Jump to content

What were your first thoughts when you heard of Geocaching?


patty556

Recommended Posts

I was browsing through google images trying to get ideas for a Powerpoint project I was making and I saw a photo of this container next to a tree and my curiousity got the best of me so I clicked on it.

 

I read the image description, I visited the geocaching site. I read the story about the first "stash" with the can of beans and all that. I read how Jeremy came into the game and tweaked the concept.

 

Somewhere between clicking that google image and going to bed that night, I was hooked!!

 

I spent what I could spare of my next paycheck on my first GPS.

 

:D

Link to comment

Actually my first thoughts about Geo caching, was bad thoughts. I first heard of Geo caching from a co-worker Mmeese, he was telling me about it; and my first thought was: "that's the biggest waste of time, you need to get a life" Well my brother was actually interested in doing it, so I tagged along. The first one we found i was having the same thought "boring" well then we found another one. So here i am i believe i have found 17 caches so far, and i am going again Saturday. So I guess that saying is correct: "Don't knock it till you try it"

D

Link to comment

I came to geocaching through the technology.

 

A few years ago I saw an item on geocaching. I really can't remember if it was in a magazine or TV or on the net, but at the time I thought it sounded like a neat outdoor activity. But I didn't have a GPS so I didn't investigate it any further.

 

Last year I started getting interested in wi-fi and wardriving. I bought a cheap USB GPS to plug into my laptop and did a bit of wardriving in my local area. It quicky became apparent that there was SO MUCH wi-fi out there that it wasn't going to be as interesting an activity as I'd first thought. But by then I'd got interested in the GPS side of it. Obviously I wouldn't be able to take my laptop and USB GPS out walking, so I borrowed my dad's old Garmin Legend. It wasn't terribly good and really disliked tree cover (in fact, my own USB GPS had a much better chipset).

 

I tried a bit of geocaching and only managed to find one local cache. A couple of weeks later I went on holiday in Canada and tried geocaching with the Legend there. I didn't manage to find a single cache. I also failed to find a store that sold the GPS units I wanted to buy (60CSx or 76CSx - both much cheaper over there than here in the UK).

 

When I got home I bought a 76CSx online and had another go at geocaching with it. I did a couple of long multis with a friend and we both enjoyed it. My girlfriend thought it was a really geeky hobby, but eventually agreed to come on a short multi with me. She still thinks it's geeky but that doesn't stop her coming with me. When we go somewhere new she often suggests seeing what geocaches are nearby.

Link to comment

In 2001 I read a headline on my Yahoo Front Page that mentioned a new sport called "geocaching." I really didn't read the article I just gleaned it. I pictured in my mind that people were hiding little capsule like things around and then you would go out and find them. It sounded like it would be fun to do, but I immediately thought,"It is probably way to expensive to get a GPSr and there is probably some sort of fee for the services."

 

Then in 2006 our friends from Michigan came for a visit and asked if we had ever heard of geocaching. I told them what I knew. Then they took us out for a hunt. We found four that day and within a few months I purchased a GPSr and we were on our way.

Link to comment

It was my hubby's (OneAdam12) bright idea to try to find a couple of these things on our way to town one day. Both of our kids were with us, and what kid doesn't like a treasure hunt?? So, we found a micro first, then a bowl with lots of cool stuff in it, including a travel bug........hook, line...and sinker! We detoured on our way home to find another. Now we are searching out caches, buying geocoins, moving travelbugs, researching a new GPS for me, and looking for benchmarks that haven't been seen since 1940. My first thought?? We will look for anything you want to if you will just hurry up and get ready to go to town! :) Now, I love it. But don't tell him that :)

Link to comment

In the fall of 2004, we came off a trail and met 3 people who were headed down another trail I had never explored. Asked them were it went, and they said they didn't know; they were looking for geocache. That sounded interesting, so my wife got me a GPS for Christmas that year. 3 months later I found my first cache.

Link to comment

I heard about it while camping with my cousin this past fall. We didn't do it because we ended up getting side tracked. I kept thinking about it and I was able to find a GPS that was inexpensive and easy to use. I have found two that are in a very high muggle traffic area. I have to wait until they leave College for the weekend to check them out.

 

I loved the idea of modern day pirate treasure hunt! :unsure: I used to hide my own "treasure" when I was a kid and draw detailed maps of my yard.

Link to comment

Many ages ago when I FIRST heard about it:

"that sounds fun. But, I don't have a GPS or the money for one. and besides, I live in Tucson. There's nothing interesting in Tucson."

More recently when someone brought it up on a forum:

"I'd kinda forgotten about that. *poke poke* Cool, but I bet there aren't any in Tucson, because Tucson sucks."

