crockett3663

I'm a noob as well, but I'm trying to "behave" how I think most geocaching vets would want me to: I log every find or DNF. I also agree with the "badge of honor" thing that steel city babes mentioned. Also, we've had a TON of flooding here in southern WI for the past week, and I'm certain that there will be several misplaced or vanished caches literally floating around WI for the next several weeks. So as the state dries out and we all get back into the swing of things, cache owners all across the state are going to be needing to do a lot of cache maintainence and/or replacement. One way for them to do that is for responsible cachers to log each and every "Find" or "DNF". Do the right thing. If you gave it serious effort, log your attempt, whether you were successful or not. In cases like this, being embarassed by a DNF is not good. Your efforts will help everyone attached to this "sport" enjoy it more.

www.myspace.com/crockett3663 I'd love to add some cachers as new "friends". Come on over and say "Hi!!"

I'd say a NM notice is in order. I know if it were a cache that I hid, I would want to know so that I could deal with it accordingly, and make the cache as reasonably clean and enjoyable to find as possible. Just because it is covered in dog feces, doesn't mean that it has to be. Dog waste is riddled with boatloads of bacteria, and as responsible cache owners & caretakers, we should all do our level best to make sure the caches are as clean and safe as one can reasonably expect for being placed out in a natural setting.

I'm just getting started in the sport, and as part of my new found obsession, I've developed a caching log, where I note all of the details of our finds, along with what I feel our own unique memories of each cache. You know, every cache (whether found or not) has a story attached to it, be it the weather, how far you had to drive, little anecdotes of what it took to find it, etc. I know that on the website for the Wisconsin Geocaching Association there is a link for recent logs, but this is my own personal hard copy that I keep in a three ring binder, complete with page protectors and any photos we take at each chache. The pages detail the cache number and title, the date we went looking for it, a box to check whether or not we found it, what we took and/or added, and any other personal notes. I'm finding that as I age, my memory isn't as good as it used to be, so documenting details of our caching trips really helps to remind me of what a wonderful time we had. Does anyone else go to this extreme, or am I the lone nut?

Crockett's Caching Crew always heads out in their bright red 1998 Ford Explorer. Yeah it's older and the mileage is high, but you've got to see it to appreciate it. It's in mint condition!!!!

Nearest found is approximately 1 mile from my home Nearest un-found is approximately 3/10ths of a mile from my home

I've just started caching, and I've already learned something. I'm going to buy one of those sport style eyeglass straps. I nearly lost mine off my head last weekend, and trust me when I say that without my glasses, all of the GPS units in the world would have never helped me find my way back!! Also, if the idea of pulling those pesky burrs off of your clothing creeps you out, then geocaching is NOT for you!!

Welcome!! It's always good to have new cachers join our ranks!! I'm rather new to the sport myself, so I'm certainly no expert, but from what I understand, pretty much any GPS can be used for caching. The biggest difference is the amount of "bells and whistles" that your particular unit has. I am unfamiliar with the model number of your Garmin, but it's obviously a great brand name so I don't think you'll have any problems. Good Luck, Have fun, Be safe, and again, welcome aboard!!!

I'd been having some difficulty learning how to use my GPS, so we were slow to get out into the field. We finally did it today after hooking up with a young guy from the Wisconsin Geocaching Association at a local "how to" event. Afterwards we went hunting for a few caches near our home. We found three out of the four we went looking for: Find #1 http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...25-cf05fa595e2f find #2 http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...56-6b43f2e59fb3 Find #3 http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...07-44f6abf72322 Now I'm stoked to get out and find more!!!!

The other day on another non-caching web site that I frequent, I posted about how I've begun enjoying geocaching. A few other forum members there wondered if cachers might be at risk from hiding flashers, sexual predators, or some nut job who might construct a bomb from what looks like a normal cache, in the hope of harming innocent cachers like you and me. Most of you have been doing this longer than I have. Have any of you ever heard of cachers being harmed in one way or another by the likes of people I described above? I always go caching with my 9 year old son and I'd never forgive myself if something ever happened to scar him...be it emotionally or worse yet, physically. I'd like to be able to tell these non-caching friends of mine that there is virtually no danger of this kind to speak of. If I can, perhaps I can convince some of them to join our ranks.

