How Do You Find Your Way To The Cache?

[+Techtravler]

So you have decided to go hunt a certain cache, but maybe you do not know the area it is in very well. How do you get to that area? My car navigation software (Dell GPS) does not take coordinates. So sometimes I might not know how to get close enough to the cache to start walking. What do you do? I have been satisfied with my Navigation software for 2 years, now I have this issue. I will be buying a new GPS soon, but would rather not spend a ton if I do not have to.

 

Thanks for any help.

[+Adrenalynn]

So you have decided to go hunt a certain cache, but maybe you do not know the area it is in very well. How do you get to that area? My car navigation software (Dell GPS) does not take coordinates. So sometimes I might not know how to get close enough to the cache to start walking. What do you do? I have been satisfied with my Navigation software for 2 years, now I have this issue. I will be buying a new GPS soon, but would rather not spend a ton if I do not have to.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

I use streets and trips 2006 or Delorme 2005 on my carputer, but since that's not your question... -

 

Google Earth, Google Maps, and Mapquest. All free.

 

earth.google.com , map.google.com , www.mapquest.com respectively. To find the page on mapquest that takes coordinates, go here: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/latlong.adp

 

Hope that answers your question!

[+AuntieWeasel]

I mostly use Mapquest, probably because I've used it for so long. I jot down directions to get me to a parking spot, then I pay attention to the GPS.

 

These days, I usually take a gander at Google Earth before I go, too. Where it's good, it's very, very good. I often choose my caches this way, by terrain.

[+Segerguy]

So you have decided to go hunt a certain cache, but maybe you do not know the area it is in very well. How do you get to that area? My car navigation software (Dell GPS) does not take coordinates. So sometimes I might not know how to get close enough to the cache to start walking. What do you do? I have been satisfied with my Navigation software for 2 years, now I have this issue. I will be buying a new GPS soon, but would rather not spend a ton if I do not have to.

 

Thanks for any help.

I use a Garmin Quest2 with City Select to direct me to the cache, find a parking spot then use a Garmin 60CSX to point me right to the cache. I use cachmates and my PDA to go paperless. Works great for me!

[+ThatXrayGuy]

I print a Mapquest map and use that to get to the general area. I always keep my Vista C on though so I'll know how close I'm getting.

 

Steve

[+The Blind Acorn]

mapsource maps loaded into garmin 60cs, autoroute and away i go

[+Techtravler]

I guess I am a little surprised so many using MapQuest or Google Earth. That really doesn't work that well for me. I am usually geocaching without planning it. I always have my PPC with me, and I have about 700 semi local caches downloaded to it. However, sometimes I do not always know where the hunt begins. Like where the parking lot to a trail is.

 

Also, does Mapquest allow coordinates to be entered in. If not, how is it being used?

[+briansnat]

Before I had the autorouting 60CS, I just used Mapquest to pinpoint the general area I wanted to goto and Topozone to determine the best approach. The maps on my GPS got me the rest of the way. Now I let my 60CS direct me there. It rarely fails me.

 

Also, does Mapquest allow coordinates to be entered in. If not, how is it being used?

 

For me, like any other map, 'cept it shows the cache on it.

Edited April 30, 2006 by briansnat

[+EPMinnesota]

I use the map on the click-on cache page and zoom in or out as needed. You need to be a premium member to use it but it's often all I need.

[+Lakeshore Geocachers]

I must be really old school. I do the conversion to NAD27 (neat linky to jeeep.com comes in handy.) then after I get a look at the topo, I pull out the Delorme map book look at my route in...but hey, what ever works for you is good.

Edited April 30, 2006 by sueandstu

[+Techtravler]

Maybe I am a bit spolied after a couple of years of letting my Dell GPS get me there. I usually do not not think about how to get where I am going until I am in my car already. I just wish that would work on my Pocket PC.

[+SGT red jeep]

What king of GPS do you use to search for the cache?

I use the Garmin Topo software with my Vista C. I sometimes have to study the maps a little bit to find the best route to a cache but the topographical feature is an advantage when caching in hilly terrain. It doesn't have all of the city information in it but it does have all of the streets. It also shows some well used trails that might help a cacher get a little closer to a cache. The topo program runs about $100 and the GPS is a little pricy as hand helds go but it makes my geocaching experience a lot more enjoyable.

But for something a little less expensive, I sometimes use topozone.com to find and print more detailed maps.

[Tahosa and Sons]

I just put the coordinates into Nat. Geo Topo. Upload to GPS. Make a map at several different scales. And drive then hike.

[+Thrak]

On the cache page you can click on the google maps link on the left side and tell it to drive you there and you get pretty good directions. I use the mapping software I loaded into my GPSMAP76CS to drive me around. Sometimes it is WRONG but for the most part it gets me to the cache.

