anarcha77

Thanks for your replies -- helpful & much appreciated.

My favourite thing to find is signature items -- in my area, I've found handmade bracelets, keychains, beaded zipper pulls, etc. I have yet to come up with the perfect signature item, so for the time being I just try to leave things that are inexpensive but are useful to geocachers and will survive well inside a cache -- I've left small carabiners, compressed camping towels, mini screwdrivers, etc. I usually look for good stuff in the camping and tools sections of discount stores to find my swag.

Greetings all; Apologies if this has been asked before -- I did a few searches through the forums and didn't find an answer. I am considering changing my geocaching username (specifically, so that it'll roughly match my username on other sites like instagram etc). My question is -- if I change my name, what happens to all my logs on the website? Will they keep showing my current username, or will they all switch to the new one? My concern is that I don't want cache owners to think that all of my 'finds' from the past 5 years or so are fake because my new username obviously won't be on the physical logbooks, my old (current) name will. thanks.

Of the four types listed, I'd say I'm none of them. I've only found one FTF so far, have certainly not swept my local area, and don't tend to be the 'passer-by' since I use a GPSr exclusively and so to some extent need to plan in advance and run a PQ / upload caches. I'd be in some sense closest to the favourites-seeker though I have my own criteria rather than just favourite points. I prefer, when I'm spending a few hours or even a full day caching, to hike far and spend as little of my time driving as possible. I usually cache along nature paths or in conservation areas, where there is plenty of good hiking and, ideally, a nice assortment of caches -- I like earthcaches, puzzles, traditionals, and even multis although I've successfully found just a few. I'll try any terrain rating provided I have the equipment (I'm generally not going to swim a 'boat required' cache though it happened once) and as long as I think I can do it safely. I especially like when a cluster of caches on the geocaching map alerts me to a conservation area or trail loop I never would've known existed otherwise. I will also say I do especially like puzzle caches so I will go a bit out of my way to log a find on an unknown that I've already solved from home.

I've never hidden a Travel Bug Hotel but I've logged a few and know where a number of others are in the regions I cache in. The travel bug hotels around here are generally hidden close to the main highways -- that way folks who are driving longer distances can move the trackables further. I've even seen a few that are hidden right at rest stops. These seem to work well.

I was looking up information on the website for a nearby conservation area I was planning to visit, and on the page with the map and GPS directions explaining how to get to the park I noticed the geocaching logo. Having no idea what it was, I clicked it, and the page briefly explained geocaching and noted the presence of a geocache in the park (there were, in fact, quite a few). It sounded like something I wanted to do, so I signed up for the free geocaching membership and sent off for my first handheld GPS. I ended up trying out geocaching a little closer to home first, and dragged my roommate along to find a few in a park near my house, but later in the summer I did end up getting to go to the conservation area and found a few caches there too, including my first earth cache.

Mine was one of my early finds. I went to the final gz, which was at the base of a bunch of poles. The hint said something like ' look under' so I'm thinking 'under the flags! perfect!' and looking all over the place in the bushes in a very high pedestrian traffic area ... but at that point I had yet to find a lamp post hide or anything like it so I didn't know those little covers could be lifted... yeah. I did end up finding it, but looking back on it now, having found many similar hides since then, it seems like a pretty big *facepalm* to me now since I know that were I to search for the same cache again it'd be the first place I'd look.

I understand the frustration -- I like and use an eTrex an the manuals are far from perfect. I am not sure what you're referring to when you describe a line at the top of the compass, but when you have a geocache selected to navigate toward and you're using the compass screen, the compass should point toward the cache. You can customize, to some extent, what information the compass screen displays, but it should include the distance to the cache in one of the fields -- that way the compass points you where you need to go, and the distance will decrease as you get nearer to it.

I second colleda's endorsement of the eTrex 20 -- I started with the 10 but upgraded to the 20 after a year or so of caching when I came to understand how helpful having a unit that can hold maps would be. I've never used the 30 but the eTrex line is great I've found, and have no doubt the 30 is too.

Congratulations on your finds! Definitely no cheating if you drive -- if you're interested in shorter walks, caches with the ''Park and Grab'' attribute are specifically designated to be caches that you can park nearby -- often for instance along the side of a country road or in a small neighbourhood park.

Welcome to geocaching, granpappa! No, the user guide isn't great, but it's a fine GPS to start with -- I used it for my first year or so of caching, before I upgraded to the etrex20 and sold my 10 to a new cacher. One tip would be that you have a look at the geocaching map on the website when you're uploading caches to the GPS -- because the 10 can't show a map. It's good to take note of the rough layout of the area the cache you're seeking is in, such as rivers, paths, etc. This will hopefully let you avoid some of the pitfalls I experienced early on -- such as approaching a cache thinking it was on one side of a river when really it was on the other side, and having to backtrack to find a bridge. My other tip is that, before you go out caching, take a bit of time to mess with the GPS settings and get them organized the way you like them -- you can change things like whether the geocaches are listed by name or GC code, which order the various pages of the GPS are displayed (Compass, cache details, menu, and so forth), the units of measurement used, and so on. I would even say to just go through each menu option one by one and see what's there... then you'll get a good feel for the GPS (which, I agree, the user guide doesn't give).

