Raths Posted August 17, 2007 Posted August 17, 2007 I won a Palm M130 off ebay for <$50. I got a eTrex from the local WallyWorld for <$100. I've looked up a few caches on the GeoCaching site. My 3 year old was able to figure out how to turn the Garmin on and work the back light in about 5 minutes. I should be able to work it, I'm thinking. I have the 3 year old and the Mrs. excited about going out and finding the three caches that I have put into the Garmin. Is there anything esle that I'm missing that I haven't thought about that I should know? I want to make the first few finds as great as possiable for the family so they actually want to keep going out with me. L8R Raths Quote
+bwmick Posted August 17, 2007 Posted August 17, 2007 I won a Palm M130 off ebay for <$50. I got a eTrex from the local WallyWorld for <$100. I've looked up a few caches on the GeoCaching site. My 3 year old was able to figure out how to turn the Garmin on and work the back light in about 5 minutes. I should be able to work it, I'm thinking. I have the 3 year old and the Mrs. excited about going out and finding the three caches that I have put into the Garmin. Is there anything esle that I'm missing that I haven't thought about that I should know? I want to make the first few finds as great as possiable for the family so they actually want to keep going out with me. L8R Raths sounds good so far, don't forget to take something tradable. from what I gather if your little one gets into the trading thing they will stay with you a little more easily. One bit of advice I heard a while back was to keep some things that your kid(s) would like in your pocket so if the swag in the cache is a little less than stellar they still get to trade. Bwmick Quote
+briansnat Posted August 17, 2007 Posted August 17, 2007 You might want Cachemate for your Palm and a cable (and probably a serial to USB adaptor) for your GPS. That will allow you to load waypoints directly to your GPS and the cache pages directly to your Palm. Great features if you're out looking for more than one or two caches. Quote
+Ranster Posted August 17, 2007 Posted August 17, 2007 Also, for the first few caches, try to make them easy and larger in size. There won't be a frustration at not being able to find the cache. Also, check the recent logs and go to the ones that have been found lately so you know they are still there and active. Quote
+imajeep Posted August 17, 2007 Posted August 17, 2007 Go for it! Pick a couple of easy caches that don't require bushwacking, long hikes, or other inconvenience for the little one. Quote
+Stormstaff Posted August 18, 2007 Posted August 18, 2007 Just other normal hiking things....First Aid kit, water, snacks, flashlight, extra ziploc baggies, tissues, anti-bacterial hand stuff, bug spray, sunscreen, etc Yup, some of that stuff is obvious, but I've forgotten enough "obvious" stuff in my day, LOL Quote
+TrailGators Posted August 18, 2007 Posted August 18, 2007 Pick some regular sized caches in parks. Those are pretty areas and the caches are large enough to hold a good selection of trade items that the kid will enjoy. Quote
Raths Posted August 18, 2007 Author Posted August 18, 2007 That all sounds like good advice. And thanks for the replies! I never really considered carrying something in the pocket for those "just in case" moments. Great tip. I'm having some problems getting the Palm to talk with the computer (the laptop runs Vista, haven't tried to get it to work on the desktop yet). I think its because I don't have the cradle for it. It keeps giving me a "Port is in use by another application" error and I can't even get it to scync up with the SD card. One of the joys of buying used! One of the first caches that we are going to look for is a micro, but from the description it sholud be perty easy. Another is about 3 blocks from the house and the last is close to Grandpa's house. They should be good for the first set (plenty of chances to rest!) Looking forward to a successful "treasure hunt"! L8R Raths Quote
+Ranster Posted August 18, 2007 Posted August 18, 2007 It keeps giving me a "Port is in use by another application" error and I can't even get it to scync up with the SD card. One of the joys of buying used! This is usually the result of not having drivers installed, specifically the USB drivers. Check it out. Quote
+briansnat Posted August 18, 2007 Posted August 18, 2007 One of the first caches that we are going to look for is a micro, but from the description it sholud be perty easy... Beware. Statistics show that 82.7 percent of micros are hidden in the most mundane places imaginable. Quote
Raths Posted August 18, 2007 Author Posted August 18, 2007 Just got back from a successful day! Had 4 caches in the eTrex and was able to find all 4! The 3 year old got a couple nice toys and the Mrs found 3 of the 4. Over all not a bad first hunt! Thanks for all the advice! L8R Raths Team Rathsbuten Quote
+H2OBob Posted August 19, 2007 Posted August 19, 2007 Sounds to me like you should give the GPSr to Missus R. Seriously, one thing you may find useful is a good compass with degree markings. May cost $10-$15, but will help you find those caches faster. I usually use the "arrow" page with the Heading, Distance, and Accuracy readouts. Use the compass and GPSr together. It will help a lot on those caches that are in the woods where your signal fades. You can "triangulate" from a good signal area. Have fun, and Good Hunting! Quote
+TheDreadPirateRoberts&Crew Posted August 19, 2007 Posted August 19, 2007 Sounds like you found some good caches! My 4yo absolutely love finding "treasure". I make sure I have enough stuff to trade in case he sees 2 things that he likes or if I see something that I like too. We bought one of those binder pencil bags to put all of our stuff that we are taking to trade. and then little David puts his "find" in his pocket or my backpack. Our first 2 caches had play-doh and he absolutely loved finding that! I have several cache sites loaded into my gps so that if we are near any of them while out doing errands we can stop and check them out. Keep having fun, we are! ~Erica Quote
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