geocacher with a few questions

July 14, 2007

My basic background before I begin asking: I'm only seventeen years old and I still only have my permit, so it's hard for me to get to different caches sometimes. I live in a small town, but it's in the mountains so when I bike places I have to remember I'm going to have to get home, which always includes going uphill at some point. My dad and mom are divorced (amicably), so when my dad visits every Sunday I try to get him to drive me to different geocaches, but I don't think he likes it as much as I do. I have a Garmin eTrex Legend, and am saving up for a PDA to go paperless, but in the meantime I have to print out the papers to remind myself of the location. Anyways, here are my questions:

1. How would I go about finding another geocacher in my area (Western Maryland) who's close to my age but can drive and may like to go geocaching/hiking with me? Preferably someone who's somewhat quirky like me...

2. My dad's interested in history and such. I try to show him the history in geocaches we visit, like when we went to the Navy Memorial in DC while I was visiting him. I was thinking he might like benchmarks, but even with my attempts to show him the history or beauty at different geocaches, he hates the drive or trying to locate the geocache. Is there any way to get him more interested?

3. I'm trying to get a PDA so I can do paperless caching, but until then I have a binder full of the geocaches in the area. How do other geocachers keep track of their papers, and keep them organized?

4. I also go hiking and biking as much as I can, but I always seem to find that I either overpack or underpack. What do you guys recommend go into my backpack?

5. If I find a place I'd like to set up a geocache, but there's another one, say, 200 yards away, is it still okay to put it there? What's the ideal distance between geocaches?

6. I'm trying to convince my mom to get me a hydropack of some sort, gloves, hiking boots and a hiking stick. I can't find any hiking stick out in the woods that's good enough. What hydropack would be recommended? What gloves are best when trying to get through thorns or dig through stuff I'd rather not touch with my bare hands? Does anyone know a website that has hiking boots that come in extra wide sizes for my big ol' feet? How do I choose a good hiking stick if I'm looking for one in the woods, or is there a website I could just order one from for fairly cheap?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for reading this far. I'm a bit of an infomaniac and such, sooo... yeah. Help me please?

2.5k · July 14, 2007

Hmm lots of questions--eager one aren't you!

Attend an event to meet local cachers--If there aren't cachers your age there, they'll know of some around. Or invite one of your driving friends to join you to see if you can recruit a new cacher you already know.

Is Dad a gadget kind of guy? Perhaps if you add maps to your GPS he would enjoy using it to navigate to the cache. It does make locating them easier (but it costs $$).

Anything you can do to make it seem more like he is gaining from the trip and not just being your chaffeur would be good. Perhaps you could offer to do chores he dislikes to "repay" the gas money & time he spends (and he won't be so tired, so he'll have more energy for the drive). Tell him often how much it means to you to be able to bond with him on your explorations and how much you appreciate him driving.

Before we got our PDAs ($25 used from someone in the garage sale forum here) I used to cut and paste the list of nearby caches and hand write a few extra notes on them, so I only had one or two pages to carry with me. I printed out one big map showing the numbers of the caches. I could also use them to write notes on about the caches we found (needs a new log soon, extra fun, DNF etc). After the day's trip, I put them in a binder.

Minimum distance between caches = 0.1 mile

Make sure to read the sticky threads at the top of this forum. They have lots of helpful hints--especially the FAQs. You can also do a search for terms like hydration pack, backpack, swag, etc to learn more than you ever wanted to know about your other questions. ---But as for me, at a minimum, I carry a couple of plastic bags, some loose paper, a pen, a pencil, several small trinkets to trade, one nicer one, water, water, maybe more water, a small flashlight, a telescoping magnet, and a pencil sharpener, my cell phone, and a pamphlet explaining geocaching with me to any cache I won't be able to see from my car.

14.3k · July 14, 2007

I would post this in your local thread.

4k · July 14, 2007

From what i understand other electronics can help with paperless caching. It seems teens have a lot these days. Do you have an ipod or a PSP? (I think i have heard those work for paperless caching.)

July 14, 2007

a telescoping magnet, and a pencil sharpener, my cell phone, and a pamphlet explaining geocaching with me to any cache I won't be able to see from my car.

What's the magnet for, and what's the pamphlet for? (In particular, why carry it only if you won't be able to see it from the car?)

Thanks from another new goecacher!

4k · July 14, 2007

a telescoping magnet, and a pencil sharpener, my cell phone, and a pamphlet explaining geocaching with me to any cache I won't be able to see from my car.

