What do you "cache" with ?

[+OB Jets]

Greetings, as a newbe to this sport i was wondering if anyone could fill me in on some "dont leave home without" items to make this a tad bit easier. So far i am running 1 for 4. My 1st find was so easy it was crazy, the others have started to drive me mad. Any help would be great...

[Mushtang]

Don't leave home without your GPSr. The coordinates would help too.

 

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"A noble spirit embiggins the smallest man." - Jebediah Springfield

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[+yumitori]

quote:

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Originally posted by objets:

Greetings, as a newbe to this sport i was wondering if anyone could fill me in on some "dont leave home without" items to make this a tad bit easier. So far i am running 1 for 4. My 1st find was so easy it was crazy, the others have started to drive me mad. Any help would be great...

---

 

Caches sheets with all the logs, especially at first. Sometimes you can glean additional hints. Also, if coordinates prove to be off a bit, you can try the ones sometimes offered by the finders.

 

Ron/yumitori

 

---

 

Remember what the dormouse said...

[iworkhere]

gpsr

printouts

BUGSPRAY BUGSPRAY BUGSPRAY

trade goods

pen/pencil

frs radio/cell phone

small firstaid kit

pocket knife/multitool

water bottle/camelback

maybe a light snack for energy if its a long hike

and a backpack/knapsack to lug it all around in

 

as a side note, i picked up a hunters vest at REI , the kind that has lots of pockets all over it, and i can fit all of the above junk in it except for my camelback.

 

of course, a lot depends on where/what cache your doing. you may also want to "bike-it" if its a long hike. if so, you'd want your biking stuff with you as well.

 

i gennerally take anything i might want to take when i'm hiking....

 

iworkhere

[+Harrald]

Some days Good cache sense

Some days Bad cache sense

 

That and a bag filled with stuff like bug spray, trade items, maps, snacks and water.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own.

Sydney J. Harris

 

The fool who knows he is a fool is for that reason very wise. The fool who thinks himself wise is the greatest fool of all.

Shakyamuni

[bnolan]

To find out what I take, I grabbed my fanny pack. Here is what is in it.

 

- GPS

- extra batteries

- Printout of cache page

- small trade items

- sun screen

- lip balm

- bug spray

- whistle

- water bottle

- flashlight

- swiss army knife

- lighter

- mechanics inspection mirror

- compass

- altimeter/barometer/wind speed tool

- monocular

- small first aid kit

- granola bars

- emergency blanket (silver foil)

- trecking poles

 

All of this fits in the fanny pack (the poles strap to the bottom when I am not using them)

 

If my wife comes along, she wears a camelback with more snacks, trades and a larger first aid kit. Plus binoculars and a bird book and wildflower book. And a camera.

 

I bought a water purifier/filter for our next major expedition. We once ran out of water before we reached a cache and had to turn back. The whole time we were hiking along a stream but didn't dare drink the water.

 

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I may be lost, but at least I am making good time.

[+OB Jets]

thanks for all the info. seams as i would have faired much better had i thought to bring a copy of the logs along with me.

[+Zahrim]

I see that every idea listed so far is a great idea ''Depending'' on the cache you are hunting. I think the first question people should have asked is - ''What is the area like/what is the difficulty level of the cache?''

 

As you are 1 for 4 atm, congratulations on starting a great hobby/pastime/obsession. What were the 3 caches you hunted and didn't find?

 

As to the what to bring with you, that ALL depends on where the cache is.

 

Camping kit is a very good idea if you are heading into the woods, outback, or anywhere out of the urban area.

 

If on the other hand, the cache is an urban cache, a lot of the camping/survival type stuff is not needed at all, and just might draw unwanted attention to yourself. (Water is always a good idea, even for urban caches).

 

I would have to say without knowing more about the caches you have been hunting, the BARE MINIMUM... is - your GPS, a printout of the cache page (or the Pocket Query if you have a palm pilot), and a trade item or so.

 

It helps a lot to read the logs of past finders before you hunt, (Like yumitori said ''Caches sheets with all the logs, especially at first. Sometimes you can glean additional hints.''

 

Hope to hear how things go in the future.

 

Zahrim....

 

"There's no need to be afraid of strange noises in the night.

Anything that intends you harm will stalk you silently."

