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Caching Essentials


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I thought this new thread might help newcomers to the hobby (me, for instance) if people contribute their thoughts on good gear for geocaching. Obviously, similar equipment as for serious walking - proper clothing taken as read.

 

Here's my own list, to start...

 

Belt with pouches containing:

GPS unit, mobile phone.

SAK, Silva compass (lanyards, straps on everything)

Spare batteries for the GPSr

Spare batteries for the spare batteries.

Current map in waterproof sleeve.

Mini Maglite torch, sunglasses

 

Pack with...

Showerproof jacket, trousers.

Dry socks, spare dry socks.

More dry socks.

Basic first aid kit, incl cream for nettle stings.

Other maps, if applicable.

Gardening gloves.

Trade goods, extra pencils, in loc/loc box.

Tissues, or bog roll.

Insect repellent wipes.

Various disreputable hats.

Even more batteries.

 

Things I always forget, or leave in the car...

 

The cache notes.

My wallet.

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That's a good list of things that you have put together there, here are the only other things which I take along with me -

 

Digital camera (Why digital? you can get your photo's onto the log the same day)

PDA, paperless caching is the way forward. and you can write your log at the location.

Most important of all A Sense of Humour :o

 

Edit: Oh Yeah nearly forgot, your own signature item, whether this is a sticker, keyfob or anything else that says you have visited the cache.

Edited by Haggis Hunter
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Batteries, spare log book, spare pens, spare this is a geocache laminated card in 3 sizes, spare film, nettle sting stick thingy, insect bite kit, insect reppelent wipes, sealable bags , plasters, germolene, PDA, kids carry own swaps now.

Calling card (sig item) things we always forget OS map and drinks cause 0.6 on the arrow always ends up as 6.0 on the ground :P

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All of the above...plus :-

 

Elastoplast in various sizes and types

even bigger elastoplasts imported from Sweden

Heart spray

insect cream

insect amonia stick

Boots electric Click for numbing midgie bites

bandages

antiseptic wipes

Complan plasters in two sizes

pain killers

tweezers for extracting foreign objects

Avon So Soft spray

midgie net

emergency whistle

head torch as well as small hand torch

card giving blood type (rhesus neg) and doctors details

 

and last but not least...my goodly length of rope :P

 

Ullium (aka The Medicine Man)

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Accompanying us on our caching trips are:

 

swaps

log book stickers

2 x GPSrs

2 x PDAs (one with Cachemate on it, one with Fugawi maps)

1 or 2 mobile phones

paper maps (if near home)

digital camera

tons of batteries

tissues

wet wipes

insect repellant (summer)

gardening gloves

compass

sunglasses (depending on weather)

'swiss army' pen

 

Plus whatever is lurking in my handbag.

Lisa

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Well I take...

 

GPSr (just the one)

Cache printouts which include MemoryMap topo map - no PDA for me!

OS maps of whatever area I am caching - I have lots!

Vehicle mouting kit for GPSr - suction type on windsreen

12v power cord to lighter

Compass

Swaps

Pen and pencils

Penknife

Spare sets of batteries

Torch

Water 750cl or 1.5l on hot days

Digital camera

Mobile phone

TB's if I have any

Napsack to put it in

 

Andy.

Edited by Subarite
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for short caches I have the gps and some of my keyrings and my camera, If it involves any distance away from the car I usually have

 

my pda with maps and cache info

first aid kit + emergency blanket

compass

whistle

mobile phone

walkie talkie

platypus water pouch

waterproofs

midge repellant (skin so soft)

camera + mini tripod

spare bateries

more batteries

leatherman tool

torch

food

 

If Caitlin comes with me then I will have all sorts of extras that a 2 year old might need, wipes, dry clothes, wrist strap etc etc. And some extra swaps so that she can swap things out of the box.

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Pushchair

Rain cover for the pushchair

Baby sling

Nappies

Changing mat

Baby wipes

Gripe water

Change of clothes for the baby

Same for the 4yo

Drink for the 4yo

Biscuits for the 4yo

Toys for the 4yo

Something to put in the cache so the 4yo can swap it for that car he fancies (he hasn't got the concept of putting in something of his yet)

 

Oh yes! If we remember the GPS :P

 

JJNFC

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In the pack -

 

GPSr - Geko 301

at least two lots of spare batteries for GPSr

Mowbli

swaps + TBs

wet wipes (forest fragrance B) )

Digi cam

iPaq with Autoroute Streetmaps and GSAK

Leatherman Wave© - lol

Doggy Doo bags

Anti-hystemine (seasonal)

BOOTS!

waterproofs (seasonal - yeah right I wish!)

fleeces (seasonal - yeah right I wish!)

