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Why Geocaching?


TheClickMeister

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I've been thinking about getting a GPS unit for a while now. Been eyeing the 60c. I love to go hiking off the path and have run into plenty of times where a GPS would have been great. I frequently find a cool place but usually forget how I got there and where it is if it is not on a trail. Also do alot of four wheeling and a GPS would be so useful there, since there are so many road and none are market. Plus would like a way to remember where certain obstacles are located. Also I go on road trips frequently and like the idea of not ending up on the wrong highway 20 miles past my turn (happens more than I'd like to admit)

 

Now, I've hear about geocaching and don't get it so much, but something I want to try to see. Going out to find a tubaware contain, with little trinkets? What's the appeal? I've never done it so I'm probably missing something. Just like with four wheeling, people just don't understand spending thousands of dollars on Jeeps until they go out and do it. So could some explain to me why they like geocaching? It is just something I need to try?

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My husband is a trucker. I bought him a eTrex Legend for his birthday os that he could find his exits more easily when he was in unfamiliar territory--or so he could find the alternate route when the one he needed was shut down for some reason. --Of course, he NEVER gets lost, so he wouldn't need it for that, now would he! :rolleyes:

 

While I was doing online research to try to figure out which unit to buy, I ran across the geocaching site. It seemed interesting. I have a love for maps (I teach Earth Science and Biology and Environmental Science), so I played around with the maps a little. (This was a few months ago, when non-premium members could still scroll and zoom on the maps). I found a few caches just a few blocks from our house.

 

When hubby got his gift, he thought it was very cool. He took it on a 700 mile trip the next day and had tons of fun just with the maps. Out of curiousity, we decided to go see if we could find any of those caches near us. Some were easy, some were very hard and took several trips to find. They all reminded me of the little treaure boxes that I used to hide when I was a kid. I would draw maps, tear the maps in pieces. Leave clues for my friends as to where to find the pieces and they would try to find them. Whoever found the box got to hide the next one.

 

One cache that we found was along the route I take to work every day. I never suspected a thing...It felt just a little thrilling to know that as adults, we were part of a quasi-secret society of people hiding things under the noses of all the other people who pass by those places, every day, unaware of the little caches sitting there just waiting to be found.

 

Should you try it? Sure.

Will you like it as much as we do? Who knows? But you know how to find out....

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1. The thrill of the hunt.

 

2. Possibly finding something cool. Sure, a lot of times you just find simple things, toys, junk, etc, but every one in a while you find something cool.

 

3. Caching gives me an excuse and the drive to get out on the trails for some exercise. It helps me to hike further and exercise more if I have a destination.

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Why do I spend so much time, money, and energy geocaching?

 

As others have also said, I enjoy the hunt. It's fun putting my brain to work in new and unusual ways.

 

I like that it takes me to new and unknown places...you know, the kind of stuff they don't mention in the trail books. I got into geocaching after moving to a new area. Looking for caches in the area helped me become more acquainted with my homestown.

 

It's an excuse to get outdoors. There isn't a lot to do where I live, so it helps motivate me to not sit on my couch all day.

 

Give it a shot. Not everybody will love it, and if you don't, having a GPSr is great! (By the by, I have a Garmin 60CS and I love it. You can't go wrong with the 60 series!)

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I agree with all of the above. The thrill of the hunt, possibly finding cool, not necessarily expensive, stuff, going to places you might not otherwise have gone or even known about and just getting off the couch and doing something. I find that I'm more willing to climb steep hills and hike rough terrain in search of a cache than I would be...just cause it's there. It's like any other sport, some people are drawn to it, others are not...my brother thinks my hobbie is 'looking for old Tupperware in the woods'. Of course, hiking is the last thing he wants to do, so he just doesn't get it.

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Finding a tubaware container with little trinkets is no fun. If it was I could just stay home and open a cupboard.

