A few general beginner questions. . .

[+eohjay]

Hey there everyone. I'm new to GPSs, geocaching, and the community itself. I picked up a Garmin Nuvi 660 a week or so back and discovered geocaching shortly thereafter. From what I've done (which is admittedly little), I can see this becoming a fun hobby for myself to have. I do have a few general questions, though.

 

Firstly, as mentioned, I have a Garmin Nuvi 660. I'm realizing that this isn't the ideal geocaching GPS, but it also wasn't bought with geocaching in mind. Geocaching is moreso an added (awesome) bonus. I'm a bit worried about it's durability. I've read that it isn't waterproof, so I'd really love to get a waterproof pouch for it. I'm using it in the snow right now, and I'm sure to be using it in the rain. Plus, some really great looking caches in my area require wading and swimming to get to. I wouldn't want to risk just carrying it over my head or anything. After some research, I've noticed the Aquapacs. Would anyone be able to recommend me which size Aquapac to get for a Nuvi 660? Or even a brand other than Aquapac that is preferred? Do any retail stores carry them, or would I have to purchase them online?

 

Secondly, I've noticed that browsing geocaches (on geocaching.com)is fairly limited. For instance, it seems the default (and only) sort method is the distance from your home coordinates. I'd love to sort them by difficulty and terrain instead, as I'd love to try some of the harder ones that require lengthy hikes. Is there any way to do this? Is this a perk of paying for membership, or is it doable with Private Queries? Also, are there any fields which show if snow would affect the cache at all, in terms of visibility/accessibility? I'm realizing winter weather isn't the best for geocaching, but I can't help that this is when I got interested in it

 

Lastly, I'm in the Northeast Ohio area. Does anyone know of any really great geocaches in this area. I'm looking for something to have some fun with my buddies doing, possibly to make a day out of, so I could perhaps interest someone else (so I could have a buddy to sucker into coming along all the time )

 

Anyways, any information would be greatly appreciated. I'm just getting into this, and would like to make it a hobby, especially in the warmer weather. It's just a fantastic idea.

 

(And wow, you would think a geocaching forum would have a spellcheck exception list for geocaching terms. So many red dots :X)

[+briansnat]

I think you are much better off getting an inexpensive handheld unit and letting the Nuvi take you to the parking. Waterproofness, ruggedness and battery life aside, the Nuvi isn't physically designed to be held in the hand. You don't have to shell out a lot. An $80 eTrex H will do the job nicely. Some of those Aquapacs are $40 and you're already halfway to an eTrex H, and will be a lot happier with it in the long run.

 

If you are a premium member you can run pocket queries, which would allow you to select caches by a variety of criteria, including difficulty and terrain levels. Many cache pages also have attributes and "winter accessible" is one of them.

 

Using PQs you can search on attribute and select only caches with the winter accessible attribute.

Of course these attributes are up to the cache owner to use, so there may be many winter accessible caches that might not have the attribute, and some that do that shouldn't.

 

As far as caches to go after in Ohio, you can ask in this website's regional forum (midwest). I know the Erie area is chock full of caches but there are a lot of strip mall micros in that area, so finding the good ones might take some research.

Edited January 25, 2008 by briansnat

[Keystone]

Welcome to geocaching! I am one of the volunteers who help with geocaches in your area.

 

I would recommend spending a day in Mill Creek MetroPark to get the feel for multiple cache hunts in a single day, close to home. After that, all of the nearby Ohio and Pennsylvania state parks have excellent hiking caches. You can spend a whole weekend caching in Moraine State Park, and you will like every cache that you find there. The Hell's Hollow trail in McConnells Mills State Park is even more challenging, especially at this time of year, but it's also very beautiful with a blanket of snow.

 

In your area, you can't go wrong if you search for caches hidden by EdS or Team Rattlebars.

 

The Nuvi is better suited as an in-car unit. If you get totally hooked on geocaching, you should seriously consider buying a basic handheld unit, while continuing to use the Nuvi in the car. Consider buying one off someone who recently upgraded to a high end handheld unit with maps and autorouting. The GPS they don't need anymore is the one which you need.

 

Yes, if you become a premium member you can slice and dice the cache data for your area every which way, including by terrain and difficulty rating. You can also do a query for caches that have the "available in winter" attribute.

[+eohjay]

I think you are much better off getting an inexpensive handheld unit and letting the Nuvi take you to the parking. Waterproofness, ruggedness and battery life aside, the Nuvi isn't physically designed to be held in the hand. You don't have to shell out a lot. An $80 eTrex H will do the job nicely.

