sgarrand

Yes, Facebook.com/MassGeocachers Scott MassGeocachers.org

I'd say the best groups are those with a high level of participation. I've been trying to get a statewide Massachusetts group going for a while now but it's difficult here. It seems as if people in my state don't go online to organize much. They go to Geocaching.com and that's it. I have a web site and Facebook page and I'm trying my best to encourage participation but it's not something that can be forced. It either happens or it doesn't. Scott MassGeocachers.org Facebook.com/MassGeocachers

You can use an Android phone, iPhone or even windows mobile. Looking up and/or logging caches really only requires web access at the least. You don't need a particular one, just a smart phone. Scott

Almot a year ago I did This Is Vermont: Alburgh in the snow in a cemetery and got questioned by the Border Patrol. I guess they had a guy from Massachusetts in custody and he was getting calls on his phone that they had. They wanted to know if I was calling him. I said no and he asked for my phone number. I started to give it to him and he said "No, show me on your phone" so I did and he was satisfied. Never got the chance to explain Geocaching but I did promptly find the cache after he left. Scott

As a word of warning. If you send it to your phone as a text it may show up as several text messages. I did this to my ATT iPhone for instant notifications (no push e-mail yet) and I'd get 6 text messages. It was very cumbersome and I only have 200 texts a month so I had to switch it back to e-mail. Scott

I have two FTFs. One is 983 miles away and the other is 183 miles away. In my area people tend to be retired and can beat any working stiff to a cache. I got lucky on the 983 mile one in Florida, it was just good timing. The 183 one was because of a slow caching community. It had been around all day. Scott

I bought my first GPS for $40 on Ebay. Do a search for "etrex" on Ebay. The yellow is the bottom of the line but it is the first GPS I ever used. I believe it can be had new for under $90 at Amazon. It's up to you. I don't think you'll find one under $100 in a brick and mortar (in person) store. Scott

As the father of two small kids I love playground caches. I agree that they should be labeled as such so that those who choose not to hunt them can avoid them better. The reason for chiming in here is to say that they should NOT be banned. We had one nearby that was archived because middle aged men without kids were uncomfortable with it. Should all 5 terrain caches be disabled for people that aren't comfortable climbing a mountain or getting in a boat? I'm not comfortable with urban micros but I choose not to hunt them and I don't think they should be banned. It's a slippery slope when you disable caches to appeal to one demographic. You don't HAVE to hunt ALL caches. This particular issue is close to me because I had to fight to keep a playground cache open and my only hide is in a park with a playground but not IN it. Scott

I do not own a Colorado but I use MacCaching with my Magellan. The list of supported devices is small but in their forums they have people who've gotten it to work. Just do a search for "colorado" and you'll find several threads. I have a 20" iMac and it's been a breeze to load caches with MacCaching. Scott

I realize this but it can't hurt to try. The list hasn't been updated since August 2007. Scott

It is pretty easy. You get a GPX or LOC file (a pocket query contains many caches in one file) and open that file into MacCaching. Then click "To GPS", select USB and Magellan. I do not have the same model as you so it may not work but it's free and worth a try. Scott

You can use MacCaching, I use it with my iMac and Magellan eXplorist 500. Scott

Saw this on a little narrow road with swampy land on both sides in N. Brookfield, MA. Scott

BTW means By The Way in internet speak, not sure about Geocaching lingo. I'm guessing TFTFTF is Thanks For The First To Find. Ordinarily (not on a First To Find log) that would be TFTC (Thanks For The Cache) or TFTH (Hide instead of Cache). Scott

It is normal to be ~30 feet off at times. After a while your instinct takes over once you get within 30 feet or so. Keep in mind that the cache owner's GPSr may've been off that day (atmospheric conditions, crappy GPSr?) and yours has a certain degree of inaccuracy at that moment in time as well. All that leads to you possibly being off at the cache. If you had said ~100 feet or something like that I'd say you have a problem. Seeing 20-25, I'd say no. Not a problem. Just my two pennies. Scott

Just be aware that you may get multiple texts to complete the entire notification. I did this on my ATT phone and would get several messages. If you pay by the message or have a certain number per month it may take up quite a few. I have an iPhone so I changed it to Yahoo push e-mail. Scott

I think I'm in the minority here but I am in it for the love of it only, not numbers at all. I have a life outside geocaching and I'm not hooked to the point where I need to have thousands of finds. At the moment I have 114 and I've been doing it since 2005. I don't cache in the winter (we have a 3 year old) and when I do go on the weekends we'll get anywhere from 1 to 10 if we go at all. I don't think my life or the sport would be any more rewarding if I had 5000 finds instead of just over 100. I have enjoyed each and every cache we've found. Scott

One could split hairs on that statement and say that on foot is not a "route" in the sense of on road driving and also being on foot is not mechanical in nature. I would definitely not classify the on foot path to a cache as a structured "route". Maybe we'll see a loophole in this rule? Hope so. If TomTom has software ready for the iPhone that may be route guidance right there. Scott

I've been using my iPhone at the cache for logs using the standard Geocaching.com. I have used an iPhone PQ Viewer but a lot of the time I'll just go to the normal site and log the find at the cache. Isn't technology wonderful? Scott

It means not printing out paper copies of cache pages (or any other paper form) when going out caching. This means using some sort of electronic device to store cache pages or information like hints and logs, maybe even all the cache page info. Many people use a PDA and a software program to put the information on the PDA. I use my iPhone. Hope this helps. Scott

West Brookfield, MA 5 Miles - 20 10 Miles - 127 25 Miles - 925 50 Miles - 4571 Guess I should have more than just 112 finds, eh? Edit: Just above me, wandering4cache, we found your Grizzly Adams cache in Charlton today. TFTC! Scott

With the exception of submitting a photo, this is all possible right now with the current iPhone. I have one and use it for all my paperless caching needs, logging finds at the caches as well as looking at Google Maps. I use my GPS for the GPS parts. Scott

I have had an Explorist 500 for a year and a half and it has always shown a straight line on the map screen when I've chosen a "Go To'. As far as it powering off, that has never happened to me. I've heard Magellan's support is not good but I think you should try contacting them. Scott

This is my daughter Alexandra. You really can't see her face because her hair's in the way. That's because she won't leave a hair tie or anything in her hair holding it up. She comes on all our caching trips and raids the containers each time. Scott

It took me three tries this afternoon to get a TB to show up in a cache's inventory. I'm guessing it had to do with how the servers get hosed every weekend trying to keep up with the high traffic. Scott