+The Cluehunter Duo Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Hi, I've been dying to have a go at geocaching for quite a while, but never had the opportunity. I have literally just placed an order for a Garmin Legend after reading all the reviews and testimonials from people online. It seems like the best one to go for at a reasonable price. Postal services permitting, it will be delivered tomorrow. That gives me a day or two to play with it before venturing out into the wilds of Halifax, West Yorkshire on Saturday and Sunday with my family. I can't wait In fact, I'm off into Halifax this aft to buy some things to put into a cache. Is there anything in particular I should buy? Yes, this is probably a pretty pointless post, but I'm champing at the bit now! All the best, Jimbo Save the cheerleader, save the world. Quote Link to comment
+chizu Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Have a great time! We have a legend and it's doing us proud! Quote Link to comment
+jerryo Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Save the cheerleader, save the world. Ra, ra, ra! Whatever you buy, it’s going to get replaced by people who value old golf balls, McDonald’s stirry sticks, used Christmas cracker toys, body parts, dead flowers, insects and stones above the more traditional stuff you could put in. Try stationery, small gimmicky toys (NOT McDonald’s’s toys – I like the double apostrophe, is it right?), puzzles or anything that will fit in, has a little bit of value – remember I’m comparing “bit of value” with utter tat so nothing too OTT – and don’t cram the box too full or people won’t be able to exchange. Above all enjoy it and make it a good, interesting hide. At the risk of sounding patronising, I see you have no finds. It may be worth finding some caches first to see what makes a good hide. Check the logs of some nearby caches and look for the ones that sound good, then do it. A cacher local to me found his first three caches, hid one and then had it archived all within two weeks as he wasn’t familiar with some of the problems that can arise. Quote Link to comment
+chizu Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I assumed you were looking for some trinkets to swap in and out of a cache rather than setting up your own cache? Quote Link to comment
+jerryo Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I assumed you were looking for some trinkets to swap in and out of a cache rather than setting up your own cache? Oooops. My bad, possibly. I assumed the other, you're more likely to be right but I'll leave it there. At least he won't go on a golf-ball hunt after a visit to Micky D's. Quote Link to comment
wolfshead57 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Welcome to this game. We like to add value to what we swop in, Mrs G likes to put girlie things in for any little girls that are dragged across the mud or thrown into the gorse bushes to retrieve the tupperware. Last few things have been unusual pencil sharpeners, necklace that type of stuff and i like to leave Scout woggles or badges. Some folk dont do the swop thing, but for us its all part of it and I think if your dragging little ones around it gives them a bit of fun to swop stuff. Quote Link to comment
+Dorsetgal & GeoDog Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Welcome to the sport, game passtime! Have fun this weekend. Quote Link to comment
+Team Sieni Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Welcome aboard Jim!! For goodies for swapping go for SMALL (need to fit them in the cache and still have the box close!) and FUN. Toys and trinkets not too obviosly trashy, but don't go spending anything significant on them. Think what you may have liked to hoard as a kid. No-nos are any food items of any sort, knives, and obvious things like drink, drugs, guns and ammunition. Small is important as well as FUN because caches are often very full, and if you squeeze too much in, the lid doesn't seal, water gets in, the log book gets soggy Things people here love to complain about in caches are golf balls and Mc Donald's toys. Remember to print out the cache pages and take them with you. Many people here have amazingly complicated setups involving local databases of caches, PDA's, mapping software and whatnot. You may too - eventually, but for now, your GPS and some cache printouts will do fine. Oh, and some batteries will come in handy too. Did I mention to have FUN? Quote Link to comment
+The Cluehunter Duo Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 Thank you for the replies! I don't think my post was clear enough after reading it again...I'm looking to buy some things to put or swap into any cache I find. I'll make sure I don't take any MacD toys or my Magnum 357 pistol along lol! Do people really put guns and ammunition in?!?!? Our 4yr old son loves walking, so for us to add a treasure hunt into the mix will make it something really special for him. No doubt I won't get to see the gps once he realises what it's for! Typical. I hope the weather holds for the weekend. Still, even if it's pouring down I'm off out on Saturday! All the best, Jimbo Save the cheerleader, save the world. Quote Link to comment
+MartyBartfast Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Oh, and some batteries will come in handy too. And some people leave batteries for swaps too. I've been rescued on one occasion when my batteries were on their way out miles from anywhere and I found a pair of AAs in a cache and was able to keep going for the day. Quote Link to comment