[+OB Jets]

Most all of the cashes i will be hunting will be urban. I am still trying to get the over all hang of this. I have a palm, but no idea what a Pocket Query is or how to use one. Seams i have alot to learn.

I looked for "park and fly", "Red Baron" and "Come on give it a try" cashes. All without luck. I hope to regroup and retry these when i am not under the influance(sp?) of children.

[+quakemap]

Pocket Queries are files that are e-mailed to you once a week by geocaching.com database server. You have to become a Premium member ($30/yr), and also use appropriate page to set up your query. I suggest to request PQ in GPX format. When you receive them as attachment - just drag/drop them on QuakeMap window - you will instantly see the whole set of geocaches in your area. You can do it with .loc files too, they are available for all members, but don't contain that much info.

 

As for things to take with you - I would add:

-- printed aerial map (use photo printer/paper)

-- extra batteries for your GPS

-- lots of water

 

Happy trails,

 

http://www.quakemap.com - redefining Easy...

[+briansnat]

For quick 1/1.5 urban hunts, I just bring my GPS, the cache printout and a bag of trade items.

 

If it's a cache that requires a good hike in the woods, I bring pretty much anything I'd bring hiking, including a compass, water...pretty much everything bnolan listed.

 

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

[+team travel pig]

i never take the printout and i always end up wishing i had... still haven't learnt...

 

___________________________________

 

who's got the pig?

[averynva]

EXTRA BATTERIES.....avery and son

[+GOT GPS?]

For Virtual caches:

You will need a Virtual GPS

 

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My Old posts as Geoffrey

My Current Post as GOT GPS?

My profile

My Home Page about what is GPS

[Clown Knife]

Urban:

Print out of the cache page with logs

Map of cache location

GPSr and compass

Trade items

Pen or pencil

Digital Camera

Cell phone for dictating memos of cache hunt

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Wilderness:

Water

Gloves

Flashlight

Probing stick

Energy bars

Batteries

Kerchief

Hat

Whistle

Signal mirror

Bic lighter

Good Pocket knife

Length of twine

[+Cat'N'Geo]

A truck.

 

They say this universe is bound to blow,

I say we crank up the Calypso Control!

~Jimmy Buffett

 

~Someday I Will~

[+robert]

urban - backpack with:

* tradables

* GPS

* batteries

* PDA w/pocket queries

* bottle of water

 

woodsy - camelbak with:

* tradables

* GPS

* batteries

* PDA w/pocket queries

* dry socks

* hiking stick

* hat

* DEET

* long pants

* long sleeves

 

~robert

Driver carries less than $20 cache.

[Vacman]

I try to ALWAYS bring the following items:

 

1. A pen/pencil with no ink/lead.

2. A candy bar (half consumed) that I found under the car seat.

3. A ruler.

4. A broken McToy.

5. a claw-hammer.

6. A harmonica.

7. toothpick

8. 16 jelly beans

9. A pocket full of lint.

10. AND a vacuum cleaner....

 

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Black holes are where God divided by zero.

[+Mark 42]

Ziplock bags, in case the one the logbook is in is getting beatup & leaking.

 

A grocery bag to pack out trash.

 

A black trash bag in case the one the cache is in has gotten holey.

 

Gaiters.

 

Ivy Blocker if you live around poison Oak or Ivy.

 

After Bite (pain reliever for stings)

 

A bee sting kit if you're allergic.

 

A .44 Magnum if you are in Fla. or Alaska.

 

I.D. in case the police ask what the heck you're doing. Also emergency info (I use a dogtag on a lanyard around my neck) such as blood type, who to contact, your name, drug allergies.

 

Cell phone if you have one.

 

Beer.

 

Hukt un fonix werkt fur mee

[+briansnat]

Cache repair kit

[+Robespierre]

I think, for you, maybe take a more experienced caching friend, who you found by posting in your local forum. A day caching with a new friend is a good day. The experience will count, and you will learn the basics. In my experience, you should be under 4% dnf's.

[+Night Stalker]

I used to do paper caching, but Renegade Knight brought me into the 21st century. Now I carry a GPS, and my Ipaq 3955 with GPX view and my pocket querry. It also has Pocket streets and trips so I can export the pushpin files to my maps for planning my caching day. If it turns out that the cache is truly evil we bring RK's wife along. She can always spot a cache that we have missed.

 

[Keystone]

Closing duplicate topic.