[+Adrenalynn]

Also, does Mapquest allow coordinates to be entered in. If not, how is it being used?

 

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/latlong.adp Coordinate entry page in Mapquest.

[+Alan2]

Maybe I am a bit spolied after a couple of years of letting my Dell GPS get me there. I usually do not not think about how to get where I am going until I am in my car already. I just wish that would work on my Pocket PC.

 

I use Mapopolis on my PPC. It auto routes using voice and visual prompts. Using gpxtomaplet you can overlay all the caches on the Mapopolis street maps and auto route from one cache to the other or see what caches are nearby as you drive around doing other things. Add gpxsonar to your PPC and you can go paperless. I use my PPC in the woods but my Vista is hardier but lately I've been using the PPC because its GPS in the SF slot is a Sirf Star III technology that works better than any other under the foliage.

[+Techtravler]

Also, does Mapquest allow coordinates to be entered in. If not, how is it being used?

 

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/latlong.adp Coordinate entry page in Mapquest.

 

But this is not for Directions. This is for Maps.

[+Techtravler]

What king of GPS do you use to search for the cache?

I use the Garmin Topo software with my Vista C. I sometimes have to study the maps a little bit to find the best route to a cache but the topographical feature is an advantage when caching in hilly terrain. It doesn't have all of the city information in it but it does have all of the streets. It also shows some well used trails that might help a cacher get a little closer to a cache. The topo program runs about $100 and the GPS is a little pricy as hand helds go but it makes my geocaching experience a lot more enjoyable.

But for something a little less expensive, I sometimes use topozone.com to find and print more detailed maps.

 

I am using my Dell Axim PPC with Beeline right now. Soon I will use a hand held GPS the is more durable.

[+Jhwk]

I use my older GPSr in the cachemobile, with caches loaded, to autoroute me to the nearest cache. Then I get out with my newer GPSr and wander to the location. Better than carrying half a forest of printouts or out of date maps with me. Like my wife, it tells me where I should go.

[+darus67]

I played with the demo of Mapopolis for a while. Coupled with the GPXtoMaplet converter it works fairly well for displaying cache locations and finding street routes to them.

 

However, Mapopolis doesn't seem to get the hang of WATER very well. I've noticed numerous instances where major bodies of water weren't displayed correctly. For example, there are places in the Twin Cities, MN where the Mississippi river is MISSING from their maps.

[+Night Stalker]

Before I got my Garmin 60Cs with auto-routing I used to enter the coordinates of all the caches I was going to hunt into National Geographics topo and print out the maps. I would end up with an awful lot of paper to keep track of.

 

Now I have already entered all the cache in my area into my 60CS using a pocket query. I just tell it to find the closest one and follow the road. Once I get to the closest spot I find a place to park and have it recalculate off road.

 

Since I already have the pocket query loaded on my PDA once I get close I open it up and read the cache page, and the last 5 finders remarks. Sometimes I find that i should have done that first because the last 5 were no finds. I definate hint that I should go somewhere else.

 

What this all means is that I now do a lot more caching instead of searching for the route to get to a cache. Don't know how I found any before I switched GPS's.

 

[+StarBrand]

Sometimes you just have to guess.

 

My wife and I really enjoy discovering new places and sometimes that means circling the coordinates using only the GPS to find the best parking or way in. Sometimes cache pages will give parking coordinates and these can be loaded onto your GPS via pocket Queries.

[+phoneman66]

I follow the bread crumbs of others

[+Segerguy]

Before I got my Garmin 60Cs with auto-routing I used to enter the coordinates of all the caches I was going to hunt into National Geographics topo and print out the maps. I would end up with an awful lot of paper to keep track of.

 

Now I have already entered all the cache in my area into my 60CS using a pocket query. I just tell it to find the closest one and follow the road. Once I get to the closest spot I find a place to park and have it recalculate off road.

 

Since I already have the pocket query loaded on my PDA once I get close I open it up and read the cache page, and the last 5 finders remarks. Sometimes I find that i should have done that first because the last 5 were no finds. I definate hint that I should go somewhere else.

 

What this all means is that I now do a lot more caching instead of searching for the route to get to a cache. Don't know how I found any before I switched GPS's.

 

If you use GSAK to transfer your caches to your GPSr you can run a canned filter called Last 2 DNF that will display all of the caches that had the last two logs as a Did Not Find. I run that filter then delete those caches before I transfer to my 60CSX and then to Cachmates. I get a cleaner list that way.

 

Cheers,

[+DaveA]

In the 'old' days I would use my non mapping gps to get me close and then circumnavigate around trying to find a good parking area.

 

Then I got a Magellan Color with the autorouting software and began using that.

 

Then I got a Garmin 2720 car navigation system (sweet product). It doesn't accept coordinates, but it does accept street intersections and often has the park the cache is in as a POI. I haven't used the feature yet, but the 2720 accepts custom/3rd party POIs and Garmin provides a free download for a utility to create them. With this one can input coords and have them uploaded as POIs to the 2720.