What's the magnet for, and what's the pamphlet for? (In particular, why carry it only if you won't be able to see it from the car?)

Thanks from another new goecacher!

The magnet is to pick up items that work with a magnet.

The brochure is to explain geocaching to anyone (especially LEO or other important people.)

You don't need to carry if it you are near the car.

2.4k · July 14, 2007

What gloves are best when trying to get through thorns or dig through stuff I'd rather not touch with my bare hands?

These are my favorite caching gloves: Womanswork Stretch Collection. They're leather on the palm side, and breathable mesh on the back; they come in a range of sizes. The "one-size-fits-all" gloves made by other brands don't fit me; I have often had to resort to children's gloves before finding Womanswork.

402%20w%20seeds.gif

July 14, 2007

Whew! From the main forum page, this preview to this post reads like this...

17-year-old geocacher with

the Hermit Crabs

I was wondering how you differentiated the species! I'm glad it's nothing catching after all!

2.5k · July 15, 2007

a telescoping magnet, and a pencil sharpener, my cell phone, and a pamphlet explaining geocaching with me to any cache I won't be able to see from my car.

What's the magnet for, and what's the pamphlet for? (In particular, why carry it only if you won't be able to see it from the car?)

Thanks from another new goecacher!

The magnet is to pick up items that work with a magnet.

The brochure is to explain geocaching to anyone (especially LEO or other important people.)

You don't need to carry if it you are near the car.

knight2000 got it right. The magnet has come in handy a lot of times, to fish metal containers out of their hidey-holes. I also have a flexible grabbing tool similar to the one in this link that I picked up in an automovtive section. I've used the grabber to reach into those really dark holes and pull out caches. I've also grabbed a mirror with it, and used a flashlight bounced off the mirror at an angle to light up the interior and see what's in there before putting my hand in dark places, etc. I usually keep the flexi-tool on the dash of the car.

We do three kinds of caches: Quick leaps out of the car to grab a cache in an urban setting, quick walks away from the car down trails in smaller parks, and longer hikes where we'll be away from the car for a bit (hours, all day).

If I know I will be away from the car for hours, I carry a backpack with all the goodies in it--flashlight, matches, emergency blanket, extra betteries, spare cache parts for repairs, trinkets, extra water, emergency snack, etc. I just leave one of those packed in the trunk of the car all the time and replace any perishables before we take off. It's heavier than I'd use to do real wilderness hiking, but we don't do real wilderness hikes.

If I'm just dashing down a trail, I carry the things I said above with me. I add a bit more if there are several caches on that trail. I carry enough cache supplies in there to replace someone's logbook, add a baggie, etc--minor repairs.

I have a couple of extra containers in the trunk (OK, I admit it, I have several ready-to-go geocaches in the trunk). And if I find a cache needs major maintenance (like the lid is snapped in two, or the container has broken and taken on water, I fix it if I have one almost exactly like theirs with me. I even have a couple of extra ammo cans I picked up very cheaply if it comes to that. I email the owner when I get home to let them know what I've done, and offer to return their original container to them (or even back to the cache) if they want. If I have nothing at all like their container, I just use things like baggies and duct tape to stabilize email the owner when I get home.

Which reminds me-- I folded/rolled about a four foot piece of duct tape (one of each in cammo cloth and silver) and tuck those in my bag I always carry with me. It's amazing the multitude of things that will fix!

Cache repair isn't required (and every great once in a while you hear about someone getting upset with someone else for repairing their cache without asking first) but we know most of the cache owners around here. They do it for us, and we do it for them. Most of the stuff we carry is just there to make finding the cache easier for us, and to make trading for trinkets more interesting.

The nice thing about having all the ready-to-go caches is that means I have a lot of halfway decent swag with me if I really want to trade for something nice, or do a major stock up on someone's extra nice but very empty cache. Since that almost never happens, I leave the big stuff in the car, and walk back to get it if needed. I can use the extra exercise anyway.

July 15, 2007

Paperless? The heck with PDAs

I just look it up on the website and find it the location on my gps reciver and mark it with a icons.

now that paperless and pdaless.

July 15, 2007

Paperless? The heck with PDAs

I just look it up on the website and find it the location on my gps reciver and mark it with a icons.

now that paperless and pdaless.

For us newbs, it can be quite helpful to have the cache description, comments and encrypted hints available if we're having trouble with the find. I would attempt a cache if I had the coords in my GPSr and not the description, but I prefer to have the description with us in case we get a bit stumped.

