Jump to content

How did you first find out about Geocaching?

Guest exConn

By Guest exConn
in General geocaching topics

Followers 0

Recommended Posts

Guest exConn

Guest exConn

Posted
Posted

Just curious how you all first heard about Geocaching.

 

I found out just by accident...

 

I was shopping for a GPS online for tracking mountain bike trails that I ride to overlay on topographic maps. I had decided that I wanted an eTrex Vista for this and starting searching for information about it.

 

So, off to Google I went and found that one of the forums here had the "eTrex Vista" keywords in a message. After reading the message I thought "What is this all about?" and went to the main page.

 

I immediately became excited at the thought that this is an activity I can do with my kids. My skeptical wife was hooked after the first cache and when I get home from work I now often see printed out cache pages she finds interesting. We're only a couple weeks into this, but my family is now deeply immersed.

 

Needless to say, I haven't been mapping too many mountain bike trails yet as I've been too busy rolleyes.gif

 

I'm thinking of eventually creating some caches for those who like a good mountain bike trail ride.

 

Anyway, how'd you find out about it?

 

-exConn

Link to comment
Guest ajkwan

Guest ajkwan

Posted
Posted

After getting my Palm IIIxe off a really sweet Staples deal (back in March, $120 plus some other misc items... bought two, sold on on ebay for $170 icon_smile.gif), I followed pdabuzz.com's forums and then another deal for the RandMcNally Streetfinder GPS was going on since the Palm III line was being discontinued... so that attachment piece went for about $48 shipped. And a forum moderator named Wishus, suggested Geocaching... followed the link, registered and was totally stoked (for lack of a better word icon_smile.gif).

 

Although I've been registered since the end of April, my first geocaching hunt didn't happen until July 13th... a Friday the 13th I might add. icon_wink.gif No success that day. I was such a newbie... gawd, my friend Erin and I couldn't figure out why it went from 59 to 0 seconds for the longest time so we were actually in the wrong area... lol, memories... icon_wink.gif but we were triumphant in days and weeks to come. Geocaching's not terribly exciting alone (I'm a social creature by nature), so I'm holding out my addiction (which is very very difficult with a ton of new caches sprouting up in my area, and less than 2 weeks before I move to UC Santa Barbara for college) until I get to meet up with some other people interested.

 

But yeah, comp/electronics geek turned outdoorsy guy. icon_smile.gif My new addiction is skateboarding, but I will be back for geocaching very soon, I promise. icon_wink.gif

 

------------------

---

 

My geocaching page of caches found.

Link to comment
Guest ajkwan

Guest ajkwan

Posted
Posted

After getting my Palm IIIxe off a really sweet Staples deal (back in March, $120 plus some other misc items... bought two, sold on on ebay for $170 icon_smile.gif), I followed pdabuzz.com's forums and then another deal for the RandMcNally Streetfinder GPS was going on since the Palm III line was being discontinued... so that attachment piece went for about $48 shipped. And a forum moderator named Wishus, suggested Geocaching... followed the link, registered and was totally stoked (for lack of a better word icon_smile.gif).

 

Although I've been registered since the end of April, my first geocaching hunt didn't happen until July 13th... a Friday the 13th I might add. icon_wink.gif No success that day. I was such a newbie... gawd, my friend Erin and I couldn't figure out why it went from 59 to 0 seconds for the longest time so we were actually in the wrong area... lol, memories... icon_wink.gif but we were triumphant in days and weeks to come. Geocaching's not terribly exciting alone (I'm a social creature by nature), so I'm holding out my addiction (which is very very difficult with a ton of new caches sprouting up in my area, and less than 2 weeks before I move to UC Santa Barbara for college) until I get to meet up with some other people interested.

 

But yeah, comp/electronics geek turned outdoorsy guy. icon_smile.gif My new addiction is skateboarding, but I will be back for geocaching very soon, I promise. icon_wink.gif

 

------------------

---

 

My geocaching page of caches found.

Link to comment
Guest faithwalker

Guest faithwalker

Posted
Posted

I asked my wife to think about doing some hiking with me, she than showed me an article from the Access Mag. in the Sunday paper on Geocaching. My son had a GPS so we gave it a try and have been hooked ever since.

 

------------------

...Cache Responsible and may all your birds be in view... ...Faithwalker & DaMama...

Link to comment
Guest redd

Guest redd

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by exConn:

Just curious how you all first heard about Geocaching.

 

I was planning on buying a GPSR all along to assist me in the training of my racing homing pigeons. After ordering the eTrex from Amazon, I was hungry for information about GPS, and one web page leads to another, and before I knew it, I was eager to start Geocaching days before the eTrex came in the mail.

 

I even payed extra for second day shipping but UPS lost the package (losing a GPS...sounds like the punchline of a joke!) and I did't get it for a few more days.

 

Hook, line, and sinker: I'm addicted. icon_smile.gif

 

Scott

redd@interbug.com

http://interbug.com/pigeon

Link to comment
Guest redd

Guest redd

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by exConn:

Just curious how you all first heard about Geocaching.