+L8HNB Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Hi Jim, We have a Legend too, its fine, keep a spare pair of batteries with you - just in case! Another little tip, always check the cache(s) you intend to do on gc.com. We always do in case there has been a few Did Not Finds (DNFs) or some other relevent notes posted in the logs. Doing this has saved us a good few wasted journeys. Our rule for swaps is only take what you fancy and always leave something you would be pleased to take. Have a great time, we're sure you will, and post your success or otherwise here! L&H Oh, don't do what we did, make sure your Legend is set for the WGS84 datum! Quote Link to comment
+The Book Of Shadows Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I had to do a double take on the thread title. I thought it said something else. Welcome to our obsession Quote Link to comment
+Team Sieni Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Do people really put guns and ammunition in?!?!? Nah I just had the Clash song "Police and Thieves" in my head. Mind you, I've read stories on here of cachers uncovering hidden/dumped firearms, and stashes of drugs while looking for a cache. The advice about WGS84 is vital! Make sure your GPS is set to WGS84 and type in the co-ords in degrees and minutes from the cache page, don't use the UK Grid Ref, as that can be a bit off. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 We often drop off plastic battery cases in caches - the ones that hold 4 batteries - You can buy them quite cheaply from 7dayshop (so MrB tells me). I recently stocked up on some attractive tumbled pebbles and some small fossils which I found at 99p each. Some bootlaces were also a useful swap that we found. It's also good to find unusual "signature" items that some geocachers leave: Our local cachers, The Gecko's leave lovely multi-coloured gecko beanies. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+SidAndBob Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I'm not sure why McToys and golf balls get such a bad press. Compared to a golf tee, 2p piece, Tesco school vouchers, manky vinegar/ketchup sachets (against guidelines), a used birthday cake candle etc., they seem positively good swaps. Most cachers will be familiar with some of these items, and I'm sure even worse. If I find a golf ball on my way to a cache I will leave it in the cache without taking anything. I know I used to like having them for shots over lakes and practise. My son doesn't mind McToys, as long as they are new and bagged - not scabby broken ones of course. As a newbie you'll find the most closely guarded secret is that Travel Bugs and Geocoins are NOT trading items. If you take an item and leave a TB, the next person will likely (and correctly) pick up the TB and leave nothing. The cache is now one item down and if this happens a few times it's empty. Likewise, you don't have to leave a swap or a TB to take a TB. Some kind hearted people leave a swap and take nothing. A few do the opposite. Some prefer not to swap at all. And some take a good item and leave junk. Why not let your kids help choose the items you want to leave, after all, they know best what kids will want to find. Folding money is always a popular trade. Quote Link to comment
+The Cluehunter Duo Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 (edited) There's much to learn by the sounds of it...WGS84...Now, that was effectively double dutch until I googled it and read the wiki. It was still double dutch, so I googled again and read a website in English! Thanks for the tip though, I'd never have known about that one. Even though I've never done this geocaching malarky I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would either take something and leave nothing in return, or just dump any old rubbish instead. Doesn't that just defeat the object and spoil the fun?!?!? We've already decided what we're going to leave in each cache. Something small and probably fun that would appeal to kids of any age and that is readily available in shops. We agreed that a budget of £2ish per cache is about right. After all, how much would an afternoon at the cinema cost? The last time I went, a (small) bottle of pop and bag of M&M's was around £5! This is a cheap day out, good excercise, educational for kids and sounds like great fun. My stock of batteries are all on charge as we speak (sorry to my son for raiding a couple of his toys! I know, I'm a bad parent, but it's in a good cause!) and I am busy reading GPS for Dummies, which is very good so far. My wife is sick of hearing the word geocache and is pretending she's not interested. But, she also spent an hour trying to figure out what we could call ourselves. Bless! You know, I've never been quite as enthusiastic about something like this since Conundrum. Showing my age now!! I wonder how many of you remember it too? Roll on weekend! All the best, Jimbo Save the cheerleader, save the world. Edited October 11, 2007 by jim_h Quote Link to comment
+chizu Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Please let us all know how you get on after your first trip! Quote Link to comment
