balinda

Oh the things I wish I knew when I started.... I'd tell you but they are some of the funniest stories and so worth having learned them the hard way. For example: by the 3 DNF read the previous logs Don't cache near a stream as it's getting dark unless you are willing to get wet know that the GPS can get you close but you actually have to look for the cache the one thing I wish some one had told me was.. Cache for the fun of the hike.

I have the Venture HC and if you get that one get the color screen and the topo maps. I used a non colored screen and it is much harder.

I like plays on words like - "My Dreams are caching"

I prepared at home for a lot of my first finds. Google earth will allow you to type in Longitude and Latitude. Then zoom in. When I log a DNF now I do this step then I go back to the cache.

This is a tough question for me because I cache with an 8 year old boy. He wants the Hotwheel cars and the plastic toys. I believe I have to trade like for like so I have a supply of new Hotwheels and plastic puzzles to trade into the caches. We seem to collect a lot of swag, it gats used and when it breaks it gets thrown away. I don't take anything grown up out of the cache unless I have something grown up to trade. Individual bug spray packets, sample size Purell and pins are what I might put in but again I trade like for like. A pin for a pin. I also have a tendency to put more in than I take. Some of the caches look a bit depleted by the time I get to them and so I might put three things in but only take one.

Wow that may be too many questions to answer in one sitting. You need to find an event in your area. There are lots of people out there who can answer your questions. I've only been caching for a year and a half but I have over a hundred finds. Here is a try at answering some of your questions.... I have a Garmin Venture HC. It was in the 200 dollar range and I went for the color screen. I also purchased the topographic maps at the same time as my GPS. (It was a deal) The GPS came with the Mapsource software needed to put the caches onto the GPS. When I am caching I usually stay on a trail whenever possible. Sometimes I consult trail maps to determine where the cache might be so I take the right trail. I still have to bushwack occasionally. I use the GPS to get within about 20 - 40 feet and then I switch on spidy sense (or my childhood hide and seek brain comes out) I try not to look at the hint until I really can't see the cache. What you are looking for is a good place to hide a cache the size you are looking for. Sometimes you are looking for a pile of sticks or rocks, sometimes it is a space in a rock wall. Look around the terrain and say if I was a cacher where would I hide the cache. Then be a cacher and look in all those places. At first I brought a lot of McDonalds toys to the caches and then I got sick of bringing McDonlds toys home with me. My son and I decided we like puzzles and so we trade different types of inexpensive puzzle. The not getting spotted thing is sometimes easier than you think. Act like your taking a picture. Have a picnic. Do something that fits in with the area you are. Relax and have fun. Bring a friend

Ok, What's the protocol. Is is okay for me to clean the cache out. Replace the ziploc bags and fill it with some decent swag. (I always carry extra) Recently I came upon a cache where someone had placed some origami animals loose in the cache. Well the winter was not nice to these and they were mush along with the broken toy items and 1 penny. The log book looked fine but the bag had broken. I hope I wasn't over stepping. Is this OK. Should I tell the cache owner?

At 40 feet, it's time to put down the GPSr and start a visual search. No, you don't stink, you are just new. Perhaps you could find a nearby easier cache to get the feel of using the GPSr? Post your location (sorta, closely, not your address) and I'm sure some more experienced on here could point out an easy find? What I do is stand on the trail and look in the direction the GPS is telling me to go. I judge the distance and say " near that tree over there" Then I stay on the trail and move a little farther down the trail about 10 feet and look where the GPS is sending me. If it looks like the same place I head to that place without looking at the GPS. When I get there I take another look at my GPS. Sometimes I have to stand in the same spot for a little while for the GPS to catch up to me. Then move again so it knows which direction I am headed. If I'm not right on top of the cache then I repeat the look and move technique. For most caches you stay on the trail until right near the end. Make sure someone has found the caches you are looking for recently at least then you are sure that they were there on that day.