I've just started this new hobby thing called Geocaching. I was wondering if any of you are into this and if you're not...well you SHOULD BE, because this is tooodles of fun.
What you do, is go to the website http://www.geocaching.com and look up caches in your area. You'll be given the GPS coordinates and some clues on how to track it the item. After that you go outside and look for it.
I've already found 4 of them and I got to admit that it's been a very fun ride for me. I found one at the local mall that just amazed me. My boyfriend and I were on our 3rd trip to find it and we were amazed at the cleverness of the person who hid it. The thought that thousands of people walk by every day and no one has a CLUE that it's there is something that is just too cool for me.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
*whistled*
Just kidding, but can you explain what it actually is.
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
We've done a few of them around here and some in Rome, GA. It's fun, though a few of them were a let-down because people had taken the box.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I thought it sounded like a fun pirate adventure, but I don't have a GPS yet, so I haven't been able to play.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
That's pretty awesome. Too bad I have no GPS!
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
It's OK if you have no GPS. Neither have I, so I use Google Maps and carry my laptop around. If you input the coordinates, Google Maps takes you to them, and they tend to be pretty accurate. At least that's how I got the 4 I have.
About what it is...it's like a scavenger hunt. Depending on the type of cache you're looking for, you can take the treasure in it and leave something else. Use the website to find more caches and to log your finds. Some caches tend to be more elaborate like the one I'm currently working on in which I am to find the four "golden eggs" that the dragons have, the four will lead to the "Goblet of Fire".
Posted by Pegasus (Member # 10464) on :
I registered an account and found that there was one just a tenth mile from my house. Incredible.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht: *whistled*
Just kidding, but can you explain what it actually is.
I laughed out loud when I saw this. And Tova was in my lap, so she asked what was funny. There's no way I could explain it to her in a way that'd make sense.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
quote:There's no way I could explain it to her in a way that'd make sense.
Don't you write science fiction? It's the same thing...
Posted by sweetbaboo (Member # 8845) on :
We go GeoCaching as a family. They are everywhere! Sometimes I'll be walking around during a regular day wondering how many there are around me at any given time
What are some fun things you've left? (Just wondering because it's such a let down to work so hard to find the box only to have broken pencils, and trash inside it!) We've left hand warmers, matchbox cars and McDonald's toys (not the stuffed animal variety). Though I suppose one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Scott R:
quote:There's no way I could explain it to her in a way that'd make sense.
Don't you write science fiction? It's the same thing...
Heh. But I don't write for 7.5 year olds.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Hey Pegasus, or one of you registered at the site she linked to:
Can you see if there are any caches near my place?
I live about four miles east of here: N 37° 52.367 W 097° 41.033 (that was the closest benchmark I could find)
I don't want to create an account or go Geocaching -- I just want to know if this might explain random strangers we sometimes see in our area Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
My in-laws like to do this. One day, they were wandering around in the woods in Pennsylvania, trying to find a geocache. They came across a cemetary that they'd never heard of before, and they happened to notice that one of my FIL's ancestors was buried there. They do geneology too, so they recognized the name.
--Mel
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I just signed up and there's one around the corner from my apartment building. CREEPY. I'm in that park all the time!
Posted by aberforth (Member # 11110) on :
Hey everybody, I am new to the forums here at Hatrack but I am stoked that you guys had a geocaching thread. My geocache username is Aberforth as well so you can look me up on there. My girl friend, ArianaDumbledore on Geocaching.com, and I Leave flattened pennies from a nearby railroad track at each of our finds. We also have a custom stamp with our geocache names for logbooks. Some of the cool stuff I have found has been: a pocket knife, rocks from New Foundland, earrings, travel bugs and some dice with our initials. We keep everything from the finds besides the trackable stuff like travel bugs and geocoins. Gps units make the game alotta of fun and you can find them on ebay for disant money. Anyway, good to be a part of the community
Posted by Pegasus (Member # 10464) on :
Hey Farmgirl, I'm having a hard time finding a map of where you are based on the lat/long, a zip code would work though...
I live on a dead end road with 4 houses, so the knowledge of a cache on our road doas help to explain the extra trafiic. Though it is kinda scenic, so that could be it too.
Posted by sweetbaboo (Member # 8845) on :
Welcome to Hatrack aberforth!
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Yay, a new hobby. Thanks, hatrack! This is cool. And may serve to give me a purpose on my long middle-of-the-night walks. I'm gonna go look tonight for one about 5 miles from home....
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Pegasus - I'm not near any town, but the nearest zip code would be 67016. I'm about four miles west of there. Thanks
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I remember Wil Wheaton doing this years ago when it first became a fad. I think he stopped because too many people would just take the stuff from the Geocache site, not post that they'd taken it, and then not leave anything.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
That sucked. I severely over-estimated my endurance. It isn't unusual for me to walk 3 or 4 miles. 10 was a stretch. What the devil was I thinking? My arms! My legs! It hurts. And I didn't even find the thing.... I almost passed-out beneath a pine tree in the cemetary.
I did see some shooting stars though. At least it was a kind of adventure.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
*applauds TL's effort*
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Thank you! Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Hmm. There is one whose name connects it to a historical site that is right across the street from here.
To get details I would have to register though, and I'm not sure I want to.
Posted by Pegasus (Member # 10464) on :
Farmgirl: Here is a screenshot of a map that has some icons showing the locations of some caches in your area. If you want more info on any of them let me know. I posted it with my wife's photobucket:
Nothing really close to me in that shot. The one right next to the river is almost directly across the river from me, but no way they could get to it from my side (not that searchers would know that until they tried).
Interesting, I can easily see that two of the four shown are in our area cemeteries. Must be a popular spot to place them. Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
I looked up my area, and the first one on the list, according to the coordinates, is in the middle of a lake.
Uh... no.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: I looked up my area, and the first one on the list, according to the coordinates, is in the middle of a lake.
Uh... no.
It's against the TOS to put it in a place so difficult to get to...so I think there might be a catch. It's probably easier to get to than you think.
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
quote:Originally posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion:
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: I looked up my area, and the first one on the list, according to the coordinates, is in the middle of a lake.
Uh... no.
It's against the TOS to put it in a place so difficult to get to...so I think there might be a catch. It's probably easier to get to than you think.
The location of a cache can be very entertaining indeed. As many say, location, location, location! The location of a cache demonstrates the founder's skill and possibly even daring. A cache located on the side of a rocky cliff accessible only by rock climbing equipment may be hard to find. An underwater cache may only be accessed by scuba. Other caches may require long difficult hiking, orienteering, and special equipment to get to. Caches may be located in cities both above and below ground, inside and outside buildings. The skillful placement of a small logbook in an urban environment may be quite challenging to find even with the accuracy of a gps..." <etc>
Each geocache on the geocaching website has a rating as to how difficult it is to get to.
This is something I have recently been wanting to get into, mainly just to have a reason to get out of the house and get some exercise. I entered my address into the geocaching website, and found over 20 within 5 miles of me. The 2 closest are 3 blocks away. They are both in strip mall parking lots; I have no idea how they could be hidden.
Posted by Starsnuffer (Member # 8116) on :
I had always heard of this as being a rather extreme activity, involving rock climbing, and days of travel into the wildy to find the cache. I didn't realize there were so many that could be simply walked to...
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