Google Maps and Geocaching can I do it?

[+lostinthesparks4]

I hope this is the place to post this. Well I was trying to find a GPS on a student budget and now I'm thinking I'll wait and see if the new stuff will make the prices go down on some of the "older" stuff But in the mean it I was wondering is there anything better than google maps to go geocaching without a GPS I have done the google maps thing a few time and found a few but not found some that seemed like they would have been easy to find with or with out a GPS. any tips or ideas on what i can do!?

Thanks,

Leah

[+Firespinner]

I hope this is the place to post this. Well I was trying to find a GPS on a student budget and now I'm thinking I'll wait and see if the new stuff will make the prices go down on some of the "older" stuff But in the mean it I was wondering is there anything better than google maps to go geocaching without a GPS I have done the google maps thing a few time and found a few but not found some that seemed like they would have been easy to find with or with out a GPS. any tips or ideas on what i can do!?

Thanks,

Leah

It's harder and it won't help for some of the harder hidden ones, but it can be done. I don't have a GPS yet, and I have 7 finds to my name. :-)

[+Bill & Tammy]

Topo maps which you can find linked from the cache page are a bit more helpful, I did my first 25 finds using them and a technique called "handrailing."

Edited January 4, 2008 by Bill & Tammy

[+TrailGators]

It's possible and a lot of people have done it. Looking for lower difficulty caches with decent hints makes it easier. However, I'm sure you can get a basic GPS pretty cheap on Ebay.

[+Too Tall John]

I, too started geocaching "naked."

 

 

That is, without a GPSr.

 

Things that will make finding the cache without a GPSr easier include:

• Familiarity with the area.
  
• A good set of maps.
  
• Look for caches that have good hints. Many letterbox hybrids are especially good for this.
  
• Google Earth.
  
• A bit of luck.
  
• Find another local cacher to go with, preferably one with a GPSr. Not only is the company generally good, but it's a whole lot better to have a buddy if you get into trouble on the trail.
  

This list is probably nowhere near complete, but it's advice I would have liked when I started.

 

I especially would have appreciated the last bit of advice. I bought my first GPSr w/out much advise on what to look for for caching. I would probably have made some different decisions if I had had a chance to play with someone else's GPSr first.

Edited January 4, 2008 by Too Tall John

[+lostinthesparks4]

Thanks for the ideas so far many more are welcome

[+lostinthesparks4]

uh oh double posting

Edited January 4, 2008 by lostinthesparks4

[+sunburykids]

I had to send in my gps unit for repairs, but I was still able to cache pretty successfully. Go for low difficulty ratings and small areas like small parks and cemeteries.

[+StarBrand]

Unless the cache was placed using the same coordinates as the google map, it will be hit and miss - same as the accuracy of the maps to the real world.

[+reptlcal]

I have found 80 Caches with google maps!

[+egami]

Ohh, you mean we're supposed to be using GPSr's?

[+Keruso]

ive been caching for about a year and a half now, and i finally bought myself a gps, not a good one (a hundred dollar garmin eTrexH) and so far ive found about 5 or 6 caches using Googlemaps, one of which became a FTF. The other 30 some caches i was with my caching buddy whose got a better garmin than me

[knowschad]

If you are in an area that supports them, try the Microsoft Mappoint maps. Zoom in, and select the "Birdseye" arial photos. Its scary how close they will get you. However, be aware that the pointer is somewhat above ground level, so as you rotate your point of view, the center will move around, sometimes quite a bit. Hard to explain, but you'll undertand once you play with it.

[+edscott]

I hope this is the place to post this. Well I was trying to find a GPS on a student budget and now I'm thinking I'll wait and see if the new stuff will make the prices go down on some of the "older" stuff But in the mean it I was wondering is there anything better than google maps to go geocaching without a GPS I have done the google maps thing a few time and found a few but not found some that seemed like they would have been easy to find with or with out a GPS. any tips or ideas on what i can do!?

Thanks,

Leah

 

I can attest that finding most any cache without a GPS is not more difficult than with a GPS if you have good map/photo data and know what to do with it. (1779 found to date) But, I don't think Google is the way to go. I choose to use the aerial photos from Topozone. It's an extra $50 subscription and probably including the paper and ink to print out the maps, costs as much or more than using a GPS, but it is a method I enoy. The Google problem that I have found it that their road map layer and satellite image layer are not always aligned properly. Clicking on "hybrid" will show the difference. The roads marked on the map do not always lie exactly on top of the roads you see in the satellite image. The cache icon is tied to the road map, thus is not accurate on the satellite image. If you estimate how much they are off from each other and measure that direction and distance from the icon you will be close. Actually that is a good thing in a strange way. The google cache icon is so huge that it blocks out an area much larger than the normal GPS variation, but since it is usually misplaced by more than that, the real spot is visible. I'm going overseas in a week and will have to rely totally on Google for three weeks. Maybe I'll have a better feel for it in February.

[+edscott]

Unless the cache was placed using the same coordinates as the google map, it will be hit and miss - same as the accuracy of the maps to the real world.

 

I think good aerial photos will trump a GPS most every time. Just have to be able to read the details. Of course the cache coordinates were derived from the GPS results which might make the photo appear to be "wrong"

[+trainlove]

Geocaching by definition is hunting tupperware with the aid of a GPS.

I would assume that Hiding caches require a GPS even more so.

 

At the highest magnification level of whatever mapping software you are using just how big is a pixel? Maptech Terrain Navigator is something like 12 meters for their 1:24K topo maps. That's about in line with the accuracy of a GPS but is NO REPLACEMENT.

 

There have been forum posts reinforcing the fact that you have to use a GPS when planting a geocache. I think it's in the terms of use that you agree to when you plant a cache. If a reviewer gets wind that you are not using a GPS then they might not publish your caches period. By posting this question you might have shot yourself in the foot.

[+Ether Bunny]

One of New England's most successful cachers (Walden Run) mentions in his profile that he often went caching without a GPSr. Urban micros are often easy to find using Google Maps/Earth. The GPS adds little if you have good landmarks on a high resolution satellite photo.

 

Walden Run's profile: http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=04...8a-e9b0414bcd55

 

Edited January 5, 2008 by Ether Bunny

[+Too Tall John]

If a reviewer gets wind that you are not using a GPS then they might not publish your caches period. By posting this question you might have shot yourself in the foot.

I agree completely that a GPSr should be used when hiding a cache, but the question was about finding caches.

 

Yes, please get a GPSr before you hide a cache. You can get the etrex H (basic unit with the high end antenna) for under $100 new. Other units will sell for less, especially used. Check the Yard Sale section here in the forums.

 

In the meantime, have fun hunting, GPSr or not.