What do I do?

[+The Holy C]

I am 14, a very smart and mature 14 year old so dont under estimate me! I have been in the community for a year now and I love it, The only problem is the pathetic number I hold for the caches I found. I know its not a race to have the most finds, But I have been here for a year and I have not found any caches! I know what your thinking "Why dont you just go out and find them then?" I have found some nearby but,the problem is I am 14 and dont have a car, I dont have a way to get to them. I dont want people telling me "Oh I will drive you" I dont want to be with people I dont know. What I really want is you guys to tell me if you know any Teens who are big cachers and how they get around. I would ask my parents, But they are very busy with my 5 other siblings who have a ton of stuff to do aswell. Anyone have advice?

[+DragonsWest]

Dunno your area, but the small city I grew up in was pretty safe for bicycling. I'd venture as far as 10 miles from home on my bike to go fishing or just get out for a ride with friends. A fair old beater bike, basic tools, spare inner tube, patch kit and pump can get you a lot of places. Around here there are some caches on long-ish trails where you either hike or ride to.

 

Best of luck!

[+C8W9]

Bus / trains and focus upon urban caching?

[+zack_black]

 

[+wimseyguy]

Bicycle was the first thing I though of as well. There are at least another 8-10 to find in the same park as you found East Holly. Assuming your parents are OK with you biking on the roads around there to get to the park. Or maybe they can drop you off somewhere you can bike safely on your own for a few hours and they can come get you after.

 

I started riding the bus from New Brunswick into NYC when I was only a year older than you. My parents weren't too happy about it when they found out, but I'm still here. My best advice is to be open with them instead of sneaking around. They are more likely to respect your desire for independence. Spoken with 30 years of hindsight, and telling my nieces and nephews the same thing now as I was a bit wilder than my siblings.

[+dprovan]

Caching's a fun thing for the whole family to do together, so don't rule out talking your parents into that.

 

In addition to alternative modes of transportation that have already been mentioned, always look for opportunities to ride along whenever your parents are taking one of your siblings to one of their activities, then cache around wherever they're going.

 

I looked at your profile expecting you to be in the middle of nowhere Wyoming or something, but you're in New Jersey! You should be fine if you embrace the idea of, "Dad, can you go a couple miles out of your way and drop me off over in the next town on the way to [work, the store, Timmie's recital, etc.]?"

[+The Holy C]

The 8 caches I did seem to get where by bike. I mean, I could ask my parents for more freedom... Because I cant go to far on my bike.

[+SwineFlew]

I am 14, a very smart and mature 14 year old so dont under estimate me! I have been in the community for a year now and I love it, The only problem is the pathetic number I hold for the caches I found. I know its not a race to have the most finds, But I have been here for a year and I have not found any caches! I know what your thinking "Why dont you just go out and find them then?" I have found some nearby but,the problem is I am 14 and dont have a car, I dont have a way to get to them. I dont want people telling me "Oh I will drive you" I dont want to be with people I dont know. What I really want is you guys to tell me if you know any Teens who are big cachers and how they get around. I would ask my parents, But they are very busy with my 5 other siblings who have a ton of stuff to do aswell. Anyone have advice?

 

I dont know about that...

 

This!

[+The Holy C]

I am 14, a very smart and mature 14 year old so dont under estimate me! I have been in the community for a year now and I love it, The only problem is the pathetic number I hold for the caches I found. I know its not a race to have the most finds, But I have been here for a year and I have not found any caches! I know what your thinking "Why dont you just go out and find them then?" I have found some nearby but,the problem is I am 14 and dont have a car, I dont have a way to get to them. I dont want people telling me "Oh I will drive you" I dont want to be with people I dont know. What I really want is you guys to tell me if you know any Teens who are big cachers and how they get around. I would ask my parents, But they are very busy with my 5 other siblings who have a ton of stuff to do aswell. Anyone have advice?

 

I dont know about that...

 

This!

