Brian Miville

So I was on Youtube watching some geocaching related videos. I happened to click on one where a fellow was in a graveyard looking for the cache (he did not find it) around a gravestone. He indicated that this was indeed the general area of the cache. Of course in the comments section there was much back and forth....it seems this was a very divided subject. It seems that the crux is not so much that the cache was in a graveyard, but that it was placed in a manner (at the gravestone) that seemed disrespectful to the deceased (i.e. because people are walking over the grave, pawing around the stone and the flower urn, etc.). I have done a few graveyard caches, but they remained well away from any graves (one was in the wrought iron fence, one was...as unusual as it may seem...inside a guardrail, and one was near an exotic tree, but none were anywheres near a grave). So this really got me to wondering what others think is appropriate in regards to graveyard caching, and what is not. What is everyone else's' opinion on the issue? Brian

Congrats on the find! Brian

I am glad I am not the only one who thought using the term "muggle" was just too wierd even for me. Don't get me wrong, I have read the HP series a good dozen times completely through so far. But as big a geek as I keep seeing the term muggle used here and there are only certain levels I can comfortably take my geekiness to. So I just use "people" or appropriate term when describing them. Not saying I frown on those who do use it...just saying it ain't my thing. Brian

Hey, if I can help I would be gald to do what I can. Thankfully entering waypoints is pretty simple, and if you have a desktop computer that will take the serial (RS232) cord then I think I should be able to describe how to download waypoints to caches directly from this website (I say "should" only because I have never done it with my Legend...again it comes down to having a cord that my laptop won't recognize...but do it all the time with my Garmin 60Cx). If you can download the waypoints from this site directly to your unit then it becomes yet even easier. Just pick your cache waypoint from the menue and hit "go to". Brian

I should probably clarify one thing too that I noticed. I say this is not a mapping unit....actually technically it is. You will need to buy add on software (or use a free program available from GPSfiledepot.com in combination with Mapsource), but even still the maps, on the small and non color screen, are going to be pretty basic. But since you don't need mapping ability for geocaching, especially urban, I would not be concerned about that point at all. As long as you can enter coordinates and have it show you where you need to go then you are going to be good to go.

Don't worry, the older eTrex Legends are fine units. I have one and the ONLY reason I bought a new GPS was because I use a laptop and Vista, and since the Legend used a serial port I had to buy a converter cable. But just about everyone who uses Vista and a laptop has reported problems. I can still enter coordinates by hand which is absolutely fine for geocaching, but I also use my GPS for hiking in the Whit Mountains and I NEEDED the ability to put multiple waypoints and tracks to and from the unit. As for eBay, they have an odd setup. If you type "eTrex Legend" and click on the first link you find they combine all sales, both new and used, and you have to click on the "used" tab. Currently I see three auctions for an eTrex legend, one has 1 bid at $35, and a couple that are at $.99 (they are just starting, that is why the bids are so low right now....but one of them has a $25 shipping fee so I would ignore it.) Also on the page you can see a star review system, and the eTrex Legend gets 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. It really is a decent unit for the money. No not a fancy mapping unit, but for caching you really don't NEED that. here is some links for the lower priced auctions: http://cgi.ebay.com/Garmin-eTrex-Legend-GPS-Receiver-/160524300748?pt=GPS_Devices&hash=item255ffe71cc http://cgi.ebay.com/Garmin-eTrex-Legend-GPS-Receiver-/130469519334?pt=GPS_Devices&hash=item1e6096dfe6 http://cgi.ebay.com/Garmin-eTrex-Legend-/150541459562?pt=GPS_Devices&hash=item230cf8606a Just double check the shipping before placing a bid. Like the $.99 one from Canada with $25 shipping you would need to figure that in before making a bid. On something like that I would not bid more than about $15 or $20, which with shipping would make it in the $40-$45 range. But thankfully the auctions I just linked APPEAR to have more reasonable shipping prices. Brian

Check out eBay. FInd something cheap...super cheap. For right now I would say just find something you can enter coordinates into and that is it. You could probably pick up an old (origional version) eTrex Legend for about $40. It will allow you to easily input coordinates and find your goal. Later along if you want to keep at it and you have the cash you can upgrade to more flashy units. Brian

It is what we basically call these official looking brown sign boards that the State or Federal Gov. puts up in State or Federal (respectively) parks.

