Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a very popular high-tech treasure hunting game that has grown in popularity, especially in recent years. Many adventure seekers around the world are finding caches of treasure (called “geocaches” or “caches”) that other Geocachers have left for them to find. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, usually a Tupperware or ammo box containing a logbook and treasure. You hunt and locate geocaches with your GPS device, and inside you find treasures left behind by other people. You can even leave your own treasure for the next person to find and share with their friends.
Don’t you think there are geocaches in your neck of the woods? This is because they are not in plain view but are hidden, so you have to look for them. You also need the longitude and latitude (coordinates) of your location in order to find them. There are more than 800,000 active geocaches around the world and they can be found on all seven continents, including Antarctica. With that number growing rapidly, you’re sure to find them in your own neighborhood, on vacation halfway around the world, in urban locations, and even in the woods on your next camping trip. Don’t forget to mark your car or campsite as a waypoint to make sure you find your way back. tea
Typical cache treasures do not have a high monetary value, but may have personal value to the seeker. In addition to the log book, common cache contents are unusual coins or bills, small toys, ornamental buttons, CDs, or books. Items that move from one cache to another, such as Travel Bugs or Geocoins, whose journeys can be recorded and tracked online, are also common. Hunters who initially place a Travel Bug or Geocoin often assign specific targets for their trackable items. Such goals may include a destination such as visiting all seven continents or certain countries. Occasionally, a higher value item is included for the first person to find the geocache, or in locations that are harder to find or get to.
How to Know Where to Look for Geocaches
The GPS coordinates of the caches are published on Geocaching websites such as Geocaching.com (also known as “Groundspeak”) and the original site Groundspeak.com. You can find the locations (coordinates) of geocaches, along with their location details so you know what to look for and how hard they are to find before you get there. After you find the cache, you can share your adventure and photos with the rest of the online geocaching community. There are also many local geocaching chapters serving just one state or even one city that have information on caches in that particular area. Most Geocaching associations and chapters hold annual functions or outings, such as a high-tech Easter egg hunt. That’s a great way for the whole family to get out and have fun together. There are many blogs and forums dedicated to Geocaching where you can read about other Geocacher experiences, events and features that are in your area as well as in other countries around the world. They are also a great way to keep in touch with the Geocaching community and learn the ins and outs of Geocaching.
There is also an invite-only Geocaching community (TerraCaching.com). This is not so much to keep people out, but rather to delegate much of the responsibility for ensuring proper, legal, high-quality caches to the community itself. They use a complex and dynamic rating system that learns from members and actively encourages a focus on the quality, not quantity, of caches members post to provide more fun, memorable, and challenging cache hunts. To become a member, you need two existing members to sponsor you. To get started, simply register a “starter account” and your system will automatically search for potential sponsors in your area, or you can post a message making your case in the “Sponsorship Requests” section of the forums. They say that most of the new members who post here get sponsors within a few hours, depending on the time of day and day of the week.
Covers come in all shapes and sizes. From a small jar the size of your little finger that is only big enough to hold the paper with the record, to a five gallon bucket and even larger. Geocaches vary widely in difficulty and location, from simple caches commonly known as “drive-bys”, to much more complex multi-stage geocaches with points containing the coordinates for the next stage along the way. The final stage contains the logbook and trade items. There are even underwater hideouts and hideouts that are 50 feet above a tree. There are even nighttime hideouts where you may need to shine a flashlight in a particular direction and fallow the searchlights in the hideout. There really is no limit to how you can hide a cache, the only limit is your imagination and that adds to the fun of the hunt.
Geocaching Guidelines and Etiquette
You want to know the local laws when hiding or looking for that cache on public land. You can get this information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at (blm.gov). Be sure to go to the state and county you are interested in. For National Parks and National Monuments, in most cases you only need a Geocaching permit from the National Park Service (nps.gov). Each National Park and National Monument has its own website, most of them have dedicated a page on that site to information on Geocaching in their park (if you can’t find it, call). Of course, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management are in charge of taking care of our public lands, and as you can imagine, they would need to know where these caches are and how many people are looking for them due to the delicate ecosystems they need. protect.
Of course, you must follow all legal laws, such as trespass laws, so always get the permission of the land owner. Although each website has its own specific guidelines for acceptable geocache listings, in general, once Geocachers find a cache, they follow these four simple, basic rules: (one) Fill out the log book. (two) If you take something from the geocache, leave something of equal or greater value in return. (3) Returns the cache to the exact position and condition in which it was found. (4) Be environmentally conscious, practice Cache In Trash Out. Believe it or not, the bomb squad has blown up some caches. Yes, we live in some crazy times. Someone unfamiliar with you or the sport of Geocaching might think something fishy is going on and call the authorities. Although hiding and hunting geocaches is not illegal (as long as you get permission from the land owner), not being aware of your surroundings and/or being stealthy could result in a perfectly good cache exploding.
What to Look for in a Geocaching GPS Receiver
All you really need is a GPS that can tell you a specific latitude and longitude position, something most GPS devices can do. Although there are some basic features to keep in mind that will make your Geocaching experience that much more enjoyable. General features to consider when purchasing a geocache GPS unit include: (one) Lightweight and compact, it makes it easier to carry around, especially on long hikes and when you need to negotiate rocks and trees (look for a wrist strap too!). (two) Waterproof, stashes can be hidden under or near water and you never know when you might slip while crossing a stream or river. (3) Long battery life, a must for those hard to find remote caches. (4) Storing waypoints, which will hold more cache locations (don’t forget to mark your car as a waypoint to make sure you find your way back). (5) The readability of the display must be easy to read day and night.
There are some more advanced features to look for that will make it even easier for you to find that big cache including: (one) WAAS-enabled [http://www.gpsfrontier.com/waas/gps]that means your GPS unit will give you a better position accuracy, within 3 meters (10 feet) 95% of the time. (two) Built-in digital compass, they are convenient and useful when you get within 100 feet of your cache (you will need to stand still for a few seconds to get a direction reading). (3) Altimeter, shows how high up you are for those vertically hidden caches. (4) Mapping capabilities, it makes navigation easier when you can download maps to your unit and you can see the terrain you will be walking on, as well as when looking for places to cross rivers and other things. Garmin Colorado and Oregon GPS receivers come with topographic maps preloaded. (5) External antenna, for use under dense tree cover or difficult terrain where it may be difficult for the GPS to maintain a strong lock on the satellite signal.
There are so-called “paperless Geocaching GPS receivers”. Garmin has worked with Groundspeak to enable their Colorado and Oregon handheld GPS receivers to support the “.gpx” file. This allows you to download cache data, including descriptions, hints, waypoint information, and cache logs directly from Geocaching.com to your Garmin GPS unit via a USB connection to your computer, so you can eliminate printing of cache pages. on paper. Additionally, Geocaching data can be transferred wirelessly between two Garmin users in close proximity. This makes the Garmin Colorado and Garmin Oregon handheld GPS receivers a truly “Geoaching friendly” GPS receiver.
Groundspeak has also created an interactive geocaching experience with its “Wherigo player” that combines adventure games with GPS technology. Imagine playing Zork, Secret of Monkey Island or Myst, but in the corner park, or on the beach during your family vacation. Instead of clicking your mouse and selecting a location to move your character, you physically move from one location to the next to progress through the story. Instead of searching for puzzle clues on a screen, you search for them in real life. Garmin is the first GPS manufacturer to include the Wherigo player already installed on its Colorado and Oregon portable GPS receivers. With Wherigo, you can create interactive walkthroughs, adventure games, and puzzles that give you endless possibilities for adventure.