If I find a full log that's dry and in otherwise good shape, I leave it where it is but add a second piece of paper with the date and my caching name on it. For wet logs, I try to carry a few small baggies with me so I can add another sheet and know it'll stay dry, and I also make a note on my GPS so that I remember to notify the c/o that the log is wet and needs maintenance. I also carry a spacepen with me so I can sign even the soggiest of logbooks.

It's a good idea to find some more geocaches before you hide your own -- then you'll have seen a variety of sizes, container types, etc. and get a better idea of what works well for a cache and what doesn't. When you hide a cache, just keep an eye on the logs of people who find it -- if someone notes that the log is full, or soaked, or that the cache otherwise needs maintenance, then yes it's up to you to replace the log.

Keeping active is definitely a reason for me. I have some arthritis in my hands, tendinitis in my wrists, and multiple back injuries that sometimes leave me in significant pain. Only my back gives me a hard time with caching though, and it's usually not severe enough to stop me from going, though I'm not always up for lengthy canoe paddles or climbing a tree; I seldom cache in the winter because my joints are worse then and I don't deal with cold well, but I go as much as I can in the warmer months. Geocaching is a great for me because I'm very sedentary otherwise (I'm sitting at a desk pretty much all the time, for both school and work). Its good to have something I can go out and do that isn't expensive and is available to me pretty much anywhere I go (I actually have more cache finds far from home, since I especially like going when I'm on vacation or visiting a new place and I seek out conservation areas and big parks when I can).

I agree - I think focusing on your own experiences will be most interesting, maybe even what made you get into caching. You could include some footnotes with some links to things like the Geocaching 101 page too, so folks interested in starting will be able to figure it out.

Between the two I would definitely say eTrex 10 -- it can save far more waypoints, has better battery life, is equally water resistant, and is compatible with paperless geocaching. I used the eTrex 10 for maybe the first year I cached, and it served me well. I did end up upgrading for the eTrex 20 for maps though, and have found that really helpful - for ex. knowing which side of a river a cache is on before approaching from the wrong side.

It really depends on location for me -- I'm vegan, so finding food can require a bit of work in unfamiliar cities and I'd always rather avoid wasting precious caching time looking for some, so I always pack food if I'm out of town. Generally I bring water as well as Clif bars, mixed nuts, or dried fruit. If I'm near home or somewhere familiar, I may or may not bother bringing food along depending on the length of the trip and what's available in my cupboards.

I really like bringing along a SpacePen -- it's small and more comfortable to stuff in my jeans pocket than a full sized pen, writes very well on wet logs and in wet weather, and does not freeze when it's been out in the cold. If I'm on a long hike (whether caching or just camping) something else I like to bring along is neon path marking tape (biodegradable of course) just in case -- most of the time caching it's not something I've needed but once or twice it's come in handy.

I use the Space Pen -- fits in the pocket and writes on just about anything, even the soggiest of logs. I also have an extra pen and pencil in my caching bag. I do think pencils (and a little sharpener!) are better to include in caches around here though -- I've come across quite a few pens too cold to use.

I use a GPSr and the website. I've never used the app, primarily because that would require me to increase my phone bill by getting a data plan which I otherwise to be honest have no need for (I don't use any other apps). I can imagine the app being helpful for when one leaves one's GPSr at home or when one is out of town and hasn't run a PQ and loaded caches for the area onto their GPSr, but these haven't so far posed problems for me and I don't think the app offers significant enough advantages to convince me to significantly increase my monthly cell phone bill just to be able to use it.

I've only met other cachers at a geocaching event or, once, found out a friend I already knew geocached whom I met independently of the hobby. I have a travel bug trackable patch on my geocaching bag - the hope was for this to make me recognizable to other cachers since they would obviously know what it was, but it wouldn't inhibit my ability to try to blend in and not look suspicious while looking for caches.

I saw a link for geocaching on the website of a nearby conservation area & campground. I googled it and it sounded like something I would enjoy so I ordered a GPS that day and found a cache near my house soon after.

On a few occasions I've started looking for a cache that I put onto my GPS as part of a pocket query, searched for a significant time, then gone and looked at the logs and noticed the last 5 were DNFs. I've both found a cache previously DNF'ed and also added yet another DNF to the list. Whether I keep looking depends on a few things -- if I see that a list of DNFs extends back months and months on a low difficulty cache with what, given the location, seems like a really clear hint, I may be more inclined to give up sooner. I recently looked for one with a clear hint indicating a stump in an area where there was clearly no longer a stump present (I knew I was in the right area because another part of the hint confirmed it) -- between noticing this and noticing all the DNFs I didn't spend much more time looking for it, went ahead and logged a DNF and added a Needs Maintenance. However, a few DNF logs won't automatically discourage me from looking or make me give up right away, especially if it's a cache with a higher difficulty rating.

Something I love to see in caches are homemade items. Nothing fancy or expensive, but I found a bracelet another cacher had made and put in a little plastic bag in my first cache and I actually still have it. I've seen various very small knitted items, homemade keychains made from macrame, and so forth. A lot of these items would cost very little to make in terms of their materials, but are really wonderful finds. I also really appreciate the useful items -- a recent favourite was a candle wick for making a bottle candle.

What Gitchee-Gummee said. The cache won't always be a plain tupperware or film can -- the container might be well concealed to blend in with the area or to look like it's something that 'belongs there'. You'll probably also find this gets easier as you go along -- the more caches you do find, the better idea you'll have of what to look for and where to look for it.