Where's Liz? Geocaching!

[Nasoosie]

OK, then, when you find the treasure, do you take it from the container and then leave something else in its place? How much info do you leave on that paper----just your geocaching name? So you have to be able to get online to participate in geocaching, yes? What do you do with those virtual souveniers? I have a handheld GPS at home, but didn't bring one with me. I swore I would never get involved in this 'sport' but perhaps I might have to reconsider. I am such an addict with things like this that I don't want to get so sidetracked by searching for treasures that I miss the pure joy of hiking around for mere fun. Nor do I wish to become so addicted that I can't take the time to smell the roses. I guess it's all up to me how I behave if I become a geocacher! I always did love treasure hunts when I was litle, and was usually the winner when involved. Hmmmmmm...........

[Forestgal]

OK, then, when you find the treasure, do you take it from the container and then leave something else in its place? How much info do you leave on that paper----just your geocaching name? So you have to be able to get online to participate in geocaching, yes? What do you do with those virtual souveniers? I have a handheld GPS at home, but didn't bring one with me. I swore I would never get involved in this 'sport' but perhaps I might have to reconsider. I am such an addict with things like this that I don't want to get so sidetracked by searching for treasures that I miss the pure joy of hiking around for mere fun. Nor do I wish to become so addicted that I can't take the time to smell the roses. I guess it's all up to me how I behave if I become a geocacher! I always did love treasure hunts when I was litle, and was usually the winner when involved. Hmmmmmm...........

Soos, geocaching is about the sport of finding something that's been hidden. It often involves thinking outside the box and looking for something so well hidden that you'll be amazed once you've found it.

You don't have to take anything from a cache if you don't want to. Many of them only contain the log anyway. So depending on what you find you might just write your geocaching name and put it back. Some caches have lots of fun stuff in them and you'll want to trade. I have path tags (a whole other culture related to geocaching) and sometimes leave one of my tags in the cache.

Caches are all over the place -- in towns and on mountaintops. As I said, I found many "virtual" caches while in Yellowstone last summer and wouldn't have visited the places where they were located had we not been geocaching. So from that standpoint it can be a hiker's dream -- taking you places you didn't plan on going. When you're looking for a cache while hiking you don't have your nose to the ground the whole time. It's when you get within a few feet of where the cache is located that you need to pay attention more. So until then you do what you usually do when hiking -- enjoy the experience. Geocaching just adds another element of enjoyment to your hike.

Again, with a smartphone geocaching can be taken to a whole other level, especially in towns & cities. I can fire up "Cgeo", the app on my Droid, and usually see 10-15 within a given area as I'm driving around! So if I've got time on my hands I can stop and look for them. A couple of years ago a friend from TX came out for the Rose Parade & we spent a whole day (maybe 5-6 hours) geocaching in town. It was an absolute blast! I think we found 18 that day.

Again, check out the geocaching.com website and peruse their forum. You can learn lots just by reading there. But don't hesitate to ask more questions. I love sharing this pasttime with my friends.

Laura -- and Jed

[VickieP]

Laura, what are path tags?

[AlmostThere]

I just checked the apps for my iPhone and was amazed at the number for gps/geocaching, some for free, but figure the ones you pay for are better?
Will have to check into them more.
Thanks, Laura!

[Forestgal]

Vicki -- check out pathtags.com. I've got about 5 min. before I have to start talking about weather patterns & don't have time to explain it right now. I'll share more tonight after getting home from the vet with Jed (another story -- pray for my boy).

Lenora, the free apps are sometimes better than the ones you pay for. In the case with my Droid, the free app is. That doesn't make geocaching.com happy, but so far they haven't been able to match the abilities of Cgeo with their own. That may be different with the iPhone app.

Again the forum through geocaching.com is a wealth of information and you don't have to join to read.

Laura

[Liz]

Thanks for all the info, Laura.

[AlmostThere]

I downloaded a free app for my iPhone called Geocaching (intro). Golly it just asked to use my location, then to log into the geocaching.com sight and up came the list! I clicked on one in my neighborhood and it kinds shows a blue blinking light and a line from my house to the cache. When I move, it follows me on the map. I didn't go all the way to the cache. Will save that for when the GDs are here.

[Nasoosie]

Waiting for news about jed.