How to Geocache

Intro: How to Geocache

Geocaching is a fun sport my friends told me about.

What is Geocaching?

Geocaching is a fun hobby, sort of. It's like a scavenger hunt that takes place every second of every minute of ever day of every month of every year... basically, it goes on forever and ever.

How do you Geocache?

Well, you would go to Geocaching.com. Get a free membership and you get all the areas that you put into a GPS system. See, people have hidden little tiny boxes all over the world. The best way to find them is to enter your Zip Code on the site and find the ones near you.

Is it hard?

Sometimes, yes. One person hid a geocache box in the wall of an alley way. It was pretty obvious, considering the brick was sticking out. Other people have hidden Geocache boxes under roofs and inside metal poles that require a screwdriver to get out.

What do you do when you find a Geocache box?

Well, the person who hid the Geocache box puts a small thing called a users log where people right down their names, date, and jsut about whatever else they want to write that doesn't take up too much room. This gives you a bit of recognition. BE SURE TO BRING YOUR OWN PENCIL! Now, the owner has also put a prize(s) in the box. What you get to do is take that prize. WHOO! But, you also have to put a prize back that is equal to or greater than that prize. (You aren't being watched, but it is kind of unfair if you find a 100 dollar bill and put in a penny.) BE SURE TO BRING YOUR PRIZE! Bring a variation of sizes of prizes, so they will fit in the box.

Are there any other types of Geocaches?

Sort of, yes. There are Geocoins which you can locate to find other Geocache boxes and there are Geobugs (something like that) that you put a story of your life in and pass it on to another Geocache box. Your story is passed on throughout other people.

STEP 1: Supplies

A good, trusty portale GPS. I recommend a Gammin brand.


Number two pencil is recommended. Pen, marker, crayon can be used, but they usually take up too much space on the log book.

Any prize is good enough. I usually bring money or small trinkets.

STEP 2: How to Find Them

You need to look in every possible place. Think like the person who hid it. Try and visualize where it is hidden.

The GPS will help, but just the loacation doesn't tell you where it is hidden. That is the whole fun of Geocache.

can you see the box in this picture?

(really obvious)

STEP 3: Give Away

Here is a location for a Geocache box in Lodi, CA. My friends told me where it was around, and I found it under the roof of an old shed. It had a magnet and it stuck to the wall.


Well, it was in the Lodi Dog Park. Next to the pinkish electrical boxes that look like L's, there should be a shed. Next to that shed is another shed that is bigger. Under the roof of that shed is a box. It is pretty small. The user log is almost filled up, so find it quick!

Comments

[neo71665]

Found 3 geocatches on my property. I threw the unwanted trash where it belongs and stuck mouse traps in the holes. Got some real funny footage on my game cams of trespassers getting just what they needed. No trespassing signs and purple paint means you ain't supposed to be on my land littering.

[ill advised]

I found one of these once behind a tree in the woods, and hid it someplace totally different and didnt tell them

[ZackBlack]

That would make you a "Dam Intelligent Cool Kharacter wHo is Easily AdmireD"

...and I still followed the "be nice" policy :P

[reese08_93]

thanks alot...

[andrewg533]

A lot of geocachers are concerned about the quality of geocaches out there. So we did a worldwide survey to find out if this concern is widespread.  We received an amazing response from over 1000 geocachers from around the world.  

Most of the respondents were not happy with the quality of geocaches.  It shows that there is more to knowing how hide and find geocaches than just doing it.  A lot of it is to do with having an attitude of knowing how to geocache with quality.  
Anyway, check out the results of the survey at: www.progeocaching.com

[Mother Natures Son]

Huh. Another person from Lodi. My condolences.

[PKTraceur]

Can I just leave the "prize" and have the great satisfaction knowing I found a geocache? Can I use google maps as an alternative to a gps? Tips on creating your own cache? -PKT

[JerryMopar]

Yes You can, but it is sometimes not very accurate, especially when the cache is in a certain tree in a forest! there are several ways you could make a geocache. taking pill bottles, tupperware dishes, and buying ammo cans will make excellent cache containers. You can camoflage them wither by using camo duct tape, or spray painting them to the surrounding colors.

[stuuf]

A probably cheaper and more flexible alternative to buying a handheld GPS receiver is using a cell phone with a bluetooth GPS. These can be as cheap as 40-50 USD and there are java programs (I use trekbuddy) that will help you navigate to caches. There are a couple potential issues I found out the hard way, before you just buy the first BT GPS and phone you see and expect them to work:

Don't get a SirfStar-based GPS. Almost every bluetooth model using this chipset is configured for static navigation mode, which makes it almost completely unusable at slow walking speeds. Also, trying to reconfigure the GPS, or changing the baud rate as gpsd normally does, will usually crash the GPS rendering it unable to send data until you reset it by completely draining the battery. And this is the one time the "10-12 hours" of battery life quoted on the box *isn't* an exaggeration.

A $40 phone you buy from your cell phone operator, even though it's advertised as having bluetooth, most likely won't work, at least without some modification. One reason is the J2ME "security" model, which usually means you can't install a java program that's allowed to access your phone's file system or bluetooth connection unless the network operator has approved and signed that application. And depending on who you bought the phone from it may have had all sort of other crippling done to it. Your best options are to buy an unlocked phone somewhere (for roughly the price of a high end GPS) or flash a cheap subsidized phone with the manufacturer's original firmware.

Gocaching.com likes to charge money for features like downloading GPX waypoint files, but there's an easy way to get the coordinates into software or hardware that expects GPX without being a premium member: download your search results as a .loc file for free and use GPSBabel to convert them to GPX or whatever else you need.

[abun1991]

Yes, but Verizon phones don't use Java, remember? plus, I can't buy apps for my phone, so I'm stuck buying a GPS. Which one do you recommend?

[I_am_Canadian]

Is this very popular? where can I get into the Gps system that tells me where they are? Is this only in the UK? I want to Try!

[PineapplebobTheGreat]

About 1/3 of the earth plays. You can find a GPS on the internet and best buy.

[I_am_Canadian]

Ok. And My brother already has a GPS. Where to do get the maps? Im really wanting to do this.

[PineapplebobTheGreat]

you don't need to buy the maps. Go onto GEOCACHE.com and you'll find the cooridates.

[reese08_93]

ebay to get the maps get a topo usa 2008

[lardlad6342]

You go to www.geocaching.com and make a profile and then you can access the cooridates.

[I_am_Canadian]

Ive done that, And im trying it out! Thanks.

[I_am_Canadian]

Whoops! I should have read the introduction a bit more carefully. Ill let you know If i find anything :-)

[reese08_93]

buy a garmin etrex series hcx mine is amazing. its acurate to 10 ft. it is 100$ cheaper on ebay

[I_am_Canadian]

My brother has one, but thanks.