Ok, ok... that was something stupid I did. That was when I first started and I later say I was sorry. I got a talk from another cacher, she said that we are all one faimly. Don't bring that back I already feel guilty about it.

[AZcachemeister]

All I can say is that at your age I was roaming 30-40-50 miles or more on my bicycle.

 

I'm sure your parents love you very much, but by restricting you (to keep you safe), they are not helping you to become an independent, self sufficient person.

 

Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.

[+DragonsWest]

The more I roamed the more I got grounded.

 

I roamed and was grounded a lot in them days.

 

Ah, to be a kid again!

[+TeamTwoStar]

I am 14, a very smart and mature 14 year old so dont under estimate me! I have been in the community for a year now and I love it, The only problem is the pathetic number I hold for the caches I found. I know its not a race to have the most finds, But I have been here for a year and I have not found any caches! I know what your thinking "Why dont you just go out and find them then?" I have found some nearby but,the problem is I am 14 and dont have a car, I dont have a way to get to them. I dont want people telling me "Oh I will drive you" I dont want to be with people I dont know. What I really want is you guys to tell me if you know any Teens who are big cachers and how they get around. I would ask my parents, But they are very busy with my 5 other siblings who have a ton of stuff to do aswell. Anyone have advice?

 

Getting a "Big Number" of caches comes with having a car. It is unfortinunet, but true. The best that I can tell you is try to get your family once a month to take you caching. I am sure that once a month they could find some time to take you out. Either that or you might just have to wait until you are older and have your own car. Hey, if you have been interested in this for the last year, I am sure that you will still be interested in it in a year or two. You can try to find a powertrail near your area and go caching there. You can always try biking there too.

 

Oh, you live in New Jersey? OK. I've been down there a few times caching. Get you parents to take you to Ocean City. There is an awesome power trail on the board walk down there. It is a fun walk on the board walk and lots of fun. You could triple you numbers easily in less than three hours of you wanted.

Edited April 24, 2012 by TeamTwoStar

[+Totem Clan]

There are 400 or so active caches within 8 miles of your cache. I used to walk that far one way to my favorite fishing hole by the time I was 10. Get a bike or just hoof it.

[+L0ne.R]

I believe Coldgears and Ambient Skater are under 18 years old and do a lot of caching. They are forum regulars. You might want to ask them how they do it.

 

FYI, for the kids out there - you need parental supervision to use the GC site. Here's what the GC Terms of Use site says:

By using the Site, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older, or under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian. If we believe that you are under 18 years of age and not under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian, please be advised that your account may be terminated without warning.

[+J the Goat]

I believe Coldgears and Ambient Skater are under 18 years old and do a lot of caching. They are forum regulars. You might want to ask them how they do it.

 

FYI, for the kids out there - you need parental supervision to use the GC site. Here's what the GC Terms of Use site says:

By using the Site, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older, or under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian. If we believe that you are under 18 years of age and not under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian, please be advised that your account may be terminated without warning.

 

I was thinking the same thing about those guys, they'll have good advice on how to get around a bit. I think CG is NJ actually, or near there.

[+The Holy C]

I believe Coldgears and Ambient Skater are under 18 years old and do a lot of caching. They are forum regulars. You might want to ask them how they do it.

 

FYI, for the kids out there - you need parental supervision to use the GC site. Here's what the GC Terms of Use site says:

By using the Site, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older, or under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian. If we believe that you are under 18 years of age and not under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian, please be advised that your account may be terminated without warning.

Got it, Parents are ok with it

[+Fianccetto]

I guess it can be a problem if you live in an area where the roads aren't so safe for bikes. Maybe instead of them taking you to a friend's house, or a sports club, you could offer to walk or ride your bike - and maybe there will be a cache you can check nearby.

