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I was about to make a thread about geocaching, glad I found this one first. I've been geocaching for just about 5 years. Can't wait to get back out there this weekend. Everyone should give this a try. I started doing it just for fun, which it still is. For a long time it was about all the exercise I got. Great fun and exercise for individuals and families.
I joined the group also.
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| There is actually a team that has been pretty quiet but in existence for a while. If you do a search for geocaching in the teams section you'll find it. I joined today!
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KLACKAMAS
10/30/06 5:32 P
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How about a GEOCACHING SPARK TEAM? I'm in!
I used to cache alot, and would like to get back into it.
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By far the best resource I have found is www.geocaching.com
They have a lot of good basic info and also great resources and cache locations.
I did some research before purchasing my GPS. Make sure you figure out what you think you want out of it. The basic ones (in the $100 range) don't have a USB cable and also don't have a lot of memory. For me I wanted something that would last a long time so I got a Magellan eXplorer 400 at Wal-Mart for $199. It has the USB connection, SD memory card slot and also a built in rechargeable battery.
No matter what you do, just have fun with it. We have went without finding a single thing all day and still had so much fun as a family.
Good luck everyone!
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FERRISDADOF3
10/26/06 1:00 P
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This looks totaly cool!!!! i've signed up...now to get the GPS! There is a cache not 2 minutes walking distance from my house. I may see if i can find it tonight.
thanx for the lead!!!!!
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CHILLY1004
10/26/06 12:59 P
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| This sounds like fun...how do I get started with geocaching?
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I am really excited to see this post in here! My family started geocaching about 3 weeks ago. My wife was simply amazed once we started at how much fun it truly was. We have a 5 year old that is fascinated with the idea of a treasure hunt. She normally wants to do 2 or 3 of them during the week and we normally grab a couple of the weekends.
We actually went out on what we thought would be a quick visit to one of our local parks. We ended up hiking 8 miles, but landed 3 really cool finds and saw some beautiful fall foliage at the same time.
Maybe we need a Sparkteam for geocachers.... just a thought.
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CAVERSPENCER
10/25/06 3:23 P
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| I ahve been caching for just over a year now. I go on a weekly evening hike and often on saturdays too. HIking makes for an easy way to get you cardio in and rack up your SparkPoints ;-)
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MUSICBEADS
9/4/06 11:12 P
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| Hi, I just started geocaching (found 8 so far). It is a blast. I would recommend it to anyone.
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CM.ANDREA
7/24/06 11:10 P
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Hi!
I'm new to geocaching - I've only done three. But I'm addicted! I've always loved hiking and bouldering but this was great. It also worked fairly well with the kids, 7 and 4, even though some was level 5 terrain (hope I said that right!) Anyway, what an incredibly fun way to burn calories.
On the exchange note, the website usually gives you clues about the cache size/type so you know going out what to expect. People in California definitely have come up with a "signature" token that they leave with their geocache ID on it. Would be great to see some sparkers out there!
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Some caches have a specific theme such as videos, software, fridge magnets, Mcdonald's toys. Others are a random assortment of things. The requirement is that when you take something from the cache, you must leave something of equal or greater value.
Travel bugs are a fun part of the game. Generally, you buy registered travel bug tags (dog tags with a registration number on them). These can be attached to anything you choose. Last week we picked up one that was attached to an old SciFi video and had a goal of visiting nation's capitals. We also found one attached to a wooden chickadee, a couple of old RAM clips, and one was just a geocoin. Many of the travel bugs have a note with them telling what the goal of that bug is. The chickadee wanted to make it's way to Maine.
So, yes, using a sparkpeople thing in the cache would be appropriate in most cases.
Not all caches have travel bugs. It's a hit and miss thing.
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NEWGRAMPA
5/15/06 11:37 P
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| If I remember correctly, which is very rarely the case, I think there are specific items or tokens that are exchanged at the cache location. Would a wood token or some other trinket with Spark People on it be a good trade item? Or a "where's my weight" tracking bug? Just a random thought after a long day, but it might help us that are here.
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I first heard of geocaching here on the site and got so excited. I asked my polar bear and he knew about it and had always wanted to try it. So we bought the machine and spent the past week out hunting for caches. What a wonderful time with so many great memories.
Standing at the top of a heavily wooded, steep hill he says, "Honey, we are not going down this hill. Honey? Wait for me..." LOL
The adventurer in me is bubbling forth.
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I purchased an IFinder Go from Bass Pro Shops here in the Denver area.
