fit into any of them. I certainly like to do each of them at different times. Then you have the educator category. The educator has more fun introducing people to geocaching and showing them how to do it. What about the swag Queens? Those people who are so happy to leave excellent swag thinking of how happy they are going to make the next geocachers! There are quite a few missing categories although I did enjoy the list.

  31. Almost zero “old school cachers” used a compasss and map only; an old yellow etrex and a second hand palm pilot, or boxes full of printouts were the norm back in the early years.

    Souvenir junkie; Social cacher (focus on events); Trackable Hunter and Omnivore (likes any type of cache) would be great additions.

  32. Hybrid too. A bit Old School and a Dash of Challenge… You could add Vacation cacher who primarily cache when they travel and use a means to discover new places, Virtual Cacher – veers for virtuals and Earthcaches and Forum cacher – people that cruise the Forums complaining about others and how they cache, but don’t actually go out themselves.

  34. I didn’t read through all of them, but I have seen a couple people say “the 10 mile radius”-ers. No matter the D/T, if it’s in the vicinity it’s got to go!

    2. Oh, and a “top favorites” cacher. That’s the other thing I do. If I’m going to a new area/city, it’s the top favorited caches I check out first.

  35. Great post! I’m not really any of these. I’m kind of a #3 wannabe, but often I end up getting a lot of C&D caches. I’ll happily stop for a good (or a lame) park & grab when I’m out and about, although where I live there aren’t many left that I haven’t already found! 😀 Lately I’ve been more inclined to go after caches that can be found fairly easily when I’m out for a run.

  37. I’m obviously a mountaineer. I have climbed more than 50 times above 4000 m (13,000 ft) and a few times above 6000 m (20,000 ft). I’m also an old school cacher. I have found many caches without a GPS. My best friends are a map and a compass. And I might also be a challenge cacher. I used to be a good rock climber. But I’m now almost 74 year old and I have not yet found an old micro at the end of my street.

  38. Fun reading. I’m a new cachet, and just like to find them. No grand desire to find some extra difficult thing though- all hints and directions are gladly accepted!

  40. I am a few of these! My wife, is the last one except she didn’t open an account. She reluctantly tags along or gets annoyed whenever we are out and I am on my phone looking to see if there is a geocache nearby.

  41. 11 Weekend Warrior. Willing to take on almost any cache with a little prep if need be. Been doing it long enough that Stats no longer matter. Will still rush out the door if a FTF is to be had in home town. A vacation is not complete with at least one or two caches in a new place. Drives 40 miles for an event, only finds the event and the cache in the parking lot.

  42. What about someone who likes geocaches that tell a bit of history about the place – even if you don’t find the cache itself, you find yourself reading and experiencing new things, exploring parts of town you’ve never even heard of, learning about new and interesting people when you stumble upon their statues? All of that as opposed to (what I consider to be) boring park and grabs.

  43. I laughed out loud when I first read through all the types, and recognized some of my friends by these discriptions…You hit the nail on the head when you said HIDER and having boxes of geocaching stuff (6 bananana boxes and a tote) with perpetually ones ready to hide in the back of the car (also good for maintenance) yep, that is me, the hider. I kind of like a bit of stats,(stickers) but do a lot of close to the car ones due to my arthritis. Any kind of slopes are painful, so consequently my HIDES are fairly easy and fun finds for the kids.(375+)

  44. The old schooler… considering I still don’t own a cell phone and haven’t gone geocaching. Orienteering and adventure races are my thing.

  45. I’m only a little bit of some of these, you’d have to ‘work out’ which cacher type I am…that’s right…puzzler-if I ever go on a world tour I’ve got some great puzzle caches to find 🙂

  46. Hi. A link to this page was posted on a geocaching face book . I enjoyed reading these “types”.
    Personally I will consider myself a Contented Cacher . It’s nice to have the FTF, take long hikes, etc. I also don’t mind the Grab-and-Go urban caches. I would like to push up my stats in appose to going without caching more than a month and falling into a groove of “Nothingness”
    In short:
    Happy if I do
    Happy if I don’t

  47. I am a geocacher that doesn’t go out of the way to Geocache. I will always look for a Geocache if I am somewhere new, or if camping or hiking I will see if any are nearby.