11.3k · July 15, 2007

Paperless? The heck with PDAs
I just look it up on the website and find it the location on my gps reciver and mark it with a icons.

now that paperless and pdaless.

For us newbs, it can be quite helpful to have the cache description, comments and encrypted hints available if we're having trouble with the find. I would attempt a cache if I had the coords in my GPSr and not the description, but I prefer to have the description with us in case we get a bit stumped.

It isn't just "newbs" who need to have the cache description. I read the description before hitting "Go To" so I know what to expect. Sometimes the description has important information about where to park to access the trailhead. Or it might have information about Park Hours. Sometimes the description gives details about the type of container and its placement.

On one trip, I looked for several caches listed as "Traditional" that were actually "Multi" or "Offset" caches. Without reading the description, I would have looked, fruitlessly, at the coordinates for a cache that wasn't there . . . :tired:

I really appreciate having the cache descriptions, the hint, and several Past Logs in my Palm M500. If I am having trouble finding the cache, the Past Logs can be very helpful. :huh:

If you are only going to look for one cache on a single trip, looking at the cache page, remembering what it said, and heading out might work . . . but my memory isn't that good.

July 15, 2007

Welcome to geocaching. 1) be careful on this one, today’s society is crazy. You should really get to know someone well before going off somewhere in the woods with them. If the caches are near, just bike or hike to them, exercise will not kill you or shouldn’t. 2) not sure on this one. Sorry. 3) I use a memo pad. I jot down the info on caches. Once I find them, I cross it off, log them at home, and fold the page over. 4) I carry a gps, cell phone, pocket knife, water, memo pad with caches jotted down in it, and a pen. If going in the bush I will add a hiking stick, light, first aid kit, extra water, and something to make fire. You mentioned being in a mountainous area, I would suggest a poncho, food, and long sleeves just in case you have an unplanned stay overnight somewhere. 5) find a cache online in your area. Read the logs for that cache, at the beginning there will be a name of someone who published the cache. This is a reviewer; email them the cords of where you want to place the cache. If there is a problem they will let you know and then place it and fill out the form online. 6) Wal-Mart sells knock-off mechanics gloves. They have leather palms and a breathable backing is used the in Iraq and while caching in thorny areas. They are around 9 bucks, hiking sticks they also have for around 9 bucks. They sell some hydropacks to, not sure of the price on them. If you have an army-navy store near, they sell canteens these are great…they may even have some cheap trek poles?? Shoes, wear what is comfortable to you boots, tennis shoes, whatever…hope this helps you some.

July 15, 2007

Get yourself one of the "Emergency Foil Blankets" Dirt cheap, light weight and a life saver, yourself or another injured person. :tired:

July 16, 2007

PDAs are expensive, you know how much those things cost.

not all of us can afford those things.

July 16, 2007

PDAs are expensive, you know how much those things cost.

not all of us can afford those things.

If all you want it for is paperless geocaching, you could use a dirt cheap model off of ebay or wherever. You can get a brand new one for about $50 or a used one for $25 or less.

If you can afford a GPSr, you can probably afford a cheap PDA, unless you spend your last pennies on the GPSr ;-)

1.4k · July 17, 2007

Regarding #1 above, maybe start a geocaching club at your school? Or if you have a hiking, skiing, or outdoors/nature club, maybe get involved in that. A lot of cachers are into those activities as well and maybe you can get them interested in caching (I remember a 17 year old Canadian who was on these forums asking how he could find a girlfriend his age who caches or would be interested in caching with him and I gave similar advice). Good luck!

Edited July 17, 2007 by HaLiJuSaPa

July 17, 2007

I currently tend to print out the cache details before going out - it's possible on many printers to print "2 up" so that two pages fit on one sheet of paper. This doesn't cope with a situation that occurred the other day, however: I went for a walk with my wife, and part way around what we intended to do I thought "I wonder whether there are any geocaches near here". Yes, I realise that any experienced geocacher would have looked before they went out, but I am still a relative newbie!

I was delighted to find there was one a quarter of a mile away. (I loaded a whole lot around where I live onto the GPS a while back.) So we followed the GPS and foudn what turned out to be the first of a multi-cache. Now I use an iPaq (PDA) for geocaching and I have GPRS available on my mobile, so what I would have liked to be able to do is to pull up a simple web page with the vital information about the cache on it. I can do this in principle, but the current web pages contain so many images that it takes a long time, and the result is difficult to view on a PDA.

