The Switch

It does help Daz. I currently cache with my phone, so I'm not used to too many features, but I really want my first unit to last me awhile. Sounds like the GC has some great qualities, but not much more than the few apps I work with on my cell. I'm following the multiple threads on the eTrex 20 closely. If I do end up with that unit, I should be well versed in any issues...lol.

Woodstramp and Daz, thanks for such informed and specific responses! Just the kind of insight I've been hoping for. I know I'm probably not going to find a 100% agreement from every user, but the opinions are starting to stack up rather high in Garmin's favor. I'll be honest and say that a lot of the eTrex 20 talk going around the boards right now is making me a little wary of that particular unit and it's geocaching abilities, but I know it's a newer unit that is still working bugs out. Can a person still get their hands on one of these older eTrex units you speak of? I'm wondering if the explorist GC might be a good starting unit afterall? I know it's about as basic as you could get...but maybe that's what I need? I'm planning a trip to an outdoor store soon to get some "in hand" time with a few different receivers.

Being fairly new to the game, and discovering I LOVE finding trackables, I had a question about good practices while caching in relation to TB's/coins: I notice, at least in my area, that several caches have trackables in their inventories which are no longer physically present in the cache itself. I'm not taking about trackables that were recently picked up and just haven't been logged yet, but ones that have obviously been missing for awhile. Would it be a good practice (being so early in my caching journey) to start making a note of these missing trackables that are not present (again, making sure it's not just one that was just picked up and the cacher hasn't had adequate time to log) and then inform the trackable owner? If yes, is there an official way to go about doing this? Would I just need to contact the trackable owner, or the CO as well? Can these inventories be fixed by someone to more accurately reflect the contents of the cache? I'd love to help clean up inventories in the area. Going in the same thought, are there any other good practices I could adopt early on that would benifit me/others in the long run?

The Dakota is a bit out of the price range (the PN60 is scratching the top ceiling too). BUT, if I had to drop $100 on maps with the garmin, then the PN60 isn't so bad price wise. Overall, can anyone speak to the accuracy our either unit? I think caching with my phone has made me a little gun shy with accuracy issues. Go figure

Just so I don't stay confused, I've been seeing a lot of 100k and 24k talk about maps. What exactly is that referring to? Going back to my original post, brands...however it may come across to others...are a big deal to me. Having never heard of DeLorme, would it be considered among the top gps manufactures? Cowboypapa: the maps are all preloaded? I'm wondering what other maps might be necessary? 3dtq, sattelite and photo imagery...added bonuses, useful, necessary? Could anyone offer an opinon of the PN-60 vs the eTrex 20? Ease of use, accuracy, features? I'm sure it's asking a lot; just trying to be knowledgable. I do like that the etrex can access the new GLONASS sats.

So a clear front runner is emerging from three opinions. Would anyone recommend a different receiver or brand? Seems like I've read that garmin has free maps to download? Seems like thay is a huge bonus.

As soon as I posted I saw it on the Garmin site. Seems like it has a lot of great features. Doesn't mention being able to store recent logs. Anyone know if it's capable? I've also been reading some availability issues? Or was that just through certain vendors?

Apologizes for the novel awaiting those willing to read. I recently wondered into geocaching a few months ago and am officially already to the obsession stage of the game. Although I haven't found a ton of caches yet, I plan on finding many many more in the years to come. Up until now I've been using a nice gps app on my android with mixed success. It seems to go in waves of accuracy (the latest wave being dropping my signal altogether). I've had enough. With Christmas approaching in a couple months, and with me being the thinker/researcher/ocd guy that I am, I feel the need to start researching WELL in advanced. I thought I could use the wealth of knowledge available here and get some honest feedback/opinions on some units. As of now, I have read much of what Ground Speak and the forums have suggested, but I'd like some greater insight into specific units that would fit me and my current style of caching. Some information about what I'm looking for: Price ~$100-$200 Features: paperless geocaching (that's all that's made the list so far...lol) Me: I currently cache occasionally. Something that is bound to change in the future. And when it does i'll invest the $800 into a Montana and have fun. For now, I'm just hoping for something reliable, accurate, and about the price range mentioned above. Thus far my search has lead me to the Magellan eXplorist GC and the Garmin 60CSx (which I understand has been discontinued). To be completely honest, those are the only two brands that I'm familiar with. And, however naive or stupid it may seem to some, brands tend to be a big deal to me as they inspire trust and assurance or concern and doubt. To the same end, I tend to enjoy buying new in the box items when it comes to purchases such as this, but I'm always looking for a good deal too. I'd love to hear opinions for or against brand, unit, features, additional options such as maps, Wherigo, etc... I'm not asking you to decide for me, but to aid in my decision making. Like I said, it usually takes me a lot of thinking something through until I pull the trigger. So any and all advice are welcomed! Thanks for reading!