  50. I’m number 11 I guess….Just having lots of fun with other cachers. Enjoying a trip to another city or the woods to comb out the surroundings. Talk to strangers about geocaching and make them cachers themselves by talking so enthusiastically about it all. Don’t bother too much about statistics but love to see the number grow gradually during fun-hours with friends. A great way to enjoy being with friends, exploring cities in lots of countries and back home.

  53. I am many of these, but one category you forgot is “puzzle cacher”. I know a number of people who mostly do puzzles, and others who are known for creating mind-bending puzzle caches.

  54. A good start! I found 2 and 5 to be rather similar though. 7 may be different. Nonetheless, I miss the homezone cacher who just has to find every cache in his hood to be able to sleep at night. Ignore list is not an option. Also, I miss the cherry picker: Doesn’t stop for the 1/1 bycatch traditional but only goes for the 500 FP+ mystery or multi that takes the whole day.

    Obviously, the latter two would be me.

    If you look into psychology and personality traits you will most likely find more types, like the event only socializer or the former cacher and now geocoin hoarder. 😉

  55. # 12, The Nurses

    These geocachers always go hunting carrying varied and diverse maintenance material, prepared to maintain, change or replace any cache if necessary, regardless of who owns them. The log is almost full? They put a new one. The container is broken? They can and change it. Is there moisture or water in the cache? No problem that a couple of tissues (or kitchen paper directly) can not fix! A zip bag is needed? All that may be required!

    The owners usually love them, but most other types of geocachers get sick with them, unable to understand why they have to lost time pampering caches that don’t even belong to them. But they can’t help it. Their mantra is: “If it were my cache, I would be happy if others worry about it and leave it better than they found it.”

    I’m of this type. And I feel very proud of it, although it is always pushing the patience of my fellow hunters that usually tolerate me with resignation.

    Hell, I even have a travel bug called “Maintenance Geobrigade” (TB6NDWY) to keep track of caches that I have stopped to maintain. xD

    1. I am mrspumpkin and I have 375+ hidden. I love it when a nurse drops by. We have one “nurse” with only about 600 cache finds in our area called Skinaglow60, She is always “helping” me keep my maintainance great on my caches. She usually has to dry them out, and used her car defrost on high for about half a minute or so she says. Whats not to love about that!

  56. TRAVEL BUG TREASURERS. If the cache isn’t big enough to hide a TB, we don’t go near it. Nanos and Micros are a big waste of time, if you’re looking for a place to drop off a travel bug, or pick up a new one.

    Travel Bugs are especially important to geocache WORLD WANDERERS. We look for caches in foreign countries on our vacations, and take pride in moving TBs from point A to point B, especially if it is a different hemisphere.

  57. Doc Dodgers and Mrs are the exact opposite of the number junkie. We cache for the fun of it, for seeing new places that only caching will take us, we try to find a cache wherever we visit, we tend to get sick of finding nanos or micros (not much of a challenge), we sign the log book but forget to log our finds.

  58. I think there’s another type: the blogger. Someone who writes long logs, and who gets hopelessly behind on logging because of it. Someone who likes to write about geocaching as much as doing it. Someone who started a blog to write about caches they found and post pictures they took while caching. That’s my type. I’m slow because I am always writing about it first.

  59. #16, The Family Fun Cachers

    This type enjoys the leisurely stroll type of caches, and tends to avoid micros and nanos. The children LOVE swag! If it won’t hold “treasure”, it isn’t worth their time! These cachers tend to stick with easier terrain and lower difficulty! Geocaching to this type may be considered as “something fun to do to get everyone out of the house”.