 

If you're going out for a while to get a number of caches, it is a good idea to cache in a group, for safety. So I'd suggest you talk to your parents about caching in a small group, just for a couple of hours or so somewhere not too far away. Perhaps a good park you all know or a nice area of town they wouldn't mind you exploring a little. Maybe they would give you a lift, and pick you up at an agreed time & place. Try to get a couple of friends of your age and maybe some of your/their siblings too, then a group of 3 or 4 of you can go caching together.

 

If you want to go a bit further away, you could suggest you could print some maps off or a list of where you'll be, leave some with each set of parents (if more than one family is involved) with an expected time of when you'll be back. If any of you have smart phones, you could log into Latitude so your parents can see roughly where you are, too. It's a nice way to keep in touch without being too intrusive or needing to update them with texts or too many calls. (There's also apps they can buy to track your phone more accurately, if they're interested, if that helps.)

 

If that fails, maybe you could tie caching in with some other interest that your parents would be happy to take you to - libraries, ball parks, tennis courts, cycle tracks, or something sporty or educational they want to encourage you to do. Ask if it would be OK to go and look for a cache nearby and try to look everything up beforehand so as not to hold them up waiting for you for too long. See if there are any caches nearby any of the other places your parents regularly drive to with your siblings. If there's a good caching place you want to visit, see what there is in the area which would interest the rest of the family, and suggest a family trip, and ask if you could have an hour or 2 to go caching while you're all there...Or even better, try to get one of your parents interested in caching themselves, that way they'll be asking you to come along for the ride as a good excuse to go out caching!

 

Maybe you could organise a caching trip for the whole family - look up where your parents would need to park and gather everything you'd need to take and offer to carry the bag of extra stuff. Check each cache page and try to make it fun for the whole family, helping your younger siblings find the caches and having some swaps ready to give them. If your parents have a better idea of what a family caching trip is like, they would be more happy about doing it as a family more often, I'm sure.

 

Just a few ideas...As others have said, riding a bike is a good way to get around, but there's lots of other ways to cache.

[+firestronaut]

Public transport, legs, bike, skateboard?

Your age restricts you a lot.

As others suggested, you could ask your parents to drop you somewhere for a few hours. There's much worse things you could be getting up to at 14 than geocaching, and as a parent myself, I'm sure they'll be happy you have productive hobby.

 

Maybe you could try getting your friends into geocaching? If its safety your parents will be worried about, they'll be reassured by company.

[+david_and_h]

When I was 12, I would ride my bike from outside the beltway in to the mall area of Washington DC with my friends. When I was 14, I traveled by bus and train over 250 miles from home without any parental supervision (in a foreign country!). Much of the time, my parents had no idea where I was, except on our longer excursions. When my daughter was a year older than you, I let she and a friend travel from Spokane to N.Y. city and the Yale campus on her own. Tell your parents to stop treating you like a baby and let you range a little farther afield. Maybe they'd be more comfortable if you had a cell phone? A cheap pre-paid would let you make emergency calls.

[+The Holy C]

When I was 12, I would ride my bike from outside the beltway in to the mall area of Washington DC with my friends. When I was 14, I traveled by bus and train over 250 miles from home without any parental supervision (in a foreign country!). Much of the time, my parents had no idea where I was, except on our longer excursions. When my daughter was a year older than you, I let she and a friend travel from Spokane to N.Y. city and the Yale campus on her own. Tell your parents to stop treating you like a baby and let you range a little farther afield. Maybe they'd be more comfortable if you had a cell phone? A cheap pre-paid would let you make emergency calls.

I have a phone with unlimited texts and a lot of minutes. I told my mother when interducing the idea that I would use my phone. For my birthday I asked for a Garmin eTrex 10 (due to my other one being crap) and freedom. She was ok with it. So what I was thinking that I would invite 2 friends that I showed geocaching, and lead them in it. So now I wont be alone on my bike, I will bring 2 new people into this and, I will be getting out, making great friends. Exactly what my parents want me to do other then sitting playing video games all day

 

Thanks guys, Keep Caching

T.H.C (The Holy C)

Edited April 25, 2012 by The Holy C

[+Chokecherry]

For some reason I'm not sure ending up with THC as the initials of your geocaching name is an accident. I suspect there are probably a few sides to the story why this child is not able to go out alone. Since I am always a skeptic in these situations my only suggestion is show your parents that you can be trusted and actually do that radical thing called conversations with them that don't involve any sort of whining etc.