I bought the adapter to plug it into the cigarette outlet in the van also. (since that will help save on batteries)
Total ... I spent just over $100. Some people perfer the Magellan for Geocaching. However, the Ifinder Go has almost always put me right over the cache. (I get as close as possible looking at the map ... and then I switch it to the page view that shows the coordinates you are at and move toward the cache that way.)
The only time I really had a problem was when there were a lot of pine trees around the perimeter of a Baseball diamond. Some how the trees threw off the GPS. However, when I went around the fence and into the outfield of the diamond ... then I was able to get the coordinates right to figure it out.
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| Ok, so what am I looking for to get a good (inexpensive) GPS for GCing?
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I missed when this topic was started. Ooops ... maybe that's because I don't typically read posts from the Guys' Lounge.
However, I wanted to say that Geocaching really is a great way to get out and go walking, etc. I actually take my 4 and 5 year old with me whenever I go geocaching since I'm a stay-at-home mom. And they love it. We need to do more of the ones where we have to walk for a while though. Sometimes they will complain they are tired. *laughs*
We actually did one today that was .3 mile from the park where we were able to park to where the cache was suppose to be. (Well this was according to the GPS) Actually it might have been longer than that since the trail was winding all over the place compared to the distance given by the GPS for a straight line from the starting point to where the cache was.
*laughs* Actually we ended up not being able to find it. We have only been doing this since January 4th. So I will have to go back and read the description of the cache and the logs of other people who have found it again and see if I can get any clues for how to find it once we are at the point where the coordinates match.
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| My 10 yr old son is going to a 'sciene/technology' deal this summer at a local university where they'll teach him, among other things, how to navigate using a gps. That'll be the perfect excuse for us to get one to take camping! W00t!
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It will definitely help! My fiancée doesn't like the point a to point b thing either, but she likes going out there with the intent to find something.
I'm not sure how many of you have handheld GPS units...and that's a big reason why a lot of people don't get out to try it. If you happen to know someone who does, ask to borrow it for a weekend to try it out. If not, there are plenty of ways to get cheaper ones that are good for geocaching, including the GPS Garage Sale in the geocaching.com forums.
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| I may have to try this. Just hiking from point a to point b has no appeal for my wife. This might be another way to get her out of the house.
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| My husband and I geocache often - I started in 2001 when on an extended business trip in Peoria, IL. It's a great opportunity to see different areas. The kids are even interested in going out hiking if we are going to geocache!
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I want to, and looked at getting a GPS for Christmas last fall. I ended up with a compound miter saw instead (I'm stuck between techie and 'more power'... it get's really expensive!) and a paintball gun.
This looks like a great chance to get out with the kids, teach them about 'trail sense', and having a great time. One of the campgrounds we stay at routinely has had big gc'ing events before.
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| Thats awesome that you do it together. Exercising with a spouse, friend, or loved one can be so much more fun. I went for a bike ride by myself through the woods yesterday. It was fun, but I enjoy having my wife there too.
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Exactly, Golfpro. I enjoy hiking normally, but my fiancée doesn't like wandering around out in the woods just for the heck of it. Geocaching gives our wanderings a purpose, and it gives us a chance to get out and be active together...which is a lot more fun than exercising on your own! 
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Johmer.
Not a shameless plug at all! While I've never had the change to do it, I've looked into Geochaching and it looks like a lot of fun. I live on the central coast of California and there are TONS of caches hidden around here. If I had more time I would definitely give it a try. Heck, exercise with an actualy physical goal at the end of it, come on, thats great!
matt
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I know this has been brought up briefly before, but I'm still not sure how many people know about the "sport" of geocaching. For those of you who don't know, geocaching is basically a GPS-based treasure hunt that is very family oriented, and gets you out of the house to explore and find new interesting places.
I've been geocaching much longer than I've been SparkPeople-ing, and it is always my most favorite form of exercise. I live in central Pennsylvania, so there is a lot of the great outdoors to explore/hike/climb. There are many types of geocaches, with varying levels of difficulty (based on how hard it is to actually find the "cache" and how difficult it is to get there). Some of my favorite geocache hunts have been ones with decent climbs, and hikes that are a couple miles into the more remote forests in the area. For those of you who don't like going out into the woods, there are even more caches in urban settings, so anyone can get involved.
I'm sorry if anyone doesn't like the shameless plug, but I just wanted to let everyone know about the potential exercise that can be had through geocaching. If you want more information, just go to http://www.geocaching.com and see what is hidden in your neck of the woods.
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