+spannerman Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Have a good day Saturday and I hope your lad enjoys it. When we started caching, our daughter used to come along and enjoyed the swapping thing. We had our share of caches with broken toys etc so I started carrying the odd £1 or £2 coin that I could drop in the cache before she got her hands on it. Very occasionalIy, there will be something in the cache which you would rather your children don't get there hands on so I always opened the cache myself, had a quick check, and took the log book before handing her the box with the swaps. Quote Link to comment
+The Lavender Hill Mob Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 We agreed that a budget of £2ish per cache is about right. An obvious statment but it all depends on the quality of the items that you put in. I tend to put badges, key rings, stationary stuff, cheap sewing kits in mine probably comes to a little more than £2 but it doesn't matter because it'll get swapped out for marbles, kinder egg toys etc. While we're on the subject what is the worst thing any of you out there have seen in a cache. Here's mine..........I was caching in Romania with a work collegue, we found a cache and because he had nothing better to leave he left a £2 Tesco voucher Useful in Romania, I guess it's the thought that counts! TLHM Quote Link to comment
+Team Sieni Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 My wife is sick of hearing the word geocache and is pretending she's not interested. But, she also spent an hour trying to figure out what we could call ourselves. Bless! Don't mock, this is a serious matter. Once you have chosen your geocaching name you are stuck with it You can't change it! So have a good ponder, then (if necessary) create your new identity before logging any finds. Quote Link to comment
+The Lavender Hill Mob Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 (edited) Don't mock, this is a serious matter. Once you have chosen your geocaching name you are stuck with it You can't change it! So have a good ponder, then (if necessary) create your new identity before logging any finds. Well you can change it, its just that you have to go back and relog all your finds. Team Sieni's right come up with a name you're happy with now before you've logged any caches. I logged some as Dr.Death but thought the name a little too morbid so changed it before I'd logged too many to make it impracticable. My wife enjoys the game....my kids, who are grown up, think I'm insane! TLHM Edited October 12, 2007 by The Lavender Hill Mob Quote Link to comment
+The Wombles Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Jim, I enjoyed feeling your enthusiasm come through your posts - glad you're looking forward to it so much. Please take care to choose an easy "difficulty" rating for your first cache and take the cache page so that you can decode the hint if necessary, to maximise your chances of finding it. Looking forward to reading your report afterwards. Happy caching. Quote Link to comment
+hiho9 Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 would also be helpful to look for a large/regular sized cache. Quote Link to comment
Deceangi Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 My wife is sick of hearing the word geocache and is pretending she's not interested. But, she also spent an hour trying to figure out what we could call ourselves. Bless! Don't mock, this is a serious matter. Once you have chosen your geocaching name you are stuck with it You can't change it! So have a good ponder, then (if necessary) create your new identity before logging any finds. Sorry but that's no longer true This post explains things Quote Link to comment
+chizu Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Sorry but that's no longer true This post explains things Well they certainly kept that quiet and hidden away Quote Link to comment
+The Cluehunter Duo Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 The Wombles - I love your name! I am very enthusiastic, yes. I'm one of the people who buys every treasure hunt book upon release and spends months of my life obsessed by the clues, not that I have ever won anything. It all began with Conundrum all those years ago! So, to have hundreds of mini treasure hunts (sort of) on my doorstep is too good an opportunity to miss. Deceangi - Email sent, request for username change made. Fingers all crossed! :-) Quote Link to comment
+Team Sieni Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Once you have chosen your geocaching name you are stuck with it You can't change it! Sorry but that's no longer true This post explains things My apologies ... I'm behind the times! Now ... what shall I change my name to? Quote Link to comment
+Vodor and Scorsby Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Once you have chosen your geocaching name you are stuck with it You can't change it! Sorry but that's no longer true This post explains things My apologies ... I'm behind the times! Now ... what shall I change my name to? How about 'MushroomMicro' cos theres not mush room in a micro ??? Quote Link to comment
+MartyBartfast Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 ... Please take care to choose an easy "difficulty" rating for your first cache ... Thats what we did for our first cache, still didn't find it though but we went back when we had a few finds under our belt and got it straight away so "If at first you don't succeed......" Quote Link to comment
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