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New to the game - Just saying HI

Data Lynx

By Data Lynx
in How do I...?

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Data Lynx

Data Lynx

Posted
Posted

Greetings all,

I just wanted to say howdy and let a little of my new-found excitement out. I was surfing the internet several days back and with an ice-storm moving through Dallas, I found myself a little bored and looking for something new to get involved in. On a whim, I began running searches on google.com for outdoor adventures, activities, etc. and through various drill-downs, I finally stumbled into geocaching.com. Voila! For the longest time now, I have been looking for an activity or hobby to get involved in that would give me ample excuse to get away from my computer, be a healthy and wholesome activity, and not require me to be a rich man to do.

 

So now I'm into my fourth day of researching geocaching and really getting excited about the sport. It has certainly been a pleasure learning about many of the fun things involved in the sport, such as the travel bugs and geo coins, and learning a bit more of the ropes, such as log books, cameras, etc. With the advice in the forums here, after 4 solid days of researching, I feel comfortable with going out and hunting down my first cache later today. I've already collected up several items to take with me to be able to leave in the cache and am looking forward to being able to log the find tomorrow evening, if I can break away and get out tomorrow. I've even got spare pens packed, just in case there is not one in the cache for signing the log book.

 

Hopefully a friend will let me borrow his handheld GPS for a little while, until I can afford to pick one up. I figure one of the lower-end $99 dollar units will be great to start with, with the more expensive units being warranted when I have a bit more time under my belt in the sport. icon_wink.gif

 

I see there are many caches in the North Texas area and was wondering if there is a local area club in or around Dallas? I can really see myself getting involved in the sport around here, and would certainly like to be able to both be involved with local area geocachers as well as contribute to a club or cumminity in this area.

 

Like many other newbies to the sport, I found myself daydreaming about setting up and maintaining my own cache around here, but I respect the fact that doing such is not as simple as stuffing a tupperware container with loot, a log book, and placing it at some random (publicly accessible) place. Hehe, as has been suggested in some of the other threads, getting to know what makes a good cache good and a lousy cache lousy takes a bit of experience in going out and hunting caches oneself. I anticipate hunting at least fifty or so first before setting up my own. LOL, look at me putting the cart before the horse here. Obviously, I've really grown excited about geocaching and have spent many hours this week convincing several friends who have never heard of the sport to come along as well.

 

Well I know I am rambling, but I wanted to get my greetings out and say howdy to all. I look forward to running into several other geocachers in the field and placing a few items in some caches here and there myself. Maybe by the end of the night tonight I'll have my first cache logged and be well on my way to becoming a full-fledged geocacher myself. icon_smile.gif

 

Good hunting everyone, good luck, I'll let you know how the first hunt goes and we'll see y'all in the field. icon_smile.gif

 

Peace,

Data Lynx

-Future Geocacher - Dallas/Irving, Tx area-

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fishin'fool

+fishin'fool

Posted
Posted

welcome to the sport(obsession)!There are a lot of groups in the Texas area that I have seen on the boards,and here are a few.

 

Central Texas Geocachers

Great Plains Geocachers

Houston Geocachers

Texas Geocaching Association

North Texas Geocaching Association

 

Also on the forum boards go to Geocaching Groups by region,then to south & southeast or Texas.Have fun! I think that Web-ling is from around that area and I see them on the boards a lot,they could probably give you more info. icon_biggrin.gif

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Bluespreacher

+Bluespreacher

Posted
Posted

What a great post! I commend you for reading through the posts before hiding a cache. Now you have an overview of the community's concerns and opinions.

 

Borrow or steal a yellow etrex and get going! You might consider some 1-2's to start, just to get a feel for the hardware and stuff. It's tons of fun.

 

See you 'out there', icon_razz.gif

 

Bluespreacher

 

"We've got the hardware and the software, the plans and the maps ..." -- Citizen Wayne Kramer

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Rygel

+Rygel

Posted
Posted

Welcome!! I'm new too and so far I love it! I'm waiting for the weather to get better and its killing me!

 

The great question...which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is "What does a woman want?" --Freud

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Data Lynx

Data Lynx

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hehe thanks a whole bunch for the info on groups in my area. I look forward to attending some of the meetings and getting to know many of y'all. I managed to get my hands on a Magellan GPS-300 unit today and went after my first cache.

 

The cache is called "Up for a Movie" and was a fairly easy one to find, and relatively close to the house. The weather today was heavily overcast and the little maggie seemed to be struggling to get a good lock, but I managed to find the cache.

 

Also, introduced a friend to the sport, so along with myself, maybe my friend will catch the addiction as well, mwahaha. I decided to make this first cache find a bit more meaningful and help a poor little Texas Geocoin along its way. We made sure to log the coin on txgeocoins.com and look forward to re-hiding it this coming week. So the addiction is setting in fairly hard right now and it looks like I'll be spending a good amount of time this week plotting out our next several hunts. I'm thinking Hillcrest Park needs a good sweeping this next go around icon_wink.gif

 

Thanks a whole bunch for all the feedback friends, I can tell already that this is a good group of people and I am glad to find such a fascinating hobby.

 

We'll catch y'all on the trail here soon. icon_smile.gif

 

Peace,

Data Lynx

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lysa

lysa

Posted
Posted

quote:
Thanks a whole bunch for all the feedback friends, I can tell already that this is a good group of people and I am glad to find such a fascinating hobby.

 

I couldn't agree with you more !!!!!!! I have had nothing but a most excellent experience on this site and EVERY single person that I have talked to has been amazing ! I can't wait to get started... Texas isn't THAT far from where I am.. maybe I will see you on the trail someday too !!!!!