 

I would bet if you worked on that relationship this geocaching thing will go smoother.

[+jellis]

If your parents are Ok with it then ask them to help you out. Bike to the closest. There are buses. And I know you said you didn't really want to cache with anyone but I also noticed you attended an event. So you must be interested in seeing if there maybe others your age who cache and what's so wrong with having so one to cache with? It would be safer for you to have someone to go with if your parents don't.

[+Fianccetto]

When I was 12, I would ride my bike from outside the beltway in to the mall area of Washington DC with my friends. When I was 14, I traveled by bus and train over 250 miles from home without any parental supervision (in a foreign country!). Much of the time, my parents had no idea where I was, except on our longer excursions. When my daughter was a year older than you, I let she and a friend travel from Spokane to N.Y. city and the Yale campus on her own. Tell your parents to stop treating you like a baby and let you range a little farther afield. Maybe they'd be more comfortable if you had a cell phone? A cheap pre-paid would let you make emergency calls.

I have a phone with unlimited texts and a lot of minutes. I told my mother when interducing the idea that I would use my phone. For my birthday I asked for a Garmin eTrex 10 (due to my other one being crap) and freedom. She was ok with it. So what I was thinking that I would invite 2 friends that I showed geocaching, and lead them in it. So now I wont be alone on my bike, I will bring 2 new people into this and, I will be getting out, making great friends. Exactly what my parents want me to do other then sitting playing video games all day

 

Thanks guys, Keep Caching

T.H.C (The Holy C)

THC, that is great news.

 

I would like to add that with greater freedom comes greater responsibility. As a mature teen, you'll be aware of this, but there could be other teenagers reading this and wanting more freedom.

 

Playing video games is no preparation for riding a bike on today's roads. Take a cycling proficiency test, or if there isnt one available, ask a parent to check you are road savvy, the same goes for anyone you cycle with. Always wear a cycle helmet. You have the same hazards and dangers to deal with as a car driver, so you need to be as good as if you were driving a car around and know how to cycle safely as a group (separately). Being 14 (or 34) does not entitle you not to get hit by a car because you didn't bother to learn road safety skills and good habits others learned at 12.

 

Of course, be street savvy in other ways, lock your bike and don't move around showing your phone or GPS in a way that would make you a target to thieves.

 

Offer to run some errands for your parents once in a while. Walk the dog, or pet sit a neighbour's dog, or if you're running low on staple foods (and your favourite treats) offer to go to a grocery store to pick some up, especially if there's a good off road cycle path you could take.

[+The Holy C]

When I was 12, I would ride my bike from outside the beltway in to the mall area of Washington DC with my friends. When I was 14, I traveled by bus and train over 250 miles from home without any parental supervision (in a foreign country!). Much of the time, my parents had no idea where I was, except on our longer excursions. When my daughter was a year older than you, I let she and a friend travel from Spokane to N.Y. city and the Yale campus on her own. Tell your parents to stop treating you like a baby and let you range a little farther afield. Maybe they'd be more comfortable if you had a cell phone? A cheap pre-paid would let you make emergency calls.

I have a phone with unlimited texts and a lot of minutes. I told my mother when interducing the idea that I would use my phone. For my birthday I asked for a Garmin eTrex 10 (due to my other one being crap) and freedom. She was ok with it. So what I was thinking that I would invite 2 friends that I showed geocaching, and lead them in it. So now I wont be alone on my bike, I will bring 2 new people into this and, I will be getting out, making great friends. Exactly what my parents want me to do other then sitting playing video games all day

 

Thanks guys, Keep Caching

T.H.C (The Holy C)

THC, that is great news.