 

Still, I am just getting back into caching after a winter hiatus and find myself using the Magellan color more often than the 2720 to get to the cache area as inputing the coords is convienient. Where the 2720 really excels is that it seems to know where all the park entrances are and the Magellan color doesn't, it just gets me to the area in most cases. So, magellan to get me to the area and from there the 2720 touchscreen I just tap a couple times and it tells me where the entrance is.

[+Team Cotati]

Meridian Gold+DirectRoute.............you're there. Palm M500...........you're logged. Use GSAK and Cachemate along with a Premium membership. Before this stuff? Just my trusty Gold and my wits. Whatever works best for you is all that really matters. Since I always have a navigator with me aka Mrs. Team Cotati we sometimes bring along the laptop with MS-Mappoint. We have found this especially helpful when navigating in, around or thru unfamiliar metropolitan areas. It is really easy to make this stuff seem like rocket science, trust me, it isn't. Hope that you find this helpful.

Edited May 6, 2006 by Team Cotati

[aqx99]

I click on the map on the cache page, and zoom in on the map to see where the cache is. I have a street atlas for my area, so I put little removable dot stickers on the location, so I can glance at the map and see how many caches I will be able to hit in one trip.

[+rural_cdn]

I recently went to a geocaching event in an unfamiliar city and used nothing but a gpsr with the basemap, which is next to using no map. I knew where we were, I knew where the cache was, and we just aimed for it. I was quite surprised we didn't get caught in dead ends or taking the real long way. Only aboput twice we sort of took the longer than usual route. I enjoy it more w/o out all the aids.

[+LeoCaptKirk]

After reading all the posts, I guess I am VERY FAR BEHIND THE CURVE! Since we live in the city and there are over 1100 caches in our immediate area (within 50 miles), we just download an area of town into the GPS. Then we drive over there and follow the arrow on the GPS to the cache, hit next, and follow the arrow to the next cache. Yeah, occassionally we have to make some quick u-turns, but that's part of the fun. (If we need to go for a specific cache in an unknown area, we click on the map and use the Zoom toggle to find exactly where it is before we leave.)

[+Blaidd-Drwg]

After reading all the posts, I guess I am VERY FAR BEHIND THE CURVE! Since we live in the city and there are over 1100 caches in our immediate area (within 50 miles), we just download an area of town into the GPS. Then we drive over there and follow the arrow on the GPS to the cache, hit next, and follow the arrow to the next cache. Yeah, occassionally we have to make some quick u-turns, but that's part of the fun. (If we need to go for a specific cache in an unknown area, we click on the map and use the Zoom toggle to find exactly where it is before we leave.)

Like LeoCaptKirk, I just follow the arrow. Although the 60 CS has routing, I've yet to figure it out. Kind of like the blinking clock on the VCR (not TIVO)

[+Mudfrog]

After reading all the posts, I guess I am VERY FAR BEHIND THE CURVE! Since we live in the city and there are over 1100 caches in our immediate area (within 50 miles), we just download an area of town into the GPS. Then we drive over there and follow the arrow on the GPS to the cache, hit next, and follow the arrow to the next cache. Yeah, occassionally we have to make some quick u-turns, but that's part of the fun. (If we need to go for a specific cache in an unknown area, we click on the map and use the Zoom toggle to find exactly where it is before we leave.)

Like LeoCaptKirk, I just follow the arrow. Although the 60 CS has routing, I've yet to figure it out. Kind of like the blinking clock on the VCR (not TIVO)

 

We started out with an old Garmin 40 GPSr that only pointed the way as the crow flies. Found alot of caches with that unit but we never went through the trouble of mapping things out or printing cache maps before we left the house. Yes it was very frustrating at times just trying to find the way to the general cache area.

 

You can either do as others have suggested and go through the trouble of looking up and/or printing maps or,, get yourself a mapping GPSr. The latter is the way to go to my notion! Autorouting is nice but for me the basic mapping is fine. Very easy to do,,,, just watch the screen, zoom in or out as needed, and follow the streets to your destination.

[+NewfDawg]

Print off a Google Earth map with the kml overlay showing all the caches in the area. It's not the most technical solution, but it works for me.

[+Team Hassnander]

Wow you guys are missing the best part when you mapquest, google earth and what not.

 

I put the coords in my GPS and follow the arrow.

 

It may take me 1 hour to go 10 miles but its more fun that way. I will never look at a map or get directions to the general area for caching.

[+BigBirdNL]

Is start with GSAK and from there send the cache info to CacheMaps. And from there I can open any map on the Internet. This all without typing in any coordinate.

CacheMaps works for me! (offcourse, I created it :-)

 

BigBird