 

Well, as I mentioned, I didn't really buy the Nuvi for the purpose of geocaching. I found out what geocaching was afterwards, and just consider it an added bonus. I know the Nuvi isn't prime material for geocaching, but that isn't going to be it's main function for me either. It's just going to make this hobby accessible to me. Maybe in the future, when I've got spare money, I'll pick up a handheld. And thanks for the recommendation on a cheap practical one (I'll keep it in mind), but for now the Nuvi is my tool for the trade.

 

If you are a premium member you can run pocket queries, which would allow you to select caches by a variety of criteria, including difficulty and terrain levels. Many cache pages also have attributes and "winter accessible" is one of them.

 

Using PQs you can search on attribute and select only caches with the winter accessible attribute.

Of course these attributes are up to the cache owner to use, so there may be many winter accessible caches that might not have the attribute, and some that do that shouldn't.

 

Now, I'm very excited about this. It's just what I wanted to hear

I wasn't aware of the attributes being listed, but I do notice them now. Looks like I'll be subscribing for the PQ feature shortly.

[+briansnat]

Well, as I mentioned, I didn't really buy the Nuvi for the purpose of geocaching. I found out what geocaching was afterwards, and just consider it an added bonus. I know the Nuvi isn't prime material for geocaching, but that isn't going to be it's main function for me either. It's just going to make this hobby accessible to me. Maybe in the future, when I've got spare money, I'll pick up a handheld. And thanks for the recommendation on a cheap practical one (I'll keep it in mind), but for now the Nuvi is my tool for the trade.

 

Well just remember that your unit will not only get exposed to water, it's going to get knocked around a lot, especially if you go after caches on more challenging terrain. The waterproof bag won't save it from that. You don't want to wind up with an expensive paperweight. The dedicated hand helds are built to take an amazing amount of abuse.

[+TheVaultrons]

As for finding good caches in your area, check out this site. It has a listing of geocaching associations in the US, including OH. They'd likely be a good source of information specific to NE Ohio.

 

http://www.thegba.net/resources/geocaching_groups.php

[+StarBrand]

I'll just echo here that the Nuvi is just not well suited to situations you may encounter out on the trail. Rain, snow, rocks, dust, fog, puddles, mud, drops to concrete etc.......

 

The $90 invested in a Garmin eTrex "H" (Yelow with the "H") is a small investment to keep the Nuvi safe. It will handle almost all of the above issues with a simple wipe on a rag.

 

And the $30 per investment in premium membership will be money well spent.

[+Markwell]

Read up on pocket queries, and especially the part about how PQs and attributes work (or don't work).

[+Fratt]

For Ohio start at this place

 

Geochums

[+theosus]

I'll just echo here that the Nuvi is just not well suited to situations you may encounter out on the trail. Rain, snow, rocks, dust, fog, puddles, mud, drops to concrete etc.......

 

The $90 invested in a Garmin eTrex "H" (Yelow with the "H") is a small investment to keep the Nuvi safe. It will handle almost all of the above issues with a simple wipe on a rag.

 

And the $30 per investment in premium membership will be money well spent.

 

I didnt become a premium member until my fifth year into geocaching, but when I started in 2002 the closest cache to me was 25 miles. Now there are 100 within the same distance. Its cheap - but if you're short on cash, put the money towards a handheld GPS.

 

I cant tell you how many times I have dropped my sportrak map on the trail...had it fall out of coat pockets, etc. I even dropped it in a shallow stream onto some rocks once. The $50-$100 you save on NOT buying a handheld might end up costing you a bundle for a new nuvi. Try getting one off this site. Even an old blue etrex will work.

 

Try a variety of caches to get a handle on how well you like them. I sed to like multis...but hate them now. Long hikes are fun sometimes, but on vacation - i prefer park and grabs. Above all - enjoy yourself.

[+UncleJimbo]

I think you are much better off getting an inexpensive handheld unit and letting the Nuvi take you to the parking. Waterproofness, ruggedness and battery life aside, the Nuvi isn't physically designed to be held in the hand. You don't have to shell out a lot. An $80 eTrex H will do the job nicely.

 

Well, as I mentioned, I didn't really buy the Nuvi for the purpose of geocaching. I found out what geocaching was afterwards, and just consider it an added bonus. I know the Nuvi isn't prime material for geocaching, but that isn't going to be it's main function for me either. It's just going to make this hobby accessible to me. Maybe in the future, when I've got spare money, I'll pick up a handheld. And thanks for the recommendation on a cheap practical one (I'll keep it in mind), but for now the Nuvi is my tool for the trade.

 

If you are a premium member you can run pocket queries, which would allow you to select caches by a variety of criteria, including difficulty and terrain levels. Many cache pages also have attributes and "winter accessible" is one of them.

 

Using PQs you can search on attribute and select only caches with the winter accessible attribute.

Of course these attributes are up to the cache owner to use, so there may be many winter accessible caches that might not have the attribute, and some that do that shouldn't.

