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What is Geocaching?

Submitted by King Boreas aka Ian on

Flash Intro-"Geocaching" 
6 minute Movie-"Searching for a cache" 
Basic Info

 

  • Buy or borrow a Global Positioning System receiver. A basic unit is the Garmin eTrex GPS or Magellan GPS 315. Both cost about $100 and can be found at stores such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy or online at http://www.amazon.com
  • Find a cache near you at <http://www.geocaching.com> Enter a ZIP code and the site will list nearby caches. Select a cache, such as "Geocache by Ray" or "Arboretum One" and click on its "details" button. Write down the cache's coordinates and print out the description. Use the online mapping site link at the bottom of the page to get driving directions to the location.
  • While still at home, enter into your GPS receiver the coordinates of the cache as they are listed on the Web site. Coordinates -- such as N 39 degrees 24.661; W degrees 094 14.86 -- describe the latitude and longitude of the site.
  • Follow the driving directions until you can drive no closer to the cache and park your car. Follow the arrow on your GPS receiver as it leads you to the cache. Be aware that heavy tree cover can block the GPS signal. Once you leave your car, it could take anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes to find the cache.
  • The GPS signal will fluctuate once you are within 100 feet of the cache, so from that point on, you're on your own. Check around stumps and under rock and leaf piles. Remember that almost all caches are placed above ground, so no digging!
  • Congratulations! You've found the cache. Take an item, leave an item and record your experience in the logbook. Reseal the cache and put it back exactly the way you found it.
  • When you get home, e-mail the person who hid the cache and let him know you found it. Also, post a description of your experience on the cache's online page at <http://www.geocaching.com
     Have Fun !

    GPS info ... Minnesota Geocaching Association ... Geocaching videos 

    Attachment:etrex.jpg

 

KC0GRN

Now there's a cache I don't want to find....

Mon, 03/01/2004 - 2:49 PM Permalink
Clue Master

Damn!

Mon, 03/01/2004 - 9:45 PM Permalink
KITCH

IAN--
last nite I was talking to MTN-MAN...he said that he almost fell out of his chair when you did a PUZZLE CACHE!!!!

Nice job! Even Silent Bob is impressed!

Tue, 03/02/2004 - 5:39 AM Permalink
KITCH

Took ya a long time but Now I might have to add another thread a what the hell 4....I'm going to have to work on this and mock hunt clues today...

Tue, 03/02/2004 - 6:56 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

Wow, a new puzzle cache, and Ian did this one? Just when I thought I was almost finished with all the puzzle caches... Oh just as a warning though, I have a good idea going for a puzzle cache, after all these ones, I just might do it.

Tue, 03/02/2004 - 9:25 AM Permalink
THX 1138



I'm probably gonna get a GPS soon.

I've been looking at them but haven't been in a hurry to get one, because I probably won't get out for awhile anyway.

Anway, when I do get one, I'm gonna need someone to show me how to do this geocache thingy.

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 7:20 AM Permalink
THX 1138



Went to the page for the Cache where the body was found, and found this interesting post/log.

January 29 by Carter Cache (9 found)
Really enjoyed this one. Everything was A OK after the ice storm.


Took the Human Body CD
and left 2 soccer balls. Beautiful day! Carter Cache

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 7:29 AM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

WHOA !

Hey J T

I can help ya out.

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 7:52 AM Permalink
KITCH

I can go too...but timing is hard with me....

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 8:12 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

count me in too, I'm more of the newbie sort :)

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 10:20 AM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

looks like a foursome

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 10:30 AM Permalink
THX 1138



Maybe we should set something up?

I don't need to have bought my GPS yet. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind knowing what I'm doing before I buy one.

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 11:33 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

I don't need to have bought my GPS yet.

haven't got mine yet either, waiting on Garmin to release it, otherwise I would have it.

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 12:55 PM Permalink
THX 1138


haven't got mine yet either, waiting on Garmin to release it, otherwise I would have it.

I've seen the one you're talking about. Looks pretty sweet.

I was assuming someone would have one, and be able to show me using theirs.

:-)

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 6:06 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

Looks pretty sweet.

Not to mention all the features, too bad other CC members don't have em, would be cool to be able to use the position reporting.

I've got the one from work that my boss has been kind enough to borrow me until I get mine.

