Sunday, March 18, 2012

Geocaching: Traveling Items Guide

travel bugPart of what makes geocaching so fun is getting to explore the world around you and experiencing that thrill when you find the hidden cache. A lot of times, the treasures inside aren’t really anything super exciting—just trinkets and little items. Occasionally, though, you’ll come across a traveling item.

In my opinion, these traveling items are probably one of the cooler parts of geocaching. A traveling item is exactly what it sounds like: an item that has a goal or destination which generally involves traveling (duh). A geocacher’s job when they find a traveling item is to try and help it reach its goal–which might be as vague as traveling “as far as possible” to extremely specific, detailing a certain place it wants to be or even just a set of parameters such as “stay near water.”

But there are at least three different kinds of traveling items and etiquette that geocachers need to be aware of before removing them. read more

Creating Pocket Queries With GSAK

 

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As regular readers will know, I’m a big fan of a piece of software called the Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (or GSAK) and recommend it to any serious geocacher.  At its most basic, it’s a database for geocaches which you can use to generate advanced find statistics.  But its flexibility means you can do a lot more with it, from speeding up your cache logging through the use of templates, to planning a day out.

One of the great things about GSAK is uncovering these really powerful, time-saving features that make geocaching less about administration and planning, and more about going out there and finding Tupperware.  read more

Waymarking for Beginners

waymarkingIf you are a geocacher, you have probably heard of virtual caches or webcam caches whilst tromping through geocaching.com’s extensive list of options. If you have, you will know that they’re not logging any more on that website and the reason is because the company behind geocaching.com, Groundspeak, has a better platform for this type of thing—waymarking.com.

What is Waymarking?

While geocaching is about treasure hunting for containers in unique locations, waymarking is all about visiting new places and just exploring what is there. Many of the waymarks are in cities and they point out interesting locations, fun activities, good food or just plan old weird stuff. For waymarkers, it’s all about discovering a new location and exploring places you otherwise might not have known existed. read more

Exploring the World With GPS Games

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Part of the wonder of GPS is that you can go anywhere and never have to worry about getting back. But if getting there is the best part of the journey for you, then check out these GPS games you can play by yourself or with others. It’s a great excuse to get out and enjoy the beautiful summer weather and maybe discover something amazing! read more

Geocaching Event Calendar

2014 GPS predictions

Geocaching, despite its growing popularity, is still something of an underground activity. If you are tired of getting strange looks from muggles while walking in circles looking for a new cache (and then the frustration of standing around waiting for them to leave so you can GET the cache after you have found it), this month is the perfect time to find a Geocacher event near you! read more

Geocaching Abroad

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Have you ever looked at your geocaching statistics on the Geocaching.com website, found yourself clicking on the maps tab and feeling disappointed in the number of places you’ve cached in the world? Or you have you got an upcoming holiday and are wondering whether there are any caches you could do whilst on vacation?

Either way, geocaching abroad is both an exciting and terrifying prospect.  So if you are thinking you might indulge this summer, before you grab your GPS, suntan lotion and sombrero, consider these handy tips. read more

Geocaching Tips for Beginners

Geocachingcontainer.jpgThe world of geocaching is full of adventures and treasures to be found. But, for beginners who may not have a GPS device or have not used it outside of city directions, it can be a little daunting to get started. The only rules with geocaching are to sign the logbook, don’t let Muggles (people who don’t geocache) see you getting the cache, replace the cache exactly how you found it, and leave something if you take something. And have fun. It’s that simple!

Here are a handful of things to consider once you decide to try your hand at treasure seeking.

Do Your Research

There are several different websites where you can log geocaches, each with their own pros and cons. The most common is geocaching.com, by far one of the largest geocaching sites. Sometimes the geocaches are a little questionable, but the sheer number of entries to choose from is extensive. Another slightly smaller site is TerraCaching, which claims to focus more on quality and nature with their caches than other bigger sites. Last, but not least, the Garmin-owned OpenCaching is still in beta, but has, understandably, a bit more compatibility with sending maps to your Garmin GPS. It also has a much smaller listing of caches.

If you’re just getting started, we recommend making an account on geocaching.com and working from there, depending on what you like. read more

Planning Geocaching Days Out

Geocaching planning using the map

I don’t know if you’re like me, but come the weekend my motley crew and I want to go out geocaching.  Trouble is that it usually gets left to me to organise things.  And with that invariably comes a list of requirements: injuries that mean we have to limit the distance walking, or restrictions due to someone needing to be back by a certain time, or warnings that people are bringing pets and so don’t want to cross a lot of fields with livestock.  And if you’ve been geocaching for some time you find that you’ve done all the local series and it seems like there is nowhere to go. read more

Geocaching: Trackables 101

Geocaching trackables

It’s likely that if you’ve ever been geocaching, you’ve heard people talk about trackables.  But if you’ve ever wondered what exactly they are or how they form part of the game this article should give you the answers to all the basics and provide a few tips for moving trackables or setting off one of your own. read more

Using field notes when geocaching

 

Geocaching field notes on iPhone

Using an iPhone to submit geocaching field notes

Newer technologies such as smartphone apps have put less emphasis on logs. As a result, many a new geocacher has fallen foul of just putting a dot or a ‘TFTC’ (Thanks For The Cache) for entirety of their log, only to be reminded politely (or in some cases not so politely) by the geocache owner that more detailed logs are ‘encouraged’. read more