About Adrian Faulkner

When you first started Geocaching you were probably unaware of all the different cache types.  You thought that geocaching was as simple as turning up to a set of co-ordinates and finding the container hidden there.  As you progressed you probably became vaguely aware of multi-caches and puzzle caches.  Your first multi had you going to a number of locations gathering clues in order to derive the cache’s final co-ordinates.  Your first puzzle cache had you sat at your computer scratching your head as you tried to work out some cryptic puzzle, designed to test your mental abilities, before delivering you the location of the actual container.

In your day to day geocaching these are the three cache types you will primarily encounter.  But are you aware that there are many other types as well?  Some of you may have attended an event and collected the icon for that, but there are many more besides, running from Benchmarks to the GPS Maze Exhibit.  You may have even been lucky enough to collect the recent new Giga event icon or have visited an earthcache.

Whilst people can, providing they meet all the criteria, set up new caches with these icons, there are a few where they can’t.  Some cache types have been retired, allowing existing caches to remain and be logged as long as the cache remains but not allow for new caches of this type to be set up.  As time passes on and more of these caches get archived, these types only get rarer and rarer.  Some types, such as locationless caches, have completely disappeared from the game with cachers unable to even log one any more.  Others are in danger of joining these archived cache types.

So with that in mind, here are five cache types that we recommend Geocachers go out and find before they disappear from the game. read more

If you’ve been geocaching for a little while, you’ve probably heard cachers talk about being premium members of the geocaching.com website.  Some people will swear by it whilst others will feel that it adds nothing to their caching experience.  As a result it can sometimes be difficult to fully understand what benefits premium membership actually confers.  So this month, I thought I would look at some of the main reasons you might want to become a premium member. read more

With spring looming, a new season of geocaching is nearly upon us.  With it comes an influx of new people to the hobby.  Regular geocachers will be familiar with the concept of a geocaching kit bag but for the benefit of those just starting out, this month we’re going to go over the basic items you need to geocache efficiently and safely. read more

It’s that time of year when we can’t help but look back and review what we’ve accomplished in the past year.  Accompanying it is the inevitable list of resolutions for the year ahead and it’s a safe bet to assume that at least some of them will include aims along the lines of “eat less” and “exercise more”.

This is where Geocaching can help.  Not only is walking along trails, clambering up embankments and battling undergrowth considered good exercise, the fresh air brings its own health benefits as well.  As a result, to “Geocache more” is a good resolution to have.

But what if you’re trying to find some motivation to encourage you to get out geocaching more regularly?  Well, here are some ideas for geocaching challenges that can make perfect resolutions for the year ahead. read more

An assortment of trackables

Becoming a geocacher can be slightly overwhelming.  Not only do you have to learn how to use a GPSr to get to your location and then hunt for a geocache, but there’s also a wealth of information, acronyms and unwritten do’s and don’ts  to contend with.

One of the areas that is a constant source of confusion are trackables.  I wrote an article last year introducing what trackables were and how you went about logging them but there are a number of unwritten rules that a lot of newbies get wrong.  So here to help them out are five things they never tell newbie geocachers about geocoins and travel bugs. read more

It’s natural for geocachers to want to showcase their accomplishments but all too often that can boil down to simple numbers or statistics.  Some geocachers aren’t interested in the number of caches they find but just want to showcase that they attended a special event or found a cache in a different location.

For a number of years, cache owners have created online virtual badges for attendees or finders to display on their profile page.  These can range from showcasing attendance of a specific geocaching event to having completed a series of caches.  The problem with these is severalfold.  They are arbitrary and depend on the cache owner taking the time to create the graphic and provide the code for you to add to your profile.  You then need to go in and manually add them, meaning that if you’re not familiar with HTML or web programming languages you can easily get yourself into a mess. read more