Just a note to add: I realize my comments where out of line and not needed. I learned long ago to always wait to respond instead of instantly react. I paid no attention to that life lesson today. I didn't even realize exactly in what way and probably how much having this other cacher there probably directly led to my discovery. Just chalk it up to a noob being naive and overly passionate about something. To the fellow cacher involved, if you ever read this, my most sincere apology. A new geo-life lesson is learned.

Thanks for the quick words of wisdom and insight. After talking with Mrs. Switch (so much wisdom in her mind!) and everyone's insights here, I calmed down a bit. No need to claim it all for myself when he was there too looking. I can only hope, that if I were in the same position as he was, that someone might be willing to share it as well. Maybe since I have yet to cache with a group of individuals, and only gone solo, I'm still not use to sharing credit on a find. It would do me well to get involved in a local chapter of a geocaching club! BlueDuece, you're so right. FTF is just an added bonus to the wonderful game. The second I make it out to be more, I should reconsider hunting them. I'll just be proud of my accomplishment and let it stand at that!

So today, just about two months into the game, I logged my very first FTF! I got the notification at 1:14, got to GZ by 2:40, and logged the find by 3:05. Not sure how it didn't get snagged before then, but I somehow made it. I have, however, a dilemma about logging the FTF. The gentlman, who was very nice, asked if I'd share the FTF since he is on a 35 month streak, and very much wanted to ensure he hit his 36 month. Thinking nothing of it, I said sure and we both signed the log. He did tell me to sign first under the FTF line, and I did just that. We replaced the cache and chatted a bit before parting ways. But then something started to eat at me... Being my very frist FTF, I think a part of me wants all the glory. Am I crazy? Is a co-FTF really something to get worked up about? Should I just realize I truly was the FTF and let it be a personal victory (of which I do)? Not sure what protocol calls for here or what etiquette is on FTF's. Any help from seasoned cachers would be very much appreciated! ORIGINAL POST EDITED. I OVER STEPPED, LESSON LEARNED

I have a good friend who works for the local parks department who ended up doing the exact same thing to a cache he stumbled on while working in an area. He ended up leaving it in it's original location for a few weeks and watched as people came and went from it. He ended up asking someone about it one day, and now he's caching too! He says he finds them all the time (while working, not caching) now. Thinks it's the greatest when he's able to log a cache without using coords! Welcome to the game! Glad you investigated instead of just tossing what you found!

Wonderful! Glad there was a resounding "Go for it!" Like I said, I find being a part of the journey to be rather exciting, so I want to scoop as many of them up and pass them back along as I can. Makes the game even more fun! 6noisyhikers, I couldn't agree more. Even in my handful of TB's I stumbled across one several hundred miles from even the closest point of it's intended trip! Just a little tag would be of use in preventing big jumps like that. Thanks for the input!

I had a question today about some TB etiquette as a grabbed a nearby one, and thought I'd present it to the masses. I didn't see anything about the answer in another location (which doesn't mean there isn't one...I just didn't see it). So, before flaming me, please just redirect me if possible. Anyway, I'm rather new to the game and have fallen in love with it. I find TB's to be extremely interesting, and love the idea of being part of the journey they take. So far I've only logged a handful, all from caches that I had previously not found. My question: Is it considered acceptable or frowned upon to grab a TB from a cache you have already logged. For instance, let's say I've already found Cache "XXXXX". If I were to run a PQ searching just for Trackables, and saw that Cache "XXXXX" had a new TB, would it be okay to make a return visit soley for the purpose of picking up a new bug, or would proper protocol say that I should leave it there for the next individual who has yet to find that cache? As a follow up question, if it were acceptable to revisit the cache, would proper etiquette call for me to swap one TB for the other? So I'd at least be leaving something of equal or greater value? Any thoughts or suggestions would be very welcomed.