A bit more poking, and I find this sight and I'm all "dadgum, there are some in Tucson. Okay, I'm stealing dad's GPS"

 

*edit in* Okay I lied.

When the person brought it up on the forums. (which by the way were over at www.toysoldiersunite.com) my thought was actually more like "That would be a fun way to spread the word of doctor Steel. but Tucson sucks, there can't be any here."

 

.. the rest is accurate though :unsure:

Edited by Zolgar
Link to comment

I was searching for a GPSr for defining tracks in articles I was doinf regarding mountain biking a few years back. I wsa on the Garmin site and they had a link to Geocaching .com. I bought the GPS Map60 CS and used it for mapping and then I go involved withthe Map corps and one day I was doing som research and ran across Geocaching.com again and Ithought I check it out. I went out and found a couple of Geocaches. Now I mainly look for Geocaches that take me to interesting areas I've never been in. I have since written some articles on lost cemeteries, ghost towns and other lost or little know locations. I support geocaching totally, I think its great in that it gets people outdoors, expands horizons and is great for spending time with the kids. Beats TV, video games, and chatting on the internet anyday.

Link to comment

Well, I used to work in a school system and they do a simulated geocache activity where they do a hide and seek thing around campus. If they found all of the coins/items, they got a good grade and a treat. I thought if thats what its all about, thats lame.

 

then I found some young ladies running around a park at night and decided to be a gentleman and try to help find this hidden box. We didnt find it that night, but I went back the next night and found the cache. I hadnt joined up yet, so I only had a vague idea of what it was all about. So I took the cache and almost kept it before I realized it was a cache...hehe..... and release program. The next day I got my kids together and we left the house with pockets full of SWAG, the coordinates, and the GPS. We had fun running around looking for the boxes and a good time was had by all. Since then I have found most of the caches within 3-5 miles of my house and where I work. Am I into it, yes but not as much as I am into other things, but its a fun way to spend an afternoon. theres not much stress involved and can be relaxing yet physically challenging.

 

my final thoughts on geocaching. its a fun activity that really isnt all that expensive if you shop around and are frugile. its a great family activity and is a break form the TV and normal family outings. as I read these forums I see all sorts of people that I would like to meet. And I also see some poeple that have WAY too much time on their hands. This is a hobby I can see myself messing with for a long time. I hope not, but maybe one day I will be a geocache "nazi" blaring about rule and ethics violations. If so, I hope someone kicks me out or I just give it up and stop. its supposed to be fun and relaxing. there are jerks out there that make all sports and hobbies a little frustrating. we deal with it all the time. get over it. just relax, enjoy the cache, if you cant, it might be time to move on. im not trying to make waves, nor am I pointing fingers at individiuals. I dont really know anyone here well enough to do that. I guess what Im saying is, theres no need to take this TOO seriously. For the most part were out rooting around for a box full of dollar store trinkets and signing our name on a small little notepad. Its fun because its simple. It should stay that way.

 

for now, its a neat way to meet people, watch things move around my area and the world, and to spend time with my family. Ill keep doing it till it gets old.

Link to comment

I blog, and read a lot of other people's blogs, and started seeing this geocaching thing popping up on a few blogs about 6 months to a year ago.

 

It looked a little too close to hiking to immediately leap out at me as being a good fit for my family, and I thought the GPS unit would be expensive, and not desperately useful for anything else, so I kind of passed on it for a while.

 

but then I saw more and more people raving about it on blogs and forums, and their enthusiasm was infectious. Couple this with the fact I want to get a bit more exercise myself and for my kids, and one day I just thought, yup, I'm going to give this a go.

 

Only 3 finds in so far but the whole family is already hooked :laughing:

Link to comment

I came across an article about geocaching in Our State magazine while sitting in our doctor's office waiting room. The issue was a year old and besides the geocaching article it had a several page spread about a friend of ours, William Ivey Long. I had to have it, so I went out to our car and got a stack of outdated magazines that I had accumulated and swapped them for that one issue.

 

My first thoughts after reading the article were

1. WOW, this sounds like fun, kind of like a treasure hunt

2. Maybe I can trick my hubby into taking me convince my hubby to take me hiking/camping again :laughing: (he vowed never to go with me again after I pitched a fit and destroyed a tent because I couldn't get it to sit level)

Link to comment

I learned about geocaching when I was looking at Virginiaisforlovers.com for something to do in my new home state. I found two little blurbs one on geocaching and one on letterboxing. With links included. I read both and followed the geocaching links, read the logs a little bit and thought

 

-Wow so many so close to where I live!

-I wonder if I could summon the wherewithall to actually find one of these things?

- We need to buy a GPS, at least Brad will know how to use it!

Edited by bradnlinds
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...