 

Spending my lunch hour visiting that local park I drive by everyday but never stop at, -solving puzzles, -understanding technology, -walking a trail, -sharing adventures, -planning a trip, -trying not to be seen while I waste time looking for hidden object, -involving my children, family and friends, -spending my money on the latest gps, backpack, boots and trinkets, -arguing about trade etiquette, -challenging hikes, -pleasant strolls, -being part of a community, -personal satisfaction for mental and physical effort just to find a tubaware container with little trinkets…

 

….is a blast. And I have only scratched the surface for reasons

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Spending my lunch hour visiting that local park I drive by everyday but never stop at, -solving puzzles, -understanding technology, -walking a trail, -sharing adventures, -planning a trip, -trying not to be seen while I waste time looking for hidden object, -involving my children, family and friends, -spending my money on the latest gps, backpack, boots and trinkets, -arguing about trade etiquette, -challenging hikes, -pleasant strolls, -being part of a community, -personal satisfaction for mental and physical effort just to find a tubaware container with little trinkets…

 

….is a blast. And I have only scratched the surface for reasons

You nailed it dead on for me, too. I enjoy the fact that caching isn't just looking for junk in the woods. I'm still puzzled how I can spend hours using software to try to find the best possible routes to the most possible caches in a single day. Not just to increase my number of finds, but simply for the satisfaction of doing something I enjoy.

 

I'm a geek who hadn't spent much time outdoors in quite a few years. It wasn't for the lack of interest, but the motivation wasn't there. The very welcome side-effect of Geocaching on me is I haven't spent a single weekend laying on the couch or watching TV in bed since I found the sport/hobby. Sure, I've spent several hundred dollars more than any sane person should on a GPSr, hiking boots, backpack, first aid kit, etc., but I see it as an investment in something I plan to do for a long time to come.

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I have to agree with everyone above.....with one addition. When you have kids it's important to spend "quality" time with 'em. Quality time is one on one and this is a perfect way to spend time with 'em. You get to talk as you walk toward the caches and really get to know your kids. It's also something of a childhood memory that your building.

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I am a Newbie. In fact, so new, I have only order a Meridian Gold. It should be here sometime in the next week. I have butterflies going into this sport because I am still not sure what is drawing me to it. I had a real tought time explaining to my wife just why I wanted this new toy. I am not sure. I just know that I like the outdoors and I like gadgets. I just hope I can get this all figured out before I take my wife out to impress her!

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Like "RatFace," I am new to geocaching. In fact, I found my first cache just yersterday.

 

I had been reading posts and searching for nearby caches for about a month on the GC.com website while I waited for my new Garmin Vista to arrive from OfficeMax (see "Garage Sale" area of this site for details of that ordeal!). Some posting that I read referred to a "rush" one gets when closing in on a cache. I thought to myself, "there's no way you can get a feeling like that when searching for some trinkets in the woods." But, man was I wrong! when I was closing in on that cache, my heart started to race. When I actually saw that little "tubawear" container, I felt like a kid on an Easter Egg Hunt!

 

So far, that's "Why Geocaching" is for me. It may be a Newbie reaction, but to me it was definately the thrill of the hunt, and the capture.

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What they all said, plus...

 

To me the best analogy is that geocaching is much like the Easter egg hunts we loved as kids. Finding little colorful treasures in the grass. Apparently many of us ever remain kids-at-heart and never really grow up! :D

 

That instinct in turn, might well be our ancient innate "hunter-gatherer" mentality at work. An age-old penchant for using our neandrathal brains and brawn to find and secure nature's bounty.

 

Course nowadays, it's hard to rationalize that sleuthing out tupperware filled w/ trinkets contributes to the survival of the species. :)

 

Bottom line? It's just plain FUN! Indeed, as a T-shirt I once saw expalins it:

 

"Geocaching - the most fun you can have with 14 billions dollars in government spending (without blowing up the Pentagon)." Or somesuch...

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I love to go hiking off the path and have run into plenty of times where a GPS would have been great. I frequently find a cool place ...

and...

Also do alot of four wheeling and a GPS would be so useful there, since there are so many road and none are market.  Plus would like a way to remember where certain obstacles are located.