 

I would like to add that with greater freedom comes greater responsibility. As a mature teen, you'll be aware of this, but there could be other teenagers reading this and wanting more freedom.

 

Playing video games is no preparation for riding a bike on today's roads. Take a cycling proficiency test, or if there isnt one available, ask a parent to check you are road savvy, the same goes for anyone you cycle with. Always wear a cycle helmet. You have the same hazards and dangers to deal with as a car driver, so you need to be as good as if you were driving a car around and know how to cycle safely as a group (separately). Being 14 (or 34) does not entitle you not to get hit by a car because you didn't bother to learn road safety skills and good habits others learned at 12.

 

Of course, be street savvy in other ways, lock your bike and don't move around showing your phone or GPS in a way that would make you a target to thieves.

 

Offer to run some errands for your parents once in a while. Walk the dog, or pet sit a neighbour's dog, or if you're running low on staple foods (and your favourite treats) offer to go to a grocery store to pick some up, especially if there's a good off road cycle path you could take.

I did not mean video games would help me bike, I mean that geocaching and riding my bike is a good source of exercise. Because lately I have been playing video games to much and getting out of shape.

And when I said THC it did not mean whatever you guys thought it was, Its the intials to my name, The. Holy. C

[+Fianccetto]

When I was 12, I would ride my bike from outside the beltway in to the mall area of Washington DC with my friends. When I was 14, I traveled by bus and train over 250 miles from home without any parental supervision (in a foreign country!). Much of the time, my parents had no idea where I was, except on our longer excursions. When my daughter was a year older than you, I let she and a friend travel from Spokane to N.Y. city and the Yale campus on her own. Tell your parents to stop treating you like a baby and let you range a little farther afield. Maybe they'd be more comfortable if you had a cell phone? A cheap pre-paid would let you make emergency calls.

I have a phone with unlimited texts and a lot of minutes. I told my mother when interducing the idea that I would use my phone. For my birthday I asked for a Garmin eTrex 10 (due to my other one being crap) and freedom. She was ok with it. So what I was thinking that I would invite 2 friends that I showed geocaching, and lead them in it. So now I wont be alone on my bike, I will bring 2 new people into this and, I will be getting out, making great friends. Exactly what my parents want me to do other then sitting playing video games all day

 

Thanks guys, Keep Caching

T.H.C (The Holy C)

THC, that is great news.

 

I would like to add that with greater freedom comes greater responsibility. As a mature teen, you'll be aware of this, but there could be other teenagers reading this and wanting more freedom.

 

Playing video games is no preparation for riding a bike on today's roads. Take a cycling proficiency test, or if there isnt one available, ask a parent to check you are road savvy, the same goes for anyone you cycle with. Always wear a cycle helmet. You have the same hazards and dangers to deal with as a car driver, so you need to be as good as if you were driving a car around and know how to cycle safely as a group (separately). Being 14 (or 34) does not entitle you not to get hit by a car because you didn't bother to learn road safety skills and good habits others learned at 12.

 

Of course, be street savvy in other ways, lock your bike and don't move around showing your phone or GPS in a way that would make you a target to thieves.

 

Offer to run some errands for your parents once in a while. Walk the dog, or pet sit a neighbour's dog, or if you're running low on staple foods (and your favourite treats) offer to go to a grocery store to pick some up, especially if there's a good off road cycle path you could take.

I did not mean video games would help me bike, I mean that geocaching and riding my bike is a good source of exercise. Because lately I have been playing video games to much and getting out of shape.

And when I said THC it did not mean whatever you guys thought it was, Its the intials to my name, The. Holy. C

I didn't mean to imply that you thought video games helped you ride a bike, but it's fine to point that out if you want to.

 

I have no idea what was meant by your name or other comments, but I prefer to use the initials THC over your full caching nickname for my own reasons, I hope that is fine too.