Newbie confused! Please help!

[+EarLady]

Ok, I've found 4 caches, and am now hooked, but a little confused. What is the difference between caches, waypoints, points of interest, logs, and tracks?

 

Is that book "Idiots guide to Geocaching" worth buying?

 

Thanks!

[+Take A Hike!]

Ok, I've found 4 caches, and am now hooked, but a little confused. What is the difference between caches, waypoints, points of interest, logs, and tracks?

 

Is that book "Idiots guide to Geocaching" worth buying?

 

Thanks!

 

Yeah, you could buy a book, but I think it's more fun to "learn as you go". You already know the important thing, get out and find some caches! The more you cache, the more you learn. Sure you'll make some mistakes, we all do, just part of Geocaching Fun!!

[+Team Cotati]

Ok, I've found 4 caches, and am now hooked, but a little confused. What is the difference between caches, waypoints, points of interest, logs, and tracks?

 

Is that book "Idiots guide to Geocaching" worth buying?

 

Thanks!

 

I've looked through that book at the book store. It seems to only be worth buying if you want to learn about the basics of geocaching.

 

You know, things like: "caches, waypoints, points of interest, logs, and tracks".

 

Other than that it isn't worth much.

Edited July 11, 2010 by Team Cotati

[+Bear and Ragged]

What is the difference between caches,

A Cache is what you are looking for.

 

waypoints,

Is the co-ordinates, either for the cache, or somewhere to aim for eg the start of the trail.

You can 'mark a waypoint' such as in the car park before you go after the cache. So you can find your way back to the car at the end of the day.

 

points of interest,

POI files are used for car satnavs, and can be used in a GPS to store more caches...

 

logs,

What you write on the site when you find (or Dont Find!) the cache.

Each cache has a log book or log sheet to sign your name in/on.

 

and tracks?

Many GPS's will record where you have been, by a breadcrumb track, on the GPS. If you get lost it is possible to follow the track back to the start.

Edited July 11, 2010 by Bear and Ragged

[Pup Patrol]

Ok, I've found 4 caches, and am now hooked, but a little confused. What is the difference between caches, waypoints, points of interest, logs, and tracks?

 

Is that book "Idiots guide to Geocaching" worth buying?

 

Thanks!

 

It seems like you are asking about the various features of your gps unit.

 

What type of gps do you own? Have you looked through your owner's manual? Another option is to check out the manufacturer's website for manuals, forums, FAQ's, etc.

 

We use "points of interest" on our handheld gps to mark the coordinates of places that we find while out travelling around looking for caches....restaurants, boat launches, parks, etc.

 

Waypoints can be for parking, trailheads, the start of a multi-cache, the actual cache location.

 

I would rather get good solid info from the caching community for free than pay for a book that may be outdated, or just plain "wrong".

Edited July 11, 2010 by Pup Patrol

[+EarLady]

Thanks for the help everyone. Much clearer now!