 

I was planning on buying a GPSR all along to assist me in the training of my racing homing pigeons. After ordering the eTrex from Amazon, I was hungry for information about GPS, and one web page leads to another, and before I knew it, I was eager to start Geocaching days before the eTrex came in the mail.

 

I even payed extra for second day shipping but UPS lost the package (losing a GPS...sounds like the punchline of a joke!) and I did't get it for a few more days.

 

Hook, line, and sinker: I'm addicted. icon_smile.gif

 

Scott

redd@interbug.com

http://interbug.com/pigeon

Link to comment
Guest E=Mc2

Guest E=Mc2

Posted
Posted

I found out about this great sport through.....www.wheresgeorge.com...on the forums there. I kept seeing post after post til I checked it out. Now after 44 caches found just wish I knew about it months ago.

Link to comment
Guest scooterj

Guest scooterj

Posted
Posted

Our anniversary was coming up and my wife asked me what I wanted as a gift. I suggested a new golf bag. Well, a few days later she told me she had read about something called geocaching and remembered that about a year earlier I had mentioned that I wanted a GPS device someday (even though I had no practical reason to justify it). She told me to check out the geocaching.com web site and then let her know whether I wanted the golf bag or the GPS device. I waffled back and forth right up to the day of the anniversary. In the end I wound up with both (with me paying for the eTrex). icon_smile.gif About a week went by before I felt comfortable trying my first hunt, in a park across the street from my house, and the hunt ended in failure. I tried again the next day though and found it. Hooked ever since.

Link to comment
Guest scooterj

Guest scooterj

Posted
Posted

Our anniversary was coming up and my wife asked me what I wanted as a gift. I suggested a new golf bag. Well, a few days later she told me she had read about something called geocaching and remembered that about a year earlier I had mentioned that I wanted a GPS device someday (even though I had no practical reason to justify it). She told me to check out the geocaching.com web site and then let her know whether I wanted the golf bag or the GPS device. I waffled back and forth right up to the day of the anniversary. In the end I wound up with both (with me paying for the eTrex). icon_smile.gif About a week went by before I felt comfortable trying my first hunt, in a park across the street from my house, and the hunt ended in failure. I tried again the next day though and found it. Hooked ever since.

Link to comment
Guest larrycot98

Guest larrycot98

Posted
Posted

I was stationed in Germany with the Air Force until July. A few days after the movers came and packed up all my stuff, a guy at work asked me what kind of GPSR I had and how much it cost. I jumped on the 'net and did a search. One of the links that came up mentioned geocaching. I found the Geocaching web site and was VERY disappointed that my GPSR (an M300) was on a boat somewhere in the atlantic. I came back to the states and bought a M315 while on leave in Arizona. I went on a couple of urban cache hunts, and was so excited I went home, got the wife and kids, and did the same hunts over again.

 

Anyone want a slightly used M300?

 

[This message has been edited by larrycot98 (edited 07 September 2001).]

Link to comment
Guest bridaw

Guest bridaw

Posted
Posted

I was at a BBQ in May and I was in the process of averaging a waypoint for our friend's new house when another guest asked me how I use my GPSR.

 

I said that I used it mostly when we walked around the beach area where we live or when we took ski trips at Big Bear Lake. Very cool to clock your max downhill speed and record all the trails!

 

He asked if I ever played "hide & seek" with it and I told him no because none of my other buddies have a GPSR. icon_frown.gif

 

Ever hear of GEOCACHING.COM? Derrr... icon_biggrin.gif

 

I could not wait to get home to check out the site and we have been hooked ever since. icon_smile.gif

 

------------------

Brian & Terry

San Diego, CA

Link to comment
Guest bridaw

Guest bridaw

Posted
Posted

I was at a BBQ in May and I was in the process of averaging a waypoint for our friend's new house when another guest asked me how I use my GPSR.

 

I said that I used it mostly when we walked around the beach area where we live or when we took ski trips at Big Bear Lake. Very cool to clock your max downhill speed and record all the trails!

 

He asked if I ever played "hide & seek" with it and I told him no because none of my other buddies have a GPSR. icon_frown.gif

 

Ever hear of GEOCACHING.COM? Derrr... icon_biggrin.gif

 

I could not wait to get home to check out the site and we have been hooked ever since. icon_smile.gif

 

------------------

Brian & Terry

San Diego, CA

Link to comment
Guest arffer

Guest arffer

Posted
Posted

I check CNN.com most mornings for the headlines. Read an article about the guy who got fined $400 by his car rental company for speeding violations reported to the rental company through a NavStar type service. (And before anyone mentions it, no, the normal handheld GPSR can not report back anything, its a receiver, not a transmitter).

 

Anyway, at the bottom of the article, CNN had links to similier stories, including one on geocaching. I read it, 5 minutes later was hooked. In 10 minutes had all the links I could find sent to my wife in another office, and by 15 minutes she was hooked too.

