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Some do. I can think of 3 geocachers right off the bat who have hundreds of finds without a GPS (Ed Scott, Web-ling and Walden Run).

 

I've done it myself and it is more challenging, but possible. Multi caches present an additional challenge, but are do-able. I use Topozone, Google Earth and the other mapping programs.

 

Of course its a lot easier if there are terrain features or landmarks showing on topo maps or sat photos. A cache in the middle of the plains of Kansas might be a lot harder sans GPS than one in the middle of Pittsburgh or on a mountain peak.

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Some do. I can think of 3 geocachers right off the bat who have hundreds of finds without a GPS (Ed Scott, Web-ling and Walden Run).

 

I've done it myself and it is more challenging, but possible. Multi caches present an additional challenge, but are do-able. I use Topozone, Google Earth and the other mapping programs.

 

Of course its a lot easier if there are terrain features or landmarks showing on topo maps or sat photos. A cache in the middle of the plains of Kansas might be a lot harder sans GPS than one in the middle of Pittsburgh or on a mountain peak.

 

I have to say thinking about it of course it's possible.

 

All the same my deepest respect to those who treat the GPS as an optional extra :D

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I thought I'd ask...

 

Does anyone out there Geocache without a GPS? I mean with compass and map etc?

 

If they do is it more of a challenge? (Obvious I suppose)

 

:D

 

Yes, it's called Letterboxing, which has been around for over 150 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterboxing

 

Geocaching without a GPS is similar to letterboxing, but much more challenging.

 

With letterboxing, you have written directions to the stash (walk 200 feet to the tree shaped like a cross, continue west to the boulder that looks like a monkey's face, etc). With geocaching, all you have are the coordinates.

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I've got some finds from before I had a GPSr and have had a few that I didn't really need it to find the cache.

 

The improvements in the Google Earth and such make it easier than it was.

 

One of my early attempts was rather laughable. My daughter and I wandered into a small bit of woods carryiing her laptop.. we didn't have a working printer but had saved the pages and satellite photos to the computer ... it was a failure.. but an interesting attempt, nonethe less.

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Does anyone out there Geocache without a GPS? I mean with compass and map etc?
The day I was introduced to geocaching, I tried to get an old Magellan GPSr to work. After a while, I gave up and used GPSrs belonging to others in the group, and we found four caches.

 

Since then, I've used Google satellite photos. I tried a couple more times to get the old Magellan GPSr to work, but I eventually declared it to be dead. That's okay--it had only two decimal places of precision for minutes (i.e., nn° nn.nn rather than nn° nn.nnn). Eventually, I'll probably get a GPSr, but I'm having fun finding (and hiding) caches without one.

 

Yes, it's a challenge, especially for multi-caches. At first, I'd find multi-caches in multiple trips to the site, checking the satellite photos online each time I came up with a new set of coordinates. Since then, I've started trying to get multi-caches in a single trip, pacing off the distance between the known coordinates and the new coordinates.

 

As for details: I keep the cache description on my Palm computer, and update the page with my own notes once I find the cache. I use those notes when I log the find online. I usually just remember where the caches are located by viewing the satellite photos shortly before I go caching. Sometimes I remember the cache locations longer (especially when I'm already familiar with the area), and sometimes I print a copy of the satellite photos (especially when I'm caching while on a trip out of my local area).

 

Obviously, it's easier in more urban areas with good landmarks visible in the satellite photos.

Edited by niraD
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Some do. I can think of 3 geocachers right off the bat who have hundreds of finds without a GPS (Ed Scott, Web-ling and Walden Run).

 

I've done it myself and it is more challenging, but possible. Multi caches present an additional challenge, but are do-able. I use Topozone, Google Earth and the other mapping programs.

 

Of course its a lot easier if there are terrain features or landmarks showing on topo maps or sat photos. A cache in the middle of the plains of Kansas might be a lot harder sans GPS than one in the middle of Pittsburgh or on a mountain peak.

If I remember right Ed Scott was the one with over 900 finds and only held a GPS twice, and thought they were no good. Also he was going to wait untill he retired to realy get into the caching thing. ( If it wasn't Ed please let me know who I am thinking of.)

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I actually own one letterbox.

The hunt goes by location description.

Some geocaches can be found this way, if there are enough clues.

Recently, I found a cache in a park so small, no GPS was needed.

The entire park would be in the "footprint" of the best geolocation

one could get. Mosquito Park in Burlington, IA.

I just searched until I found it, not many places to look in less

than a half acre!

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Our first 3 finds were before we bought a GPS. Looking back, I really can't believe we found one of the caches- it was hidden in some rocks along a mile long ridge in the foothills. It could have literally been in any of a million places, and we happened to see it while climbing over some rocks.

 

The other 2 we found had enough of an area description on the webpage that we were able to narrow it down pretty well.

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Since then, I've used Google satellite photos. I tried a couple more times to get the old Magellan GPSr to work, but I eventually declared it to be dead. That's okay--it had only two decimal places of precision for minutes (i.e., nn° nn.nn rather than nn° nn.nnn). Eventually, I'll probably get a GPSr, but I'm having fun finding (and hiding) caches without one.

 

Don't give up on the Maggie yet! Sounds like you just had it set up wrong. (Or, insert old Spinal Tap joke here)

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