Geocaching Article

[+Team Sauk Trail]

Hi all,

 

I am a freelance writer in my spare time and on occasion I write articles for Helium dot com. Recently a topic came up titled "Essential gear for geocaching ". When I saw this title I knew I had to write an article.

 

The article is done and I would like to have the honest opinion of my fellow geocachers. I have provided a link to the article and any feedback is welcome.

 

Geocaching article link

 

Thanks and hope you enjoy.

[+Jhwk]

"You will hardly find caches buried in the ground, high up in the air out of reach for the average person or in any dangerous area where someone may get hurt."

 

Why even bring up the whole 'burying' issue? Caches should NEVER be buried. How about "Normally, caches are hidden in plain view, inside of common objects, or naturally occuring hiding spots like stumps, crevices, behind rocks, or under a pile of sticks.

 

and some caches are placed in very dangerous places - you just accept responsibility for your actions.

 

"Now that you have the basic understanding of the sport, let us see what essential gear is required to get started in Geocaching. Some of the items will be just suggestions that may make the sport funner for you and your family."

 

The topic is essential gear, or is it not?

 

And how about "make the sport more enjoyable" rather than funner. I suck at engrish, so... your opinion may vary.

 

Now give me chemistry or math and I would be right at home.

[+Team Sauk Trail]

Why even bring up the whole 'burying' issue? Caches should NEVER be buried. How about "Normally, caches are hidden in plain view, inside of common objects, or naturally occurring hiding spots like stumps, crevices, behind rocks, or under a pile of sticks.

 

I wanted to hit on the "buried" issue only because some new people, when they first hear of Geocaching, may often think that burying would be acceptable and I didn't say never because it does rarely happen.

 

 

And how about "make the sport more enjoyable" rather than funner. I suck at engrish, so... your opinion may vary.

 

Now give me chemistry or math and I would be right at home.

 

That's what I get for writing at 2 am and not waiting to proofread at a later time.

 

Thanks for your time and advice.

[crawil]

3. Goody Bag - I would mention the "trade even or trade up" rule. This lets people know that we aren't ALL trying to get rid of crap from our kid's rooms in caches. Sometimes really nice swag shows up.

 

"6. Spare Caching supplies- Containers, pencils and notepads are nice supplies to have to help out a fellow Geocacher whose cache may have been attacked by muggles(the term for non-cachers who raid caches they accidently find), wildlife or the whether."

 

Muggle – A non-geocacher (taken from the Harry Potter series of books). Also “GeoMuggle”. They are not necessarily "raiders" or "attackers".

 

Accidently is spelled "accidentally" and I doubt that the "whether" has much affect on a cache!

[+Trucker Lee]

Don't mean to nit-pick, but the 2 a.m. session still shows. In item 6, I would suggest using the other spelling of whether/weather. And it did seem like the paragraph following item 7 may be out of place (Caches are rated by the........) and understanding would be better served by relocating to 5th paragraph spot, before the one beginning "Now that you have the basic understanding....."

 

And again, burying a cache is contrary to Groundspeak guidelines as pointed out before. May I suggest "You will rarely find caches buried in the ground or high up in the air out of reach for the average person, but some may be in dangerous areas or require special training or gear. Attempting these is at the cacher's discretion."

[Dinoprophet]

3. Goody Bag - I would mention the "trade even or trade up" rule. This lets people know that we aren't ALL trying to get rid of crap from our kid's rooms in caches. Sometimes really nice swag shows up.

One thing about that: in most contexts, including the dictionary, "trade up" means getting something better than what you're giving up. I know how we use it amongst ourselves, but it could give the wrong idea to use the phrase with non-cachers. I'd say "leave something of equal or greater value".

[+StarBrand]

Nice start. Easy reading.

 

I would drop any reference to buried caches. Add that some caches are hidden in trees. Some locals around here call Geocaching - "the art of hiding things in plain sight"

 

Expand your list to cover different situations. I will carry vastly different gear for a "park-n-grab" versus a 14 mile hike. Personally, I have about 3 levels of gear I will carry depending on how far away from the car I will go and the setting - rural vs city.

 

Water and first Aid kit are handy to carry in nearly all settings.

[+lals cache]

Nice read. I would suggest changing the very first sentence. It seems to be a run on sentence and would read better if broken into 2 sentences.

 

My family and I have been Geocaching for almost three years now and we enjoy it very much. We are always looking forward to the next time that we go.

 

Have pity on me. Both my parents are retired teachers. My sister and my wife are both currently teachers. I never had a chance.

[+Team Sauk Trail]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I guess I should have been more attentive in Mrs. Shannon's English class.

 

I will be making corrections later, so check back for the regrade!

Edited March 27, 2007 by Team Sauk Trail

[+Team Sauk Trail]

Thanks eveyone for their suggestions. I have completed the corrections, but it may take a while before the changes are approved.

 

Hope everyone has a great Geocaching day!