 

These two reasons you stated yourself are why 90% of the people geocache. To go to interesting places, and remember them.

 

There is the thrill of the hunt, and eventually the actual find, but it is the memories of where we visited that have the largest effect and impact on any individual.

 

Now you can combine the two things you enjoy the most with something else that melds in quite well with these activities, which can only enhance those fond memories even more.

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Though I am still waiting to recieve my GPS and extra tools in the mail. I have long thought that GPS technology was fascinating. But soo long ago units were prohibitivly expensive. Inaccuracy except for government agencies was artificially induced. Now the prices are down to affordable and accuracy appears to have improved with the addition of WAAS.

 

I learned about geocaching from a cable news story on CNN. Started looking at this online. Made a purchase from the GPS Garage Sale forum. After having researched online, at stores and from similar Lists.

 

It would be a lot of fun combining my travels to SCA events with geocaching. Been to some very nice places and potentially fantastic hides going to and from. The SCA events are seasonal and those are just about over in this area. So "off-season' will be fun to get into this sport/game.

 

So... sitting near a window.. off to my left. Looking at the top of Mt Baker.. wondering if I can hide a cache at the peak in the snow??? Waiting for the postal carrier to arrive with the GPS package.

 

Charles

Mount Vernon, WA

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Just like with four wheeling, people just don't understand spending thousands of dollars on Jeeps until they go out and do it.  So could some explain to me why they like geocaching?  It is just something I need to try?

You answered your own question there fellow Jeeper :(

 

As they say at NIKE --- "Just Do It!"

 

Go out and try it and you'll find new ways to wheel. And another reason to run that Jeep when your not off the road.

 

Cheers,

 

PJ :(

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There is nothing better than getting so frustrated you are on the verge of giving up and selling your GPS on ebay, then you give it that one more college try and sitting right under your nose, or hand as it may be, the clue to the next spot is, and had been there the whole time. As you swear you looked right at it 5 times and never saw it.

 

It is a secret society that gives you a feeling of being "in" without having a verizon cell phone :huh: The ability to go out and get into nature with a goal, as so many have said. The feeling of accomplishment as you sign your name in the log book. I have only found one, but immediately started going for harder caches, and am working on 3 multistage currently. Still a little slow as it takes me a couple outtings to find each stage, but its something I would rather do than sit at home.

 

I definitely think this sport holds more allure to geeks than not, but I could be wrong there.

 

I agree with others, that it isn't the container that does it for me, opening it there is the kid rush of treasure, but in reality, I have enough junk at home, it gives me a reason to put it somewhere without throwing it out :)

 

SmashSE

 

Edit: Oh and no matter how many times I go looking for deer, I never see them, unless I am focused on geocaching, then I see them all the time :ph34r:

Edited by smashse
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I'll tell you why I'm addicted.

 

I love caching, the thrill of the hunt, the anticipation, wondering what kind of adventure that you are going to have, getting time to be out in the woods or city walking with your friends or children, discovering places that "wern't there before", knowing that my adventure will brighten someone elses day reading a log entry. This is an opportunity that you have to change you and the world around you, turn things into a positive. ( I.E. CITO, learning new things about you that you thought that you could never do)

 

You will never know until you try it. Once you try it you get addicted. Once you are Addicted there is no turning back.:)

 

"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good." - Author unknown

 

:) be stealthy

;) get confused

:) wonders is anyone watching

:D Found It

:) gotta put it back

:huh: gotta go back up that hill

:ph34r: releif. found the car

Yeah Me!!

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I echo a lot of the same things that everyone else has said, about anticipation, thrill of the hunt, that feeling of "AHA!" after the endless frustration... but I also enjoy being outside on the trails. A lot of the time so far I use geocaching as a way to relax, to let go of some stress in my life, and just get out there and go for a drive, or go for a walk. Just me and the sun and the trail. It's very relaxing, somehow, even if it does get frustrating when I've been searching for 45 minutes for that darned micro hidden in the bushes... :)

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