 

Lysa icon_biggrin.gif

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Mystic911

Mystic911

Posted
Posted

I haven't gone outside with my GPS yet to try a search but I am excited to try it too. A friend told me about Geocaching and I was hooked from the start. There are at least 20 caches within about 5 miles of my house! I am going after my first one tomorrow if I can get up in time.

 

I went out and bought a Garmin Rino 120 for myself.. and one for my hubby for his birthday.. Is this a good one???

 

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OTHER NEWBIES!!!!

 

Deb N aka Mystic911

Everett Washington

 

Mystic911

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HartClimbs

+HartClimbs

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by Mystic911:

I went out and bought a Garmin Rino 120 for myself.. and one for my hubby for his birthday.. Is this a good one???

>snip<

Mystic911

 

I have a Rino 120 - I think you'll be really happy with it (I certainly am). I've only been participating for a couple months and find myself heading out looking for caches before work! (it's pretty addictive).

 

Welcome!

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CoronaKid

+CoronaKid

Posted
Posted

Welcome Data Lynx! Your excitement and enthusiasm is what the sport is all about. I've only been doing geocaching for a couple months now and I'm getting more and more hooked. I even hid my first cache a couple weeks ago.

 

Don't be surprised if you find yourself plotting caches that are near everyplace you visit or go. I have outlined all the caches by my parent's place, my in-laws place, work, and all places in between. I probably will never hit them all, but I love knowing the fact that I can always find a cache close by if I have the time.

 

Happy caching!

 

--CoronaKid

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catcher24

+catcher24

Posted
Posted

I discovered the site last December and became quite enthusiastic about geocaching. Unfortunately, I have been unable to get out and find my first cache due to the worst winter around here in 25 years! Around 150 inches of snow so far, and still counting. I have subscribed to receive the new caches placed in my area, though, and with spring just around the corner look forward to getting out and finding that first cache!

 

Catcher24

"You see, you spend a good deal of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." Jim Bouton

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Fishin_Fool

Fishin_Fool

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by Mystic911:

I haven't gone outside with my GPS yet to try a search but I am excited to try it too. A friend told me about Geocaching and I was hooked from the start. There are at least 20 caches within about 5 miles of my house! I am going after my first one tomorrow if I can get up in time.

 

I went out and bought a Garmin Rino 120 for myself.. and one for my hubby for his birthday.. Is this a good one???

 

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OTHER NEWBIES!!!!

 

Deb N aka Mystic911

Everett Washington

 

Mystic911

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Data Lynx

Data Lynx

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Greetings,

My apologies for the delayed response. I had to go out of town this past week and unfortunately was away from the internet all week. Hehe, Dapper Dan's treasure chest was a great excercise for my second geocache hunt. The difficulty rating was a 5 and I honestly had not realistically expected to find it. I've read enough of the message boards to learn that y'all can be extremely creative when you choose to hide something. The first cache I found, it was heavily overcast out and my GPS just did not want to get a very good signal lock never-the-less, the cache was relatively easy to find. The second cache I went after was this crazy cache set up by Dapper Dan and I was getting four and five satellite locks and real good readings. Overall, the hunt was a blast. With a little black box in my hand, I had license to play in the woods! WOOT! Hehe.

 

On a side note, I recently read an article on ABCNews.com which was discussing how video games were signalling the decline of outdoor activities for youngsters. Well they have obviously never met the kids of a geocacher. It was my pleasure to meet a couple of geocachers out on the hunt when I showed up at the location on my second attempt. My little maggie 300 will only read out to two decimal points, so the other hunters there were most kind to help zero me into the exact spot out to that third decimal place.

 

Ya know, I can see a big part of the fun is also meeting these folks in the field and listening to their experiences. It is nice to know that even when a newbie can go out into the field after an elusive cache, the other cache hunters on location don't even bat an eye about helping each other out, giving tips and advice, and generally being personable. So it boils down to the fact that even though I didn't find the cache, I walked away from this hunt enriched with a heck of alot more knowledge from listening to the experience of the others who were out there. I'd call that a pretty successful hunt then. icon_smile.gif

 

Now that I'm back in town, I've got a few caches on my list to go hunt up and a geocoin to place. Mwahaha. I look forward to meeting many more of y'all in the field.

 

I wish y'all peace and safe hunting. We'll catch ya on the trail. icon_wink.gif

 

Data Lynx

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Data Lynx

Data Lynx

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You know, it is funny that you mentioned that everywhere you go, you start looking for good caching sites. LOL. For the past two weeks now, I have been spotting places and thinking to myself, "Wow, what a great place for a cache" or "Hmm, I wonder if there is a cache hidden somewhere up in that thicket" LOL. I guess you know you've got the bug badly when you're driving past a place and suddenly your looking at it with the mindset of considering it for a likely cache location.

 

On a side note, I still think I'm going to wait a while before launching my first cache. I want to place it somewhere where I can actively maintain the cache and I'd kinda like to do something a bit different on my first one. I've been exploring doing a themed cache or something to that effect, however I'm still wanting to do much more research on all the various types of currently successful and enjoyable caches in the area. One of the things I've been pondering is doing something kinda fun for the cache for everyone. I work with leather as one of my other hobbies and so I was thinking of making some leather key fobs to put in the cache or maybe some specially designed GPSr lanyards. I dunno, I'll have to wait and see what position I am in financially before I do it, these items are cheap, but right now every penny counts icon_wink.gif Anyway, I figure I'll probably look at placing my first cache sometime early this summer. Anyway, I work something fun up and get it placed before to long.

 

Peace and safe caching,

Data Lynx

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