The Cachebergers

It is funny how some responses assume EVERY cacher has the same capabilities/gear/equipment! So very not true! Quote button is not working so plse bear with me: For example "I think you should plan on taking your kid to a playground and once there see if there are any caches nearby that are worth trying for, with your kid." I have a basic magellan...an old model. I cannot search for caches that way. I must know where I am going before I leave the house. Another example "I live in the suburbs and there are a lot of playgrounds near and far. Most parks appear in the NUVI maps also. So I do not think good playgrounds are hard to find. With a Nuvi, Oregon, and Colorada, etc., the paperless caching features will place a geocache icon on your map also, so you can see the ones in parks also." Um...I don't have nuvi. I don't have Oregon or Colorada...don't even know what those two things ARE. I cache with small kids so I like the attributes to be as plain and exacting as possilbe. But I realize I am new to the sport and am willing to adjust my expectations rather than to expect the sport to change parameters to suit my situation in life (mother caching with small children). Since I have learned the hard way about the afore mentioned "subjectivity", of terms such as "grab and go" and "kid friendly", I am leaving very detailed descriptions in my log if I think they are helpful to other cachers with kids. I think that is really the way to go...kind of get all the parents doing that sort of thing. That way the sport does not have to change and parents will be better informed. Win/win IMHO

xoops soorry!

You are at the beach with your daughter and she looks at the woods behind you and says "maybe there's a cache in there, Mommy"!

Thanks, you guys! I guess this is all part of the learning curve! I cache with kids so it is important for me to factor hike distance when I pick a cache. I was thinking "grab and go" meant something I could hop out of my car and grab with the kiddos sitting right there within sight! I am glad to learn that this may not always be the case! I appreciate all the responses. This forum is full with helpful people! It's funny how it is all subjective! LOL I have found myself muttering "short walk off the path, indeed" hahaha! Love caching, lots of fun...thanks again for the help!!!

I stopped by a "grab and go" cache today. While sitting on the road, the GPS was telling me cache was 175 yards to my right which was brushline/woods. Does it sound like my gpsr was giving me bad coordinates or is this really considered "grab and go"? The other grab and go I have been to was at a park n ride and there was no woods-walking involved. Off to read logs on this cache... TIA!

Very romantic of you to think of this! Is it necessary that you find it online "together" and decide to look for it? Couldn't you just find a few online yourself or perhaps say "so and so at work told me about this cache here are the coordinates" or some other such thing on a day of "normal" caching? Of course, you could always put the note in a normal cache with the typical "PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE" notice on whatever it is you want for your fiance. Posting it publically could be cool! you could post it as a theme cache and ask visitors to write advice for a happy marriage in the log. Congratulations and good job on thinking of a proposal!

I am very new myself but will gladly share what I have gleened thus far. GPS (or GPS'r) refers to a handheld device which gets information from sattelites to pinpoint your current location. A GPS can be programmed to show you where a chache is hidden. Familiar names are "garmin" and "magellin". There are others. Google either of those two words and you should at least see a picture to get you started. I bought my GPS unit on craigslist for $25. I looked to see what folks had for sale, then put that brand of unit in my google and read the reviews. This helped me determine which unit I wanted to buy. You want a handheld unit, not one that is meant to be on your car's dashboard. For more help, you can read this: http://www.geocaching.com/about/buying.aspx Hope this helps! J

Activated, trackable coins should never be collected. They are meant to move from cache to cache unless the owner states otherwise. There are people who do collect activated trackable coins. The common word for them is thief. Amen! I don't think I'll ever buy another geocoin unless I keep it and dip it in caches for the miles and the memories. There are too many thieves out there who collect them. Stick with tb's...you'll stand a better chance of their actually "traveling". Newb question: What do you mean by "keep it and dip it in caches for the miles and the memories"? Specifically..."dip it in caches" ??? TIA OP thanks for the question I have been wondering about the diff between these things/

I just HAVE to know...are you plotting revenge on someone?

Gotta say you are a helpful bunch! thourough, too!

As a newb I am glad to read this post. I was just thinking about this today as I was trying to explain to my five year old why her dilapidated (sp) matchbox car with paint rubbed off it would NOT be an acceptable trade in a cache. She is befuddled because, well, the thing is in such bad shape because she LOVES it and thinks it is cool to play with. Children just do not get it. Or rather, children GET IT...sometimes a thing of value is such not because of what you might pay for it but because of what it means to you. I realize this in no way answers the question but somehow I felt compelled to share. Carry on.

Alrighty!! Thanks so much for helping a newbie! Now I know.

Very stoked that I found the cache! But, what now, with regard to logging it? TIA! J

I am brand spankin new at this but yesterday my kids and I found our first cache (yay)! All my kids are under six years old. When I search for caches for us, I look for a level one for the difficulty AND for the terrain. I chose a cache with a level two or higher container, so there is more of a chance kiddos will see it. When I search for a cache, I do so with the "view on google maps" feature. There is helpful info such as wether the cache takes under an hour to perform, and if it's stroller accesible. These two indicators are clues for me that this is a trip my kiddos could handle. Having a few DNF's under my belt , I have determined to begin looking specifically for caches inside parks or cemetaries, so that I know chances are slim we will be dealing with busy roads or limited parking. So far, so good! Hope this helps, J

Hubby's name is Stash (pronounced Stahsh, rhymes with "squash"). Thought it would be cute to use in a username since it would make a rhyme when pronounced "wrong". So, we will sometimes go searching for a "cache" for "stash".

Oh happy day! I am getting the kiddos appropriately dressed and we are gonna go give this thing a whirl! You have made this tadpole soooo happy!!!! Just think, you have launched my "career" haha. J

HOORAY Thank you L frank!!! Ihad poked around and noticed that setup function but was a skeered to touch/mess with it!! Oh thank you thank you!! And thank you again Joes Bar! I am so super geeked!!! thank you times a billion!!! J

JoesBar you are so kind to help me. I really appreciate it! All of what you describe sounds correct. I sit here noding as I read it. But, let me give you an example to illustrate my "problem". I follow steps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. No prob. But lets say, for example, I want to go to A cache at coordinates "17TE 287934N4766871", a cache near to my home. The coordiantes of my current location are displayed as (slightly changed for my privacy lol) "17TJH88547163" See how there are THREE letters after the "17" in my current local but only TWO in the cache coords? See how there is NO letter N anywhere in my current local coords? The magellan does not allow me to change the "H" into anything but another number. I am absolutely flummoxed. If you have any further help for me I would be so greatful.

Hello. I have a magellan gold. I have read repeatedly directions for manually entering coordinates into my gpsr is as "simple" as highlighting the current coordinates in my unit and changing them to the coordinates of the cache. Sounds great. I hold down GOTO and get the little screen with my current location coordinates and a default WPT number. I can change the name/icon. No problems. But the number of letters/numbers in my unit waypoint screen do not correspond to those of the cache coordinates. This is driving me crazy. I am googling and searching and am unable to find clarification on this. SOme kind soul please oh please help me I am seriously frustrated. I do not have a serial port and do not have a usb serial converter...I would like to start geocaching without doing all that stuff if I can. There are like two hundred caches in my immed area and I feel like I am sooo close yet so far away... Thank you again for your time... J