 

Now, I'm very excited about this. It's just what I wanted to hear

I wasn't aware of the attributes being listed, but I do notice them now. Looks like I'll be subscribing for the PQ feature shortly.

Does the Nuvi have a USB port? If not, it is going to be difficult to get the downloaded information (from a Pocket Query or otherwise) into the GPSr.

 

What do you intend to be the primary use for your Nuvi? For navigation while driving? I do that with my handheld Garmin eTrex Vista HCx.

[Luckless]

If you find a cache you like look to see if there are any bookmarks listed on the page. If someone liked that cache enough to list it as a favorite in a bookmark they may have listed other similar caches nearby that they appreciated just as much.

 

Bookmarks are a feature available only for premium members to make. A much under utilized feature I think.

[Keystone]

As for finding good caches in your area, check out this site. It has a listing of geocaching associations in the US, including OH. They'd likely be a good source of information specific to NE Ohio.

 

http://www.thegba.net/resources/geocaching_groups.php

This linked page is several years out of date. It's missing Geochums (linked above), Columbiana Area Cachers Association (or CA-CA), Butler Area Cachers of Note (or BACON), and probably a few other groups near Youngstown that I'm forgetting about.

 

Check out the pinned threads in each Regional Forum for current details. Someone in Youngstown Ohio would want to check the Midwest forum as well as the Northeast forum.

[+Rattlebars]

I spoke to Ed_S yesterday and he's going to contact you about going out on some expeditions. Watch your e-mail. I'd join you, but I'm down with the flu. Might get better and get hold of you soon.

 

Here's the Columbiana group: CA-CA and here's a link to the CA-CA Meet & Greet scheduled for next month.

[+eohjay]

Does the Nuvi have a USB port? If not, it is going to be difficult to get the downloaded information (from a Pocket Query or otherwise) into the GPSr.

 

What do you intend to be the primary use for your Nuvi? For navigation while driving? I do that with my handheld Garmin eTrex Vista HCx.

 

Yes, the Nuvi uses a standard mini USB to USB cord. The information downloads quite well. The Nuvi's primary use will be for driving, as I do quite a bit of daily driving with my job. As I said, it's possible that in the future I'll get a hand held (I'm even writing down the models listed ), especially if this becomes a large hobby, but for now I'm sticking with the Nuvi for geocaching as well as driving. Though, Starbrand's point about $70'ish being a small investment to protect the Nuvi might make the purchase come sooner.

 

I spoke to Ed_S yesterday and he's going to contact you about going out on some expeditions. Watch your e-mail. I'd join you, but I'm down with the flu. Might get better and get hold of you soon.

 

Here's the Columbiana group: CA-CA and here's a link to the CA-CA Meet & Greet scheduled for next month.

 

Thanks for the links, Rattlebars, I'll be checking them out. I found a few different groups through Google, though most seemed to be outdated. I did recieve Ed_S's message, which led to quite the surprising coincidence that I'll have to write back about.

 

I've a another quick question about PQs. I haven't read up on them much yet, waiting to find time to read through the PQ-help page linked earlier. Is it possible to have results show up that have TWO wanted attributes in them? For instance, if I search for caches with Winter Accessible and Long Hike the results look like they're showing all caches that have EITHER Winter Accessible or Long Hike whereas I want BOTH in one cache. Not sure how great the wording is on that, but I'm hoping it gets the point across. If not, I can elaborate more. I may even read up on the answer on my own before someone gets to it

 

Thanks LOADS for all the helpful replies from everyone. It's been a very warm welcome.

[+Rattlebars]

Filtering by attributes is always "or" - one or the other or both.

 

My favorites are:

[+J10fly]

I'm sure many others have already posted this but I didnt read through them all. Definately make sure you pick up a different handheld gps. Nuvi is not made to be dropped or get wet that's for sure. Great to use though for putting the caches on there for areas, makes it nice when driving to see where they are. I have a 350 and when I am headed on a trip I always put on a gpx file from GSAK for the route and also put the same thing on my Magellan.

[+the hermit crabs]

Just adding to the "get a cheap unit that's rugged enough for outdoor use" chorus -- they do fall into water, mud, snow, pavement, rocks, tree roots... We've dropped ours more times than I can count, and they've gotten pretty scuffed up but still work fine. (Screen protectors have prevented the screens from getting scratched up).

 

Here's a shot of the most recent time our Vista C landed underwater while we were caching. (Usually I seem to drop it in water that is rather brown and murky, but this time it was so clear that I had to get a picture of it, even though my brain was yelling "get it out of the water! NOW!" The shadows are of my legs with rolled-up pants as I waded barefoot into a very chilly October stream to retrieve it.)

 

Edited January 27, 2008 by the hermit crabs

[+Dragon43]

Great picture. I will try hard to not have the same opportunity....