 

Borrowed a co-workers Maggy Pioneer (euck!) to play with, and by that weekend had won a Maggy 315 on ebay to get started.

Link to comment
Guest CountryClub

Guest CountryClub

Posted
Posted

Was bored and just typed in the words outdoors into a search engine. The word geocaching popped up. I bought a gpsr the next day found my first cache the day after that. Been hooked ever since.

 

------------------

C.C.B>

Link to comment
Guest an

Guest an

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by clan ferguson:

Was looking up info on the New Planet of the Apes Movie. and found Project A.P.E. which lead me here!

 

-Clan Ferguson

 

This is the way I found out about it too!! I was checking out the trailer for P.O.A. and saw the Project A.P.E. button and said, "OK, I'll bite" and clicked on it. 2 days later I went out and bought a GPS and I was hooked!! icon_biggrin.gif

 

[This message has been edited by MNMartian (edited 10 September 2001).]

 

[This message has been edited by MNMartian (edited 10 September 2001).]

Link to comment
Guest an

Guest an

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by clan ferguson:

Was looking up info on the New Planet of the Apes Movie. and found Project A.P.E. which lead me here!

 

-Clan Ferguson

 

This is the way I found out about it too!! I was checking out the trailer for P.O.A. and saw the Project A.P.E. button and said, "OK, I'll bite" and clicked on it. 2 days later I went out and bought a GPS and I was hooked!! icon_biggrin.gif

 

[This message has been edited by MNMartian (edited 10 September 2001).]

 

[This message has been edited by MNMartian (edited 10 September 2001).]

Link to comment
Guest BigJim

Guest BigJim

Posted
Posted

Before I knew that this was a sport, my kids and I were playing it. I would hide things in the nearby woods and give them the coordinates and if they could find it, I would give them $5. In early July there was an ABC Evening News segment on Geocaching. I was amazed that this was actually a sport and have been hooked ever since.

Link to comment
Guest BigDoggie

Guest BigDoggie

Posted
Posted

Saw a segment of a TV news-type show that (poorly) described the game. I thought the first finder got to take and keep the whole cache box! Then, I found geocaching.com and got the real deal. Then I heard about the local Georgia group's upcoming meeting, and I was off and running.

 

------------------

Interested in Geocaching in the state of Georgia? Visit the Georgia Geocachers Association home page at http://www.ggaonline.org

Link to comment
Guest vinced

Guest vinced

Posted
Posted

To make a short story long:

I have a Handspring Prism that I use via AnantGo to download several web sites, one of which is USA Today. I read the short article about Geocaching and since I had a GPSIII+ I investigated the web site and have been hooked since.

 

------------------

Vince

0H/2F

 

[This message has been edited by vinced (edited 10 September 2001).]

Link to comment
Guest fractal

Guest fractal

Posted
Posted

I was at a movie website and they mentioned a treasure hunt for the upcoming Planet of the Apes. Didn't see the movie..heard it kind of sucked.. But at least I got Geocaching out of it!

 

-fractal

 

[This message has been edited by fractal (edited 10 September 2001).]

Link to comment
Guest ManInTheWild

Guest ManInTheWild

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by E=Mc2:

I found out about this great sport through.....www.wheresgeorge.com...on the forums there. I kept seeing post after post til I checked it out. Now after 44 caches found just wish I knew about it months ago.

 

Same here. Only I have half as many finds (22.) My 'Georging' is suffering now... so much of my online time is now spent checking out Geocaches!

Link to comment
Guest maxxer

Guest maxxer

Posted
Posted

Like many here, I saw an article in a local newspaper about it.

 

We've had a gps for quite a few years for boating purposes. Love to hike with the dogs. Decided to try it out and now we're hooked.

Link to comment
Guest W7WT

Guest W7WT

Posted
Posted

Already had a Garmin 45 and street-pilot. Must give credit to Matt, who is the webmaster for mavica.nu a forum devoted to the Sony Mavica cameras. He had just a little

note saying another use for digial cameras and mentioned this site. Looked it up and bought a new MAP-330 and have found 9 sites and placed two. Thanks Matt

Link to comment
Guest echosgold

Guest echosgold

Posted
Posted

Well, we have been using a GPS for about 10 years. For mapping boundries, looking for bench markers, to use w/ maps, etc. We got a new Magellan in May 2000. In January 2001, we needed to update our GPS and we came across the geocaching website by accident and NOW we have an excuse to go out and hike more. tongue.gif

 

------------------

Echosgold

www.Outdoor-Dog.com -Gear for Active Dogs!

Link to comment
Guest cmarrero

Guest cmarrero

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by bwware:

TechTV has a show called Internet Tonight. They had a spot on that show about geocaching. They traveled with some guy out in California to find a cache that ended up being in the trunk of a car! I was hooked!

 

 

Same Here! I watch the same show and I was hooked also. Had to head over to my local Compusa and pick up the etrex basic. Now I got my whole family hooked on it. On the weekends my 4 year old daughter wakes us up to know when we are going "Treasure Hunting" as she calls it.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
Followers 0
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...