Wed, 03/03/2004 - 9:34 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

hey Ian, what's a "geobeacon"? R.J. found the Monster Fish are Schooling cache yesterday and referenced that...

Thu, 03/04/2004 - 9:53 PM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

it's a smartass way of referring to my caches. A lot of them are covered with plastic shopping bags, usually white or yellow. If they become exposed, or are poorly re-hidden, the bag is like a beacon in the woods, I guess.

I'm going to Phalen this morning, to check out the three caches. I'll let ya know what I find.

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 2:51 AM Permalink
KITCH

some people refer to a "beacon" as a spot it is where you think is a good hiding spot....
such as "adieu" cache...there is a lot of good "beacons" ..but its not in the typical hiding spots.....

so if you see an open field and a big tree with a hole in in...and the tree is right at your cords....thats a "beacon"

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 6:04 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

I'm going to Phalen this morning, to check out the three caches. I'll let ya know what I find.

Thanks Ian! I'm wanting to get over there tomorrow and find the rest of the Phalen ones, get em off my todo list. Woke up this morening to 6 inches of snow though, that kinda put a damper on things, but nonetheless, I'll try anyways.

BTW, heard the Neither Here Nor There cache's ziplock was messed up, if you get this in time, might want to go replace it.

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 8:49 AM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

I didn't get to that one, but "Help It's A Prank" and "Ever Follow The Bouncing Ball" are still there.

Candy Apple Green did a good job of re-hiding those. I *almost* gave up on both of them.

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 11:02 AM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

some people refer to a "beacon" as a spot it is where you think is a good hiding spot.... such as "adieu" cache...there is a lot of good "beacons" ..but its not in the typical hiding spots.....

so if you see an open field and a big tree with a hole in in...and the tree is right at your cords....thats a "beacon"

I guess I'd better take a second look at some of those posts. Maybe I was semi-pissed for no reason.

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 11:04 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

I didn't get to that one,

I'll bring a ziplock with me tomorrow, hopefully I'll find it. So C.A.G. is into rehiding stuff eh? Probably why I couldn't find "Unless You Are Blind" after I had moved the mosh pit cache to it. Might just stop by there tomorrow as well, make sure it's actually there.

Thanks for checking those ones out Ian, at least I know they're still there now. I'll get em tomorrow, hopefully.

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 11:24 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

Woohoo!!!! I just checked garmin's website, and the Rino 130s are shipping!!

Just another week or so and I'll have my GPS, then I'll really be able to go out and get my cache numbers up.

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 1:35 PM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

I'll really be able to go out and get my cache numbers up.

We got another one, Kitch.

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 5:17 PM Permalink
KITCH

nice..and now i can get st paul hides to look for.....

Fri, 03/05/2004 - 5:41 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

Got my Rino 130 on order now, hope it comes in soon.

BTW, didn't get as much time today as I would have liked to go out geocaching, so all I got was 3 more of the puzzle caches, got stumped on the "A Spoken Crocodile" though. I know I was in the right spot, but there's so many ways to go from where the clue tells you to. Have you been out to actually find this one yet Kitch? I had to leave as it was getting dark and I didn't have a flashlight with me, spent a good hour searching though.

Sat, 03/06/2004 - 5:48 PM Permalink
KITCH

nope..not yet..but know where to start...

Sat, 03/06/2004 - 7:09 PM Permalink
KITCH

what a weird day....
My first ever cache...I put in a "where's george 1$"...it showed up today for its first hit...in hudson, wi at a coffee shop....

then 3 outta my 4 bugs got moved today...normally nothing ever...
one is place here...

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=532bec53-9e33-4090-bb32-03d90f57a381is weird because I'm going nuts on the "tea" clues for the mock hunt....
at least its nice to know all my bugs are still on the move...

Sat, 03/06/2004 - 7:38 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

I'm waiting on a 4 pack of Tbug tags in the mail, should be here soon.

Got a couple cool ideas for em, one I'm dropping out in washington when I go, gonna attach it to a toy train, see if it can make its way back here and have people take pics of it at train depots or other train themed stuff (taking the train out there, seemed appropriate). Another thought was a cheap mars rover, have it try to make it to space themed areas. The other two I'm not sure of yet, might let some people I know use em, still trying to get some other people I know involved in geocaching.

I figured out the problem with "A Spoken Crocodile", after a hint from R.J. to put me on track, it was weird, because the way I tried it almost worked too, but I was wandering off in the wrong direction.

