NOOB!

[a4dotc]

Hey guys/gals. I'm a complete noob in geocaching. I already have a gps, what other goodies are needed for this. Flashlights are not a problem got a good amount of them, also i have a couple of knives. Also can any one give me a few good ones to try in the tuckerton area of south NJ and the bergen county area of NJ. A few easy ones but also ones that will take a while and well off the beaten path. I love beign in the woods so if it takes a while it's all good. Thanks for the help in advance.

[Scubaman2151]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am pretty new myself, but wanted to welcome you anyway.

 

What GPS do you have?

 

Scuba

[a4dotc]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am pretty new myself, but wanted to welcome you anyway.

 

What GPS do you have?

 

Scuba

Thanks for the welcome. I have the Magellan Sport Trak Map. I like it alot. Waterproof and it floats. Wich i have tested. I filled my sink tossed it in and it worked great afterwards, no moisture no nothing.

[+fairyhoney]

Welcome. Are you planning on trading TBs?

[TinyMoon & The Pumpkin King]

Not counting the GPS, my 3 most valuable tools are a flashlight, basic BoyScout compass, and a hiking stick.

 

The flashlight gets you out of the woods when you realize you've been having way to much fun and weren't paying attention to the fact that the sun has already slipped over the horizon.

 

The compass keeps you going in the right direction when the GPS loses satellite contact. Sometimes it can take several minutes for a GPS of any brand to "find" itself, esp. if you are deep in a gorge, or in a forest with heavy cover.

 

The hiking stick is good for flipping over rocks or poking in holes where the cache may be... along with a snake or porcupine! You'll find that the best hiding spots are quite often used by animals as well as cachers!

[+DanOCan]

I already have a gps, what other goodies are needed for this.

 

Realistically, you have everything you need*. In its purest form caching is all about three simple steps:

-- Enter the coordinates

-- Get to the coordinates

-- Look for the cache

-- Log your experience online

 

Everything else is merely an "add on" or a "nice to have". Things such as:

-- PDA for "paperless caching"

-- Pocket Queries for mass downloading of caches

-- Software such as GSAK, Cachemate, etc

 

There are days when I'd love to go back to caching the way we did it when we started: Check the webpage for a cache that sounded interesting, manually punch the coordinates in the GPSr, go find it. For me it would be like the caching equivalent of an artist doing an "Unplugged" album.

 

*Naturally, you should take along any other equipment/gear that you would need for an area even if you weren't caching. For example, water in the desert, warm clothes in the snow, bear spray in the backwoods, etc, etc.

 

Enjoy!

[+Renegade Knight]

Hey guys/gals. I'm a complete noob in geocaching. I already have a gps, what other goodies are needed for this. Flashlights are not a problem got a good amount of them, also i have a couple of knives. Also can any one give me a few good ones to try in the tuckerton area of south NJ and the bergen county area of NJ. A few easy ones but also ones that will take a while and well off the beaten path. I love beign in the woods so if it takes a while it's all good. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

Sounds like you may want to install some mapping software on your computer so you can find the caches off the beaten path. Google earth is great. So are some of the topo packages like Delorme, National Geographic, and MapTech (not sure about the name of that last one).

 

Other than that, you have what you need to start, and it's just a matter of find tuning your pack as you go on adventures.

[a4dotc]

Alright thanks guys/gals for all of the help. Now i just have to wait for christmas break till' i go home to give it a whirl.

[a4dotc]

Alright thanks guys/gals for all of the help. Now i just have to wait for christmas break till' i go home to give it a whirl.

[+Miragee]

The other day while doing a fun little Multi I got to use the mirror I have carried in my pack for more than two years. In all that time I have only used it twice . . . but both times I could not have continued without it.

[a4dotc]

Ya the old saying one of my teachers told me that i live by will always hold true. "it's always better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it."

[crawil]

Ya the old saying one of my teachers told me that i live by will always hold true. "it's always better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it."

Until you have carried that which you did not need for several miles - then you wish you did not have it!

[a4dotc]

Ya the old saying one of my teachers told me that i live by will always hold true. "it's always better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it."

Until you have carried that which you did not need for several miles - then you wish you did not have it!

 

Sometimes thats true. I keep alot of stuff in my truck ropes,chains,shovels, and whole bunch more stuff. I remember one day last winter saying why do i have so much stuff i should narrow it down. Well i'm glad i didn't. I was by the EMS buliding with some friends and the police station is right across the road and two of the cops got there cars stuck in the snow and they couldn't get them out. Well my shovels came in handy. Also many other times the ropes and chains came in handy. Zip ties can never have enough of those. etc.. the list goes on forever.

[a4dotc]

Welcome. Are you planning on trading TBs?

What are TB's? and how do i trade them?

[groundhog123]

Welcome. Are you planning on trading TBs?

What are TB's? and how do i trade them?

 

TBs are Travel Bugs and are trackable items owned by a cacher. Most TBs have a specific mission ie traveling the US or the world or getting to a specific destination. To learn more about trackables, click on the tab on the right side of Geocaching homepage that reads "trackables". There yoiu can find a lot more info on trackables such as travel bugs and geocoins. Good luck and have fun. Geocaching will take you places you never would have thought about going before.

[+Frank n Beck]

I try to always have walking stick, first aid kit, water, compass, topo of area im going in, and trade items. If im going into an area where I could get turned around or lost I try to remember to mark car location, although I have forgotten on occasion and regretted that lol!

[a4dotc]

I try to always have walking stick, first aid kit, water, compass, topo of area im going in, and trade items. If im going into an area where I could get turned around or lost I try to remember to mark car location, although I have forgotten on occasion and regretted that lol!

 

Alright thanks everyone. Were do i get a topo map?