Went to the big Cabela's store about 15 miles from my house, and paid around $40 for a pair of them with tax. Later in the day, had to make a trip to Wal-Mart and out of curiosity checked the sporting goods area. Was shocked (and miffed) that I could have had a pair of very similar poles for around $18. Going back to Cabela's this weekend to make the return and then I'm going to buy the Wal-Mart ones. In addition to being useful for walking, I use mine to probe inside hollow logs and the like to detect any hiding critters. Better to let them bite the end of my trekking pole than my finger!!

OK, that's just TOO weird!!!

I have a brand new Triton 300. Would that make a difference?

I'm brand new to the sport, so forgive me for asking what might be an age old question that has been answered 1,000 times before, but is it NOT possible to download coordinates from geocaching.com to my Magellan GPS? If so, I can't believe that. Magellan is a MAJOR manufacturer of GPS units. I would think that a web site dedicated to using your GPS would be able to make downloads available to ALL GPS makers, not just the most popular brand.

Well, like I said, I am new to this whole hobby and everything involved with it, so maybe I should take the concerns of all of you folks to heart. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that all turns out OK. I'll keep you informed on how things are going.

Admittedly I'm new to this whole GPS/geocaching thing, but I don't understand why you guys are all so skeptical. It's not as though I was talking to some idiot store clerk. It was a memeber of Magellan's tech support. He told me I should be receiving my new Triton within 7-10 days. He even gave me a transaction number to give them if I need to call them back with any concerns. I'm guessing that there are people on here who are pro-Garmin and anti-Magellan, and vice versa. That's all well and good, but I just don't see the sense in the negative talk. From what I gathered from the phone call, I see no reason why I should be skeptical.

A week and a half ago, I bought a used Magellan Expolrist 210 from a guy about 30 minutes away. Right from the get-go, I was having all sorts of trouble with it. I had trouble clearing out the memory from the guy I bought it from. I called Magellan and they walked me through the memory swipe, but then I was getting a message that said "Initiating Map Upload", and the unit would freeze up. Today I called Magellan one more time to get some tech support. Suddenly the rep tells me "You know what? We're not even servicing Explorist units any longer, so what I'm going to do is ship you a new Triton 300 AT NO CHARGE!!!" I tell ya, the guy's message just about knocked me out of my chair!! I still can't believe it. All I have to do is send in my Explorist after I get the new Triton, and that's it!! I'm basically getting a brand new $150 GPS for the $80 I paid for the used one only one week ago!! Today must be my lucky day!!

I'm assuming that it would be wise for me to outfit a small backpack with items necessary to be succesful at geocaching. Things like a notebook and a few pens/pencils, some small items to replace the ones I remove from any caches I find, etc. Can anyone provide me with a more detailed list of things I might need/want that I haven't already thought of? Thanks in advance.

I'm a noob to this site and this hobby. I just turned 45 the first week of March. I'm hopeful that all the walking I'll get in with this new activity will keep me feeling younger than I am.

Thanks for the help KoosKoos. I took the liberty of printing it out for future reference.

I keep seeing this term used in different postings on www.geocaching.com, and I have no clue what it means. Can someone please enlighten me?

I'm brand new to this hobby. Actually, I haven't even been out hunting yet. Yesterday I bought a used Magellan Explorist 210 from a young guy in Milwaukee, but I neglected to have him delete his personal POI info and whatnot before I drove off with the unit. Now I'm trying to figure out how to set the darn thing up, and I'm having a bit of difficulty. If there are any 210 owners out there that could possibly walk me through the process, it would be greatly appreciated. I've got the owner's manual and all, but being so new to the hobby it reads a little greek to me I guess. Thanks again to anyone who can help.