bikemad75 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Hi im new to Geocaching so not up on all the lingo etc....im going to be home educating my son and think Geocaching would be a fab way to incorporate p.e. geography and map reading....but were do I start? Do I need a handheld gps system thing....dont think my phone would be any good its a vivaz :/ And ummm well what do I ummmm do lol. Thanx Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Not familiar with that phone...if it is some kind of smartphone like an iPhone or an Android or a Blackberry or something like that, that has GPS capabilities, you could probably use it for Geocaching. If not, your best bet would be to buy a handheld GPS unit (not a driving type like a Tom Tom like you would use in your car). Don't know how much money you'd want to invest up front here, you can get a decent handheld GPS in the $100-$200 range for a good starter unit. If you're not able to make that commitment just yet, some folks do have success just printing the map of the cache location and using that. Doesn't work too well in the middle of the woods (all you see is the tops of trees) but in an urban setting or in a park or something like that, you could probably recognize enough landmarks on the map to get yourself to the cache location. If you have a halfway decent sense of direction it's doable. Once you've given it a try let us know how it works out! Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Hi im new to Geocaching so not up on all the lingo etc... Welcome! Check here for lingo: http://geolex.locusprime.net/ Quote Link to comment
+Fianccetto Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Hello and welcome! Might be good if you try to find a local geocacher or two for your first few finds until you get the gist of it, or team up with other home-school mates so you have more eyes/hands to look with. We've had a lot of fun geocaching as a family, as well as learning a lot about all kinds of other things, from fossil hunting & to local history, to being prepared with spare batteries, bags, log books, or torches (it gets addictive and sometimes you just don't want to turn back home when there's only one more field to go!) Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Find an inexpensive GPS to see if this activity gets as addicted as the rest of us. Then upgrade to a better one later. Quote Link to comment
+KristenSh Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Hi im new to Geocaching so not up on all the lingo etc....im going to be home educating my son and think Geocaching would be a fab way to incorporate p.e. geography and map reading....but were do I start? Do I need a handheld gps system thing....dont think my phone would be any good its a vivaz :/ And ummm well what do I ummmm do lol. Thanx Geocaching is a blast with kids ... if you go about it right. If you read a map wrong and end up on a two-mile hike when you expected a mere twenty-minute search, then they get a little irritated. (Ask me how I know...) We homeschool too, and geocaching and letterboxing make great breaks in the routine. Depending on where you are, you might even be able to get started without a GPSr (GPS receiver). In our city, there are a zillion micros (the diabolically hidden tiny ones), and Google Maps has great satellite zoom ... so I'd print out the cache description, and as good a zoomed map as I could, and we'd start with that. Plus a guy in our area took all the local trail maps and put the coordinates on them, and made PDFs, so we found a few trail caches that way. That was how we knew we'd be interested enough to invest in a handheld (and even then, I got a secondhand one). I know not all areas have so many that there are lots of easy ones to choose from, and I know that not all maps zoom in so well (found one nearby city whose satellite view turns out to be all clouds!), but it's worth a shot. If you can find a local group, that's a great way to start. Or just enter your address, coordinates, zip code, or whatever, and let the website tell you the nearest caches ... look at the easier-rated ones, and see what interests you, and read the logs. The names that pop up the most often are gonna be the cachers who know the area best, and most of them would be willing to point you in the right direction if you send them a message. They can help you find local meet-ups and events too. Good luck on your searches! And have fun with the homeschooling! Quote Link to comment
bikemad75 Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Thanx everyone for the replies. Ive found details for some that are pretty close to me and sounds pretty straight forward so going to try with just maps and see how it goes then if we take to it il buy some techy stuff Quote Link to comment
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