While many of the San Gabriel Valley cachers I have just recently met, some I have known for almost a decade now. After getting the notification for their events popping up month after month, I went to a couple of events in the SGV region this summer compelled by the desire for cacher interaction after such a long time!
Shell1fish was at my very first geocaching event, and she was the first cacher that really stood out to me and I remembered. Her excitement and exuberant energy for all things geocaching fueled my enthusiasm for the sport early on. She has made it to almost every event I have hosted, even as far down as El Segundo at the Automobile Driving Museum. She has been a great cacher to talk to as I grew up over the years, and I am grateful for her thoughtfulness and compassion. Even though she has found soooo many more caches than I have, you would never know because she is one of the most humble cachers around.
CircularNewt and I connected very recently, but we have seen each other a lot this summer already! I set my (now-beaten) record for best geocaching day with him last month, and he has provided many a lifeline for me while I have been caching in the San Gabriel Valley area. C-newt has so many FTFs... I think he'll be the next w0lf soon enough. I am impressed by his ability to balance school and caching so adeptly. I didn't have my first year with over 365 caches until this year, but he has somehow done it every year he has been caching so far. He got so close to being the first cacher to find my caches on both coasts last month. The craftsmanship and care C-newt puts into his caches is incredible, and I've only found a few of his so far. My high school self went on a DNA tube placing spree, but Curtis' has an unmatched effort to create creative hides. I hope we both continue caching far into the future!
One day in New Haven this past year, I noticed that The Liu Crew logged a couple of my caches in New Haven while visiting Yale for their daughter, who was newly admitted. I reached out, and the next day, I gave them a campus tour. What a small world to meet these SGV cachers for the first time on the opposite coast.
One really impressive fact about BELLonthemove that stuck with me from our conversation at his last event was that he has amassed almost as many favorite points as caches he's found. Wow, that's the sign of an amazing cacher that truly gives back to the game. I really admire the many caches that Andrew put together (and more importantly, his rigorous maintenance habits on all of them.... even the ones at the top of mountains). BOTM has amassed so many insights already in just his short time caching and I am impressed by how immersed he already is in the geocaching community. I am inspired by his creativity that shines through especially with his gadget caches. Basically, all the SGV cachers put together hides that put my DNA tubes to shame.
DNFHound is yet another cacher with some phenomenal hides in the SGV area. His cleverness (and sometimes evilness) always makes for a satisfying find once the log is located. I also find it fantastic that he has organized the SGV events with such dependability month after month. I can't wait to make it to more in the future.
EagleRockRob sure loves his challenge caches! While I'm still quite far away from finding many of them... everyone needs a goal to work toward, and his challenges are a fantastic one. I've gotten to meet him a couple of times at recent events as well, and whenever I am talking to him I experience his wealth of knowledge. Last July his caches were what pushed me to get to exactly 200 caches found in a month. Thank you for all you contribute to the game!
I only met Jbird and Zip once, but we talked a little bit when coordinating our Route 66 Adventure Labs. They graciously shared all the locations with me that they did not end up using, as well as some really helpful resources on general Route 66 info that proved to be an invaluable asset to my AL
Lastly, PCT77, and PCT77+1 are an incredible dynamic duo of cachers that are able to impressively scale cliffs at a much faster pace than I can (as I learned at a recent event hike for some of BOTM's gadget caches). I also appreciate PCT77's always prompt replies to my lifeline requests. It's quite an impressive feat to be able to notice when geocaching app notifications come through... I always seem to miss them for some reason.
There are many more cachers in this area, but these are just a couple of the ones that left a mark on me! I hope to see many of them in the future.