Well today I decided to go after another cache. This one is only 1/2 a mile from my house and I actually walked the powerlines behind out house right down to the cache area. It was listed as an easy in both terrain and difficulty, and the cache size was listed as "regular" and described as a camoed LNL. So I figure this one should fit the bill exactly. I got to the coordinates and shut off the gps. From there I started using all the advice given here. I figured "where would I hide this?" The obvious spot, which coincided EXACTLY with my GPS coordinates, was a kiosk. So I started circling around it, but also kept an open mind as I looked in a general 30 foot diameter area. But everything about this kept telling me "kiosk". Sure enough, when I looked at the kiosk from a different angle I caught a glimpse of something hidden actually very ingeniously! So again I have to thank everyone for the advice. It seems it might just be working! Time to start trolling my area for some more easy stuff. One of my cousin's husband is also a fairly new cacher, and we talked last night about getting together to do some caching. So looks like maybe things will get beter from here! Brian

If you are buying a Garmin unit buy an "x" model (i.e. HCx, Cx, CSx, etc.) These models indicate they take removable Micro SD chips. This alone is an incredible feature. You can 2meg cards pretty cheap and you can load them up with info, take them out, fill up another, and on and on. Just make sure you amrk what info is on each card so you can keep it all organized at a glance. Brian

Thanks for all the advice folks. Without realizing it I was mostly searching for micro sized caches. I was going for what was near me or near where I would be without regard to size or difficulty. So for now I will try for small sized caches or larger and try to stick on the easy side until I get my game on. Brian

Thanks for the advice folks! I do realize that the general variance on a GPS means I could be looking at a decent sized circle, so that is why between the logs and clue's I try to go right where my GPS says the coordinates are and then pocket it and start looking around the broader area. I guess I just need to get my "eye" trained. I am almost embarassed to admit this but..... one of the ones I went looking for today it appears someone (the owner I assume) did some "maintinance" to the area. I say this because I went to where my GPS said it should be, and when I got to the spot I noticed a lot of footprints had turned the snow all flat in the area and there was sawdust all over the place where a bunch of sticks had been cut. Now, this was in a spot where it would have to have been the most extreme of coincidences for a person who is not the owner, or someone who knows where the cash is, to have been, let alone the sticks that were cut. So here I had a perfect giant "X" to mark the spot...or at least area. And I got ZILCH! Yup, I need to train my eye a bit better indeed! Brian

So here I am just starting out with geocaching. But I have not been having much success. My first time out I went looking for three (2 easy rated) and only found one. Granted it appeared one was possibly tampered with and missing. But then today I logged 9 caches in my GPS to find out in Francestown, NH, and wound up finding only 1! And mind you some of these (I think MOST!) were supposedly rated on the easier side. I usually read the logs, note the hints, and yet I still walked away with nothing. It is a bit frustrating and discouraging, and I can't help but wonder if this is just the pangs of getting started or if I am just plain horrible at this. My score so far is 2 found and 11 searched for but no found. If this was baseball I would be a laughing stock right now! Did everyone else have por success getting started? What is even MORE frustrating is that the 9 I went looking for today I read the logs and discovered someone else was out there searching for the same ones, but apparently later in the day. They managed to find most of them where I did not. So I know the darn things were there. So disheartened I wonder "well then what am I doing wrong!?" I am using what is generall considered a pretty good GPS (a Garmin 60Cx....I have been using this for bushwhacking in the White Mountains and trust it with my life...well as long as I have charged batteries I do ), so I don't think that is it. I spend what I consider a good deal of time searching (I think I was averaging about 10-15 minutes today, but that was because I had only so much time to work with so I forced myself to look only so long.....but on one of the first 3 I ever went looking for I spent a good 20 minutes looking to no avail.) So is it really a "learning thing" or am I really THAT bad at this? Brian