Is there any chance that we can have a very simple (text only, if possible) web page for each cache, containing only the very basic information about the cache? That would remove the need for some of us to take paper copies of the information. Maybe it would be possible to go the whole way and have a WAP page so that the information can be pulled up on a basic mobile phone.

Is there any interest in this? Is there any possibility that we could have it, please?

Thanks,

Tony

July 17, 2007

Does your Dad like any outdoor activities?- bar-b-ques, camping, fishing, swimming? If so maybe you can incorporate some of these activities into your caching trips with him.

4k · July 17, 2007

PDAs are expensive, you know how much those things cost.

not all of us can afford those things.

$10?

You talk about that new lowrance you have.

Descriptions are there for a reason. If all that was needed was a waypoint then the web site wouldn't have descriptions.

2.5k · July 17, 2007

[...] I use an iPaq (PDA) for geocaching and I have GPRS available on my mobile, so what I would have liked to be able to do is to pull up a simple web page with the vital information about the cache on it. I can do this in principle, but the current web pages contain so many images that it takes a long time, and the result is difficult to view on a PDA.

Is there any chance that we can have a very simple (text only, if possible) web page for each cache, containing only the very basic information about the cache? That would remove the need for some of us to take paper copies of the information. Maybe it would be possible to go the whole way and have a WAP page so that the information can be pulled up on a basic mobile phone.

Is there any interest in this? Is there any possibility that we could have it, please?

Thanks,

Tony

Doesn't the iPaq work with Cachemate?

Once you run a PQ, you can convert it using Cachemate into a file your PDA can read, sans pictures.

It creates a file that reads much like the cache page (minus any images), with several tabs. You can read just just coord, terrain, and other pertinent data, or the cache description, or the last few logs, or the hint.

If you do need a few of the images (for puzzles, etc) you already know how to get them to the PDA, so you'd be set if you used Cachemate.

I have an old Palm iiixe and it has all the info for about 3000 caches in it right now.

11.3k · July 17, 2007

<snip>

Is there any chance that we can have a very simple (text only, if possible) web page for each cache, containing only the very basic information about the cache? That would remove the need for some of us to take paper copies of the information. Maybe it would be possible to go the whole way and have a WAP page so that the information can be pulled up on a basic mobile phone.

Have you checked out the wap.geocaching.com site? It might be just what you are looking for.

I also recommend Cachemate. I've been using it on my Palm M500 and it works great. There is also a Cachemate for PPC. :blink:

18.9k · July 17, 2007

I currently tend to print out the cache details before going out - it's possible on many printers to print "2 up" so that two pages fit on one sheet of paper. This doesn't cope with a situation that occurred the other day, however: I went for a walk with my wife, and part way around what we intended to do I thought "I wonder whether there are any geocaches near here". Yes, I realise that any experienced geocacher would have looked before they went out, but I am still a relative newbie!

I was delighted to find there was one a quarter of a mile away. (I loaded a whole lot around where I live onto the GPS a while back.) So we followed the GPS and foudn what turned out to be the first of a multi-cache. Now I use an iPaq (PDA) for geocaching and I have GPRS available on my mobile, so what I would have liked to be able to do is to pull up a simple web page with the vital information about the cache on it. I can do this in principle, but the current web pages contain so many images that it takes a long time, and the result is difficult to view on a PDA.

Is there any chance that we can have a very simple (text only, if possible) web page for each cache, containing only the very basic information about the cache? That would remove the need for some of us to take paper copies of the information. Maybe it would be possible to go the whole way and have a WAP page so that the information can be pulled up on a basic mobile phone.

Is there any interest in this? Is there any possibility that we could have it, please?

Thanks,

Tony

Your answer is Pocket Queries and GPXSonar (free).

Take the GPX file that is the reult of the PQ and drop it onto your PDA. Then open it in GPXSonar. Easy to read small simple cache pages with no images.

I do this frequently with my Dell Axim PDA.

July 17, 2007

Thanks for the replies. I knew my request couldn't be original, but I didn't expect it to be so easy. In particular, wap.geocaching.com is exactly what I was after! Thanks for providing it even before I asked.

Just a thought: how about a mention of it somewhere prominently on the main site?

Thanks too for the other suggestions. I'll take a look at those too, because they sound interesting too.

T

geocacher with a few questions

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