Thanks for the answers so far, and the many links niraD. I've edited my original post to hopefully step into the clear on the forum terms of use. Hopefully that will make my post a bit more legit. I'll look through the links with much interest. Thanks again! So, again, just to clarify (more because I'm OCD than anything): So in the Peace Sign Series, there are 41 caches to find--one related to each of the 41 puzzles. The bonus cache (or final cache) will then show itself at the end of the series. So, there could potentially be 42 physical caches to locate in the series?

So you would say that there IS a benefit from being both a PM as well as having a Geo-app such as the above mentioned? I have figured as much, but just trying to get as many opinions as possible.

I've only recently stumbled into this wonderful game known as geocaching, and can't seem to get enough of it. I know the suggestion is to start with beginner caches to get your feet under you before you venture too far out into the big kids world (which I have been donig), but there are a few near by Puzzle (or mystery?) caches that have me interested, so I thought I'd post a few questions about them, and Puzzle caches in general, to see if I can't get going on solving them. I will state it here as well as again: I am NOT asking you to solve the puzzles for me, unlock the mystery, find me the location, etc... I am simply asking for any tips, hints, tricks, or advice that will put me on my way to being able to solve them by my self. One specific Puzzle/Mystery Cache: Edited to step out of the possibility of violating forum guidelines. I think I'm on the right track anyway. Puzzle/Mystery Caches in general: They all seem to post coordinates to place their marker on a map, but they all say "CACHE NOT LOCATED AT POSTED POSITION. DO NOT GO THERE". That seems to be clear enough. But are the final coordinates accessable within the description (as in the above mentioned puzzle)? One example: GC1XGG1 He gives starting coordinates (what exactly does that mean?) and then a puzzle to solve. The numbers which replace the letters in his puzzle become the new coordinates, correct? Once that is done, are the new coordinates the final location of the actual cache? And finally (and I might just be getting so far ahead of myself I should leave it alone), I've noticed a couple of area puzzle series: The Seattle Peace series or the N.U.T.S. series. To keep my questions to a minimum for this type, is there a physical cache for EACH of the puzzle/mystery posts? So, the Peace series has 41 puzzles. Are there 41 actual caches to find, and then the final, or is there only the final, and the 41 puzzles help you find it? It may vary from series to series, but I was curious if there was some sort of standard. I realize this is absolutely packed full of questions, so whatever help each person can provide would be great. I hope I'm not overstepping any rules by posting a topic such as this, but I thought I'd ask. I've been reading all I can, everywhere I can, trying to absorb as much as I can. Thanks for taking the time to read through!

I'm sort of in the same boat as which direction I should head. Premium Membership, the Groundspeak App, or another 3rd party Andriod app? My GPS device is my smartphone (at least for the time being), so if I were to upgrade to PM, would I still be able to use PQ's? Or is that only a GPSr feature? Is it a bit redundant to have both PM and the Groundspeak app? Sorry to hijack the orginal post a bit, but thought I'd try to tag on a similar question.

Thanks for all the advice and input from those who posted already. I just tend to gey ahead of myself rather easily. For the time being, I think I'll just get my geo-feet wet and see what this game is all about. Get used to finding caches, what they look like, tips and tricks. For now I am just using a smart phone, but if things pick up, then I'll move to a dedicated device

First post (after reading forum rules....) Hopefully the following is all okay? I stumbled into geocaching after a random chain of events this past weekend and consider myself completely hooked already! I've already researched so many new hidden treasures right around my area that have med so excited, I barely know where to begin. I've followed the traditional/easy/regular size cache advise so far with good results, but I have a tendency to both over think, and over plan/prioritize/freak out...and it seems to be giving me some pause. Two specific examples (or maybe one wrapped in two parts). Less than a mile from my house exist two challenges (GC23RD3 and it's older brother GC23RDJ). Now, I know I'm new to this whole thing, but I'm making myself think that I need to save up every close cache to me to make said challenges possible. Thus reducing the number of available caches near by because I want to save the close ones to get the challenges. Not sure if that's making sense? I guess I'm looking for reassurance that these challenges or similar would still be possible even if I logged the nearest 100 caches? Similarly, I've so far logged at least one cache every day since starting. And am now realizing there are challenges for streaks of caches. Same questions/concerns/frustrations as above. Any advise? I feel like I'm totally into this new found world, yet a little lost at how to proceede sure to my own ocd. My wife, who is supportive (if not a little wary of my constant new interests) has suggested I put off membership until I log at least a decent number of caches. Which I understand. So, advise for a overthinking, anal, ocd, excited, free membership for now newbie? Thanks in advanced!