AZ_KMx2 Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 My wife and I had the our first day of caching today. Found all three we looked for and got a few miles of hiking done while we were at it. We did a bit of zig zagging around while trying to learn how to use the GPS. Does everyone walk around like idiot when they first use GPS or was that just us..? I got a Magellan eXplorist 400. It seems pretty good but there are a few things I don't get yet, okay maybe a lot of things. I'd like to have a screen that had numerically your position and the cache position. I uploaded the topo region where we were going to be but I can only see a square that represents the region I loaded but I can't display any topo features. Anyway, it was a good day and I think we will log many more in the future. Thanks for the new hobby! Kevin Quote Link to comment
+Super_Nate Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Congrats on your first day of caching....it is fun! As far as everyone walking around like an idiot on their first day of using a GPS....the answer is YES! I have let newbies use my GPS when we are looking for a cache, and the thing that I see out of everyone that I come in contact with....they like to walk in a straight line with where their arrow points them. That includes walking through a flower bush, or stopping when you get to a building and looking around blankly like what-am-i-supposed-to-do-now? They have .15 miles left to go and they stop when they get to a building and wonder how they are going to get around. Pretty funny. Quote Link to comment
+ThePropers Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Congrats on your first day of caching....it is fun! As far as everyone walking around like an idiot on their first day of using a GPS....the answer is YES! I have let newbies use my GPS when we are looking for a cache, and the thing that I see out of everyone that I come in contact with....they like to walk in a straight line with where their arrow points them. That includes walking through a flower bush, or stopping when you get to a building and looking around blankly like what-am-i-supposed-to-do-now? They have .15 miles left to go and they stop when they get to a building and wonder how they are going to get around. Pretty funny. That is pretty funny. The first time I took my mom, she insisted (while still in the car) that I needed to go left through the woods, despite that we were EIGHT MILES from the cache. I kept saying "yeah, why don't we follow roads for awhile" Quote Link to comment
+kemp_family Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 We started geocaching this past weekend, and love it!!! We had not figured out how to download the coordinates to our GPS (Okay. Truthfully, we didn't take the time to learn; we just went). We walked and walked and walked, then we found our caches. We marked where we left the car, and followed a pretty straight route back. For all three that we did this weekend, we had a lot of fun looking at the crazy routes we took to get to the caches due to lack of maps or lack of desire to set down and read the GPS manual. We may never do it the "right" way. We are totally addicted. Quote Link to comment
caledonia Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 I'm so glad you both had fun! Don't feel too bad about the "dance", you're not the first. Look at this "official" definition: Drunken Bee Dance – The movements of a geocacher, trying to pinpoint Ground Zero, chasing the directional arrow first one direction and then another This and many other interesting definitions may be found at http://geolex.locusprime.net/ Have fun! =) Quote Link to comment
AZ_KMx2 Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 Well glad to see it wasn't just us. After reading some more posts I feel bad for leaving a TB behind in a cache. I am planning a trip pretty soon and if it is still there I will go back and move it along. Quote Link to comment
+Super_Nate Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Another funny thought about the directional arrow.....newbies tend to get to the pin-point cache site and the arrow starts bouncing around and the distance keeps jumping from 0 feet to 20 feet in the blink of an eye...they start getting flustered and walking around in circles even though they have stepped on the cache a dozen times. Why not get close to ground zero and start searching for the cache container without the GPS Quote Link to comment
+Super_Nate Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 I'm so glad you both had fun! Don't feel too bad about the "dance", you're not the first. Look at this "official" definition: Drunken Bee Dance – The movements of a geocacher, trying to pinpoint Ground Zero, chasing the directional arrow first one direction and then another Now that I looked at this post....I basically said the same thing. Good minds think alike Although I like your wording better! Quote Link to comment
+Mike & Kate Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 I like to do a variation, which I call the Periodically Drunken Bee Dance. This involves using the GPS to get as close to 0 as possible, then stopping to search the immediate area for a couple minutes, then using the GPS again to find the new 0, then searching, and so on. I would imagine this looks a little bit better, but maybe not. Mike (Mike @ Kate) Quote Link to comment
+oldsoldier Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Me, I just wander in circles Quote Link to comment
AZ_KMx2 Posted October 11, 2006 Author Share Posted October 11, 2006 Me, I just wander in circles Well we did to, unfortunately it was on the side of a steep hill. Quote Link to comment
+jackrock Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 Me, I just wander in circles I just started a little over a week ago. I walk in circles every time except for one or two where my GPSr led me directly to them. Is there another way besides walking in circles? I get close and then start searching. Quote Link to comment
winston24 Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Ithink it's funny when when I see someone walking backwards looking at their GPS unit. Quote Link to comment
+mgbmusic Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 My wife and I had the our first day of caching today. Found all three we looked for and got a few miles of hiking done while we were at it. We did a bit of zig zagging around while trying to learn how to use the GPS. Does everyone walk around like idiot when they first use GPS or was that just us..? Not just you, and not just when we first start using a GPSr....I've heard stories of cachers with 100+ find who still do that. I know I do! Quote Link to comment
+rural_cdn Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 I get to the general area, look up at the tree cover, check my gpsr for accuracy, and then put it down on the ground for a good 5 minute or more while I do the obvious checks in tree holes. I go back to my gpsr and see if there's any changes. I've also learned not to trust the cache owners accuracy of cache placement. Quote Link to comment
+team coopbell Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Where do you get TB's in Canada. We just started (mind you my first two finds were in Iqaluit Nunavut and my first cache (pending) was in Pangnirtung, Nunavut...that must be some sort of record!) and we love it. I want to start a few TB's tho9ugh and the main site says no luck if you live outside the US. Quote Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 (edited) Today I found my Two Thousand and something or other cache, nine of 'em today. Hiked to several waterfalls, the ruins of an iron furnace, and some mineral springs. Slipped and fell on the wet rocks. Shimmied across logs over the rapids. One of the best geocaching days in a long time. On days like this, more than four years after finding my first cache, it still feels just as cool. And yes, we did a lot of walking around in circles. Edited October 15, 2006 by The Leprechauns Quote Link to comment
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