Sat, 03/06/2004 - 9:36 PM Permalink
KITCH

I'm almost positive you neeed to be next too a "bench" when you start...

Sun, 03/07/2004 - 9:02 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

yeah, that's what I figured as well, and there is a bench there. Odd thing was the "fire" bit. I was mislead on that, you'll see what I mean when you get there. I probably won't be able to make it back for a couple weeks now though, as I have something going on next weekend, unless I go Sunday, but I'd like to figure out "My Dear Watson" and just get both of them at the same time, not to mention gas.

Sun, 03/07/2004 - 11:49 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

Hey Ian! I finally found the Phalen caches!

Well all except for the "Follow the Bouncing Ball" one, that's still a mystery to me, even though you've about spelt it out for me, I'm just not getting it.

But I finally got the "Help It's a Prank" and that's the one I was really trying for today.

All in all, had a very productive day geocaching today.

Sun, 03/07/2004 - 4:50 PM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

All in all, had a very productive day geocaching today.

Cool ! Thanks for the maintenance help. I've been catching a lot of BS on that lately:

"Why do you have so many caches if you can't keep up with them?"

Bouncing Ball is similar to Prank, with the addition of natural camo blocking the hole.

Sun, 03/07/2004 - 5:49 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

Cool ! Thanks for the maintenance help.

Happy to help out, besides it's my area of town, and I spend time at Phalen anyways, so I can easily keep an eye on em or check em out if there's any problems.

Almost got all the close by caches done. Next thing I think I'll try is getting the rest of the Boreas Rex series, that should get me up close to 50 cache finds.

And I think I'm close on the Bouncing Ball one, at least I'm pretty sure I'm looking at the right tree, if so, it's a very good camo job. I'm sure I'll get it quick enough, just need a bit more time in the daylight.

Sun, 03/07/2004 - 5:57 PM Permalink
KITCH

Tonight I had dinner with Silent Bob...yep..asked him what he though of a "beacon" ...yep I was right....was not against you IAN.....

is just "where" you'd guess it would be ....or should be...

Sun, 03/07/2004 - 8:25 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

wow, is that for real? Amazing, I wonder if he was gone so long because of the value of the goods he's hiding? Gotta take time to come up with a good hide and or cover the expense. Assumming he actually does hide the goods.

Sun, 03/07/2004 - 9:33 PM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

Oh yeah, take a look at his stats. The one that was on Harriet Island was fun. Found by Perrine and 15 Tango

I JUST missed the one at Minnehaha Park that Butcho found.

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 2:32 AM Permalink
KITCH

its real ...but the problem...he says its "close" to the cords...whats close..my car in the lot is "close".

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 5:47 AM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

So what's the clue mean? I'm really thinking about going out there. Gotta keep looking over my shoulder tho.

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 6:32 AM Permalink
KITCH

no clue...had dinner with Silent bob, Marsha, S4xton...and we talk about that..but still no clue...S4Xton as pissy...said he looked for 4 hours and he knows...that is not within 100 meters......

he really wanted the ftf.

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 6:36 AM Permalink
KC0GRN

he really wanted the ftf.

Shoot me too, would make a wonderful first find ;) I see from the logs rickrich is out there lookin, he's beaten me to a FTF or two.

Trouble is I won't have free daylight hours until Sunday now, which is unfortunate. At least he does a good job hiding the stuff it looks like.

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 10:15 AM Permalink
KITCH

damn...i can't get out there until tues. am. but if the mock clue is good enough I'm not going to bother with this.....
maybe somebody will find it and it won't matter anyways...

I'm sure its not in the first 100 meters from the cords....per everybody else looking...(this guy could bury it...he don't like rules).

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 10:53 AM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

sure, he edits the cache after i leave home.

I was there, in the snow, from 11:00 to 1:00

dnf

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 12:43 PM Permalink
KITCH

so whats 175 feet away that rickrich is talking about??

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 12:46 PM Permalink
KITCH

he just edited the cache after richricks post...

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 12:46 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

oh duhhhhh, how could I be so stupid? I know what the clue means now.

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 1:14 PM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

nature's tent

subtract an a, like the title

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 1:34 PM Permalink
KC0GRN

exactly, not to mention it's pig latin.

Mon, 03/08/2004 - 1:36 PM Permalink