    This is my type 😉

  60. Thanks for the link. We didn’t fit any of the geo types except…
    #11 THE HAPPY TO DISCOVER CACHER! … FTF’s are kinda fun to happen upon from time to time. Some mountains are worth the climb but even better if both a view, a workout, and a cache are a part of the package deal. Stats are fun to occasionally reflect on and say “…huh!, …go figure!, &…that’s kinda cool!” to whether it’s my own, hers, jr’s, or somebody elses. Live and let live… Hiding them is fun. The kind we put out are ment to be found by cachers and also those with grade 3 geography and a camera.
    Sometimes the park & grabs end up more rewarding than the ‘big fav’ types. New parks and roads are fun to checkout. Power trails make your map look pretty.
    Hard to get to types inspire me to consider a mini-quest from time to time. One never needs a cache but they help choose the weekend theme occasionally.
    Caching with super powers, witch craft, gps, iphone, or dead reckoning (or by accident) all work for us!??? Old school, new school, no school…who cares!?
    On a nice day it’s nice to get a bunch or just go crazy on numbers for fun. Just getting 1 can be a great thing too.
    One thing we don’t waste much time on is comparing styles, stats, favs, …We just love the discoveries.

  62. How about the Dog Cacher? A geocacher – like me – with a very active geohound, who likes to pick up caches along the way when out for the eight or ten mile walks?

  64. I don’t know what the name would be but we usually go in a group of 4 sometimes 6 then the competition is on!! We dive out of the vehicle and the one to find it has bragging rights and talks smack until the next stop. We love it. ?

  65. A JOURNEY Cacher – When we go on a long trip, I pick out caches along the route to give us a break from the long ride. They may be 50-100 miles apart and with the GPS set for the next cache, it helps answer the “are we there yet” questions by keeping track of how many miles to the next cache. Our first priority in our choices of where to stop are Earth Caches, so we can learn something interesting about the area we are traveling through.

  66. The procrastinator. This person wants souvenirs and stats from their vacation adventures. They often seek out earth or virtual caches, gathering all the required data but then take weeks or months to actually log them.

  68. Maybe someone mentioned it before in the comments, but my major category is the Explorer/Discoverer. I’ll drive hundreds of kilometres to explore a new town with geocaches, or go to basic caches anywhere just to experience the new path, park, tree or nook and cranny. Guard rails? How interesting — who knew there would be a geocache there!

  69. I just like to get out of the house. I like a wide variety of types of caching. I mainly like exploring new places and getting out of the house. Hikes in the woods are my favorite and I try to avoid high muggles areas.

  70. Enjoy with my sons. It’s a great way to use our minds together as a team while at the same time have fun and spend quality time together.

  72. The Occasional Cacher
    “I was in the neighbourhood” so I can pick up this cache-cacher.

    Caches close home are a must do! Cause you are in the neighbourhood most of your time. But eh no hurry, the caches won’t run away.
    Going on a visit somewhere else? Let’s check if we can pick up some caches, but don’t worry if you dont find them all
    At work? Let’s check if some are there!
    Any reason you go to an other city or neighbourhood is a reason to check if there are caches in the neighbourhood.
    And of course don’t forget to check the caches you almost drive by on your way to another location.
    If there is a coin? Extra points to choose that one to get.
    A mystery or multi? Please dont make it to hard I dont have much time, but if you have time well why not. It’s a cache and you are in the nieghbourhood right.
    A new cache? FTF? Only if the cache is nearby enough.
    Stars?? All are fun, but the hard ones only if there is enough time.
    But if you have enough time. You do trails, long multi’s, hard mysteries and all. It all depends just on the ooccasion. Nothing is weird, nothing is not done and don’t forget not to hurry. Its all about fun. Real life is all about hurry already so lets just relax on the geocache.

  73. Based on the types of hides in my area I would add

    The tunnel dweller- loves a good filthy tunel, the more cobwebs the better

    The history buff- finds quirky or forgotten places and shares the story

    The brainiac – makes only connect look like child’s play. These puzzlers strive to hide clues in the most obscure pictures.

    The urban guerilla – abandoned hospital- check. Pad lock – check. Razor wire – check. Great place to leave a cache – check.

    The pub walker- loves a nice circular trail with a pub/cafe/ tea room at the beginning middle and end.

    The inventor – loves an unusual or quirky hide. It’s not about hiding loads but being creative with the containers

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