Sun Blok (Seasonal - sometimes!!!)

Groundspeak Pencils

Some OS maps when location is covered by my small collection

Prescription Sunny G's (seasonal - OMG!)

...oh and Organ Donor Card!

 

In the cachemobile -

 

Refreshment for the humans and the canine (liquid and solid)

First Aid Kit - Stays in car normally! D'oh!

charger and handsfree kit for mowbli

Spare Shoes and clothes when necessary

Road Maps - various

sweeties - also known as travel or journey enhancers!

 

Having read this thread I will be adding mini-maglite (2xAA version) to pack!

Having read another thread I will soon be carrying Avon Skin-so-Soft!

 

[EDIT - spelling - probably not got 'em all tho! - D'oh!)

Edited by The Hokesters
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What lovely lists everybody has given this a lot of thought. However we always take one more thing that you have forgotten to mention, we couldn't possibily go without it, ever, it's for the kids - the bribe....

 

CHOCOLATE ;)B)

 

Edited - just remembered something else - the mobile phone for when DomHeKnows rings B)

Edited by aRRKS
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Cache bag + pocket contents:

 

Printout sheet(s)

GPSr

Digital camera

Spare batteries

OS Map

Scale rule

Pencils (2 of, 1 to donate to a cache and one for plotting and note-taking)

Pencil sharpeners (2 of, ditto)

Pen

Orienteering compass

Sighting compass

Swaps: small; medium and large

Small (8*20) binoculars

Small first aid kit

Small pack of tissues

Spare socks

Kitchen sink (Nah. Just kidding!)

A very small torch in summer; also a larger hand-torch in winter

Mobile phone (switched off to conserve batteries and to prevent an interruption in a pleasurable walk in the country by some irrelevant call)

500ml water bottle

Summit snack

Stout garden/ building refuse bag to replace torn/worn outer bags of old caches

Gardening gloves in summer for those nettle and thistle covered places

A couple of ziplock bags to replace worn or wet ones

A spare blank logbook to replace a soggy or full one

Calculator (for those burgeoning caches which demand that you calculate the lowest Mersenne Prime number which must be divided by the ASCII value of someone's mother's maiden name and multiplied by the square root of minus one and multiply it by Avogadro's Number and add it to the number that the cache placer first thought of and then XOR it in binary with the Haversine of the CoLatitude at the Longitude of the carpark to find the cache co-ords in milliSquarks per fathom)

 

 

In remote areas, such as are favoured by Snaik caches, or on other off-path walks in the Highlands, I also carry a small additional kit of stuff in case of emergencies:

A note of the phone number of the local copshop and MRT (and deer management people in the season in that type of terrain)

A note identifying myself and giving elementary biometric details such as my blood type and a declaration that I have no known allergies or pre-existing medical conditions; and a couple of emergency contact telephone numbers in case I'm incapacitated in some way

A CD. This makes a brilliant signalling mirror if you know how to use one

A whistle

A 'space blanket'

A bottle or can of high energy drink

A couple of packets of high energy food

A multitool (of the 'Leatherman' type)

A NATO standard wire saw

A box of waterproofed matches

Lightweight bivvy bag (winter only)

Two tea-light candles

A tiny placard, from an RAF survival pack, which lists all the ASR ground signals

 

Looking at the above list(s), it looks a lot, but it's actually quite light and fits easily into a smallish diddy bag.

 

 

Cheers, The Forester

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:):laughing::lol:

(snip) divided by the ASCII value of someone's mother's maiden name and multiplied by the square root of minus one and multiply it by Avogadro's Number and add it to the number (snip)

 

Well done, Forester. Now, class - who can tell me what Avogadro's Number is? ... No not you Avogadro give the others a go... Yes, Stallone? ... uh,huh?.. good... no - that's Planck's Constant you're thinking of. Anyone else? Blair? Well, I think we DO have to worry about the day-to-day details, Blair. This is a Physics class, after all - what is it NOW, Bush Jr? Hurry up then - you should have gone before you came in. Now then: come on IIIB - Avogadro's Number, anyone...?

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Blair? Well, I think we DO have to worry about the day-to-day details, Blair. This is a Physics class, after all - what is it NOW, Bush Jr? Hurry up then - you should have gone before you came in

Memo to self:

 

Remember not to drink tea while reading one of WLW's posts.

 

I laughed so hard at his Joyce Grenfell Class 3b cameo that tea actually came out of both nostrils.

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