What are your experiences with running into other people while you were exploring a spot? Dk you talk with them? Do you start exploring with them together or just leave them to their own accord?

Important thing is identifying them as fellow explorers, as they could be there for whatever purposes.

Unless it's an explorer I know (which it pretty much never is), I typically acknowledge them, maybe exchange information about any hazards in the building/contact information, then finish exploring the building myself while avoiding them. There's always that tense moment where you're trying to figure out each other's intentions, and as a rule I typically don't turn my back to people I've just met in an abandoned building, explorer or no.

Once I get home I can usually dig through their instagram or something to get a feel for if they're chill or not, and if they are I'll ask if they want to meet up again. But when you meet each other for the first time in an abandoned building you don't know if they're stealthy, if they smash stuff up, if they'll rob you, whatever.

I've run into other explorers many times, the vast majority of the time once we've established we're all there for the same thing and not security/police/idiots we exchange pleasantries and get on with it separately.

A couple of times I've met people and spent like half an hour talking to them, on one occasion when I was in Belgium we randomly came across a lone explorer who went along with us to two other nearby locations which was cool.

once me and my mates ran into this guy who we thought was a fellow explorer but when we went up to him he was clearly on some shit so we just left the bando for a bit got some food and returned later lol.

but on another occasion we ran into this group of 18 year olds who were totally chill and we went and surfed some trains after and we are still mates with now.

so sometimes they can be chill but i would always keep my witts about me.

I met one of my good photographer friends while exploring an abandoned house in Central Alberta. We both saw each other from a distance. He thought I was the land owner, and I thought he was the land owner! Then, I noticed his tripod and I smiled and waved my camera. We both exchanged contact info and started sharing locations and exploring together from time to time. Since then, he's moved on to become a very successful photographer, leading tours through abandoned properties in the prairies with permission from land owners, and heavily researched the history of homesteads. When I travel back home, I'll often catch-up with him and go out photographing together.

We met at this place:


One time I was photographing at night inside an abandoned house and I noticed, while in the upstairs, a small group of people with flashlights walking across the field towards the house. I imagine they were a young group of college students from the nearby town (exploring creepy old houses is a right of passage there). I was doing some light painting at the time with flashes. Without pausing from my work, I set up another photo and started firing my flash around the upstairs rooms, illuminating the photo. I looked out the window and saw the group running back to their car! I laughed pretty hard.

This was the photo I was taking at the time, hahaha

Furious D I looked out the window and saw the group running back to their car! I laughed pretty hard.

^ lmao

I bring my Owl Man costume and get ready if I see them approaching

https://www.youtub...atch?v=lQDiKDAp-mM

Posted by basegrinder I bring my Owl Man costume and get ready if I see them approaching https://www.youtub...atch?v=lQDiKDAp-mM

Holy nut-balls, that's hilarious but also I feel a bit bad for some of those explorers who were down-right terrified!

I was at the now-demolished Fleishhacker Pool (san fran) and we ran into a bunch of teenagers. I forget how many, but four or so of them looked like street kids and they had two girls with them that looked like they had been dropped off at the mall by their moms.

The 'street kids' knew all about the place, and also seemed to genuinely believe that the basement was haunted. I was hoping they'd show us how to get to it, but they left after a short time. The two mallrats had a look on their faces like we had just pulled guns on them. I don't know what that was about. Probably thought "these adults are going to tell on us" even though we were not old enough to be their parents unless we had kids while we were in high school.

The only times I’ve seen people while exploring were unsettling. It always seems passive aggressively creepy, they just would stare and follow me around till I leave.

Ah, just say hello, if they talk more I will talk with them and explore with. Have never had a bad experience. only neutral and positive to date!

We are normally out in the middle of nowhere, so everyone we meet is out there for a reason. In some of the better known ghost towns, we will run across folks who just want to see the town. But when we are at a remote mine, it's almost always another explorer. Of course when we all walk up to each other wearing our helmets and headlamps, it's a dead give-away. Occasionally we bump into folks underground. On time it was young boys sharing a couple of super cheap lights and cell phones. We had a chat with them about the importance of proper gear underground. We accompanied them the rest of the way out of the mine while talking about how neat the mine was. One of the young men contacted me a short while back telling me of his purchase of gear and some of his exploits. That makes me happy!

Abby Normal

Posted by basegrinder I bring my Owl Man costume and get ready if I see them approaching https://www.youtub...atch?v=lQDiKDAp-mM

Holeeee fuck man, immediately subscribed!

Posted by basegrinder I bring my Owl Man costume and get ready if I see them approaching https://www.youtub...atch?v=lQDiKDAp-mM

Those owl man prank videos were great, but my god the movie he came from was quite possibly the worst I've ever seen.

Just some anecdotes about running into other explorers...

1.)Ran into a group of cavers in a flooded mine who looked like they came straight out of 1968. There were maybe half a dozen of them, all dressed in surplus WWII US Army uniforms complete with the netting on the helmets. They all wore tactical headlamps and carried inflatable rafts that were painted jet black to complete the look. We exchanged pleasantries with them, though they were tight lipped about most things, and parted ways.

2.)Encountered a pair of teenage graffiti kids in an abandoned steam plant in MSP. I just held up my camera and said something to the extent of "don't worry, we aren't here to bust you- we're not supposed to be here either" and parted ways. I ran into them again, stuck halfway out a window fifteen feet up. I had to instruct them how to navigate the climb so their floundering wouldn't draw the attention of the security guards at a building next door.

3.)Ran into a group of explorers at a school in Gary. Our conversation was pretty much "you here to take photos? Yeah, me too." And then we went to the far side of the building, away from them.

4.)Bumped into the same dude twice at two different abandoned buildings in Chicago. The second time, we exchanged Instas and parted ways. He hit me up a few times asking to explore, but given his tendency to clout chase and name drop spots, I never took him up on it.

5.) Ran into a group of teenagers atop an abandoned mill in MSP who were passing around a blunt. I just said I was there to take pictures and gave them space- though I did also encourage them not to try walking across the rusty sheet metal roof when I overheard them bringing up the idea.

That's about how most encounters with other explorers go in my experience, though encounters with homeless people and scrappers can sometimes be a little more tense- and I do have more stories on those situations, but those are tales for another thread.

Posted by basegrinder I bring my Owl Man costume and get ready if I see them approaching https://www.youtub...atch?v=lQDiKDAp-mM

Please tell me that's really you.

I've bumped into hundreds of people including a bunch on Buck's Night in a drain.

Also these kids...

Last year I heard footsteps and talking while I was exploring the upper floor of a factory. They were getting closer so I started looking at an escape route and/or hiding spot. Turns out it was a group of three soccer mom lookin' ladies in their 50's just roaming around having a ball, I think they may have had wine in travel cups with them. Definitely not who I expected to run into.

A year ago me and my girlfriend ran into a group of four in an old hospital who were wearing the usual urbex gear(respirators, boots, etc.) only these guys had baseball bats. They were startled but they warmed up to us pretty quick, they asked us where the "landmark" areas were. Seeing as they had baseball bats, I didn't really say a whole lot just assumed they were there to wreck the place. I didn't stick around to see what they did to the place and just left. Ruined a pretty decent explore to be honest.