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Geocaching And Orienteering


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I opened up this topic again.. I would like some input on this subject. I think it would be fun and a challenge to utilize orienteering (with) the use of a GPSr in geocaching activities.

 

I have only discovered one geocacher that uses orienteering in conjunction with geocaching. I am sure that there are more of us out there.. I wonder what the percentages are.

 

So I opened this topic up again and quote the original question below.

 

Hi,

Has Geocaching and Orienteering ever been combined? Are there Geocachers out there that are also Orienteers? I can imagine that there might be but don't know if the sports have been combined.

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Geo-teering is quite possible and lots of fun. Even though orienteerers are in a rush to get to A to B and etc. When you slow it down, read a map, play with your compass it can be exciting. I have combined a lot of map skills into some of my caches. GPS's have the capability of projecting a waypoint which is the cheat tool of orienteerers. And that is where we can be devious when we make the control point a devious little hide in the bushes for the next run. I have a cache set up that can and is done as an orienteering event which will lead you to another cache. And the whole 8 mile hike can be done without a GPS to find several caches. Come to CO and I'll gladly take you on a nice hike in the hills, with scenery and caches combined.
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Oh... and also, I think alot of geocachers could learn alot about navigation if we all took an orienteering course.

 

Yes, I agree with that.. I am planning on doing that myself. I have some other interests that go right along with orienteering and geocaching. :lol:

 

There is one Tahosa and sons in Colorado that has it down pat...

Edited by OccidentalErrant
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Since there are numerous books published for orienteering, and how to find your way in the outdoors, does anyone have any recommendations on which are good books to buy?

 

I want to learn how to use a compass and a topo map (paper, not on my GPS) so if my GPS does die, I won't get lost. I have avoided any backcountry geocaching trips because I only navigate by references that I'm familiar with.

 

I'm not prepared to go to an unfamiliar area, and make a trek into a strange forest .

Edited by Kit Fox
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I also do orientering at events around my state. I enjoy orienteering more than geocaching. I often use geocaches to teach orienteering to boys in my Royal Ranger outpost. Last year my boys took first place in the state. As I see it, the best ways to combine them in a cache are; a) an event cache and b ) a multi cache, in which the first set of coordinates can be given, the remaining stages can be designated on a map in which the cacher could either navigate using a map and compas and ruler, or use the map and ruler to calculate the next set of coordinates for his gps. I favor the second method because of the greater mathematical skills involved.

Edited by dead_white_man
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Since there are numerous books published for orienteering, and how to find your way in the outdoors, does anyone have any recommendations on which are good books to buy?

 

Since I am in the same boat as you... I will defer to Tahosa to answer that one (or the internet)... I usually will go with a good book on subjects like this... but I think that this time I am going to go ahead and take a structured practical course on it. Plan to do that this Spring or early Summer.

 

All good information from others also... I just knew that there had to be others out there with the same interest in it.. :lol:

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Since there are numerous books published for orienteering, and  how to find your way in the outdoors, does anyone have any recommendations on which are good books to buy?

 

I want to learn how to use a compass and a topo map (paper, not on my GPS) so if my GPS does die, I won't get lost. I have avoided any backcountry geocaching trips because I only navigate by references that I'm familiar with.

 

I'm not prepared to go to an unfamiliar area, and make a trek into a strange forest .

The Smart One award goes to Kit Fox, unless you are familar with the backcountry stay on the trail and don't go far from the road.

 

It is not necessary to buy a book, after you've looked at these links I'll tell you what is a good book to use. Its my basic when I teach this magnetic subject to those that want to stay found.

 

1. How to use a Compass

 

2. A good field guide.

 

3. Topo Maps

 

4. Another good link

 

5. My favorite article on Land Navigation

 

And my favorite book is: Route Finding: Navigating with Map and Compass by Crouch, Gregory

 

And I've been meaning to EMail Occidental since last week, but haven't found the time yet. Looks like its going to snow on Monday and I'm off, after that I'll let caching take the blame. :huh:

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I once had an idea where I would have the first stage of a cache at one specific place, and then they'd be given bearing and distance to the next stage. I really liked this idea, and I actually looked into it quite a bit. My idea was to have the two stages on opposite sides of the lake, so that people would have to use orienteering skills, to take multiple bearings to get around the lake and to the place I wanted them to go.

 

Then I realized how much of a pain in the butt this would be for people trying to do it, so I scrapped the idea.

 

Later, I looked into the idea again, and even got as far as scouting out locations, but then I found the "project waypoint" feature on the GPS and the idea was scrapped again...

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The Smart One award goes to Kit Fox, unless you are familar with the backcountry stay on the trail and don't go far from the road.

 

It is not necessary to buy a book, after you've looked at these links I'll tell you what is a good book to use. Its my basic when I teach this magnetic subject to those that want to stay found.

 

1. How to use a Compass

 

2. A good field guide.

 

3. Topo Maps

 

4. Another good link

 

5. My favorite article on Land Navigation

 

And my favorite book is: Route Finding: Navigating with Map and Compass by Crouch, Gregory

 

And I've been meaning to EMail Occidental since last week, but haven't found the time yet. Looks like its going to snow on Monday and I'm off, after that I'll let caching take the blame. 

 

Bookmarked all the links and wrote down the book recommendation... Thanks.. I have got some reading to do tonight.. :huh:

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Hello Everyone,

 

I am the Meet Director for an Orienteering event that is happening March 18, 19 and we have added a GPS Brown course... (not easy)

 

The runners with a gps will be given the coordinates to the first marker, get the next set of coordinates to the next. and so on until they reach the finish line.

 

So, yes,... there is orientering and GPS stuff all the time... Plus we have 30 hidden caches at the camp for fun...

 

later

 

Wretsub

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orienteer and geocacher here. personally, i find orienteering to be more challenging, though there are similarities. another good beginner book for orienteering and land navigation in general is "be expert with map and compass" by bjorn kjellstrom. another title on land nav with and without gps is "a comprehensive guide to land navigation with gps" by noel j. hotchkiss. both are easy reads and do a good job of explaining the fundamentals of land navigation. if there is a orienteering club nearby (search USOF) don't be intimidated, as there are courses ranging from beginner to expert. some clubs provide free beginner instruction before the meets as well. try it. i suspect you'll enjoy the experience. -harry

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orienteer and geocacher here. personally, i find orienteering to be more challenging, though there are similarities. another good beginner book for orienteering and land navigation in general is "be expert with map and compass" by bjorn kjellstrom. another title on land nav with and without gps is "a comprehensive guide to land navigation with gps" by noel j. hotchkiss. both are easy reads and do a good job of explaining the fundamentals of land navigation. if there is a orienteering club nearby (search USOF) don't be intimidated, as there are courses ranging from beginner to expert. some clubs provide free beginner instruction before the meets as well. try it. i suspect you'll enjoy the experience. -harry

 

Is that at B Daltons et. al.?

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I also enjoy orienteering, although simply as a hobby and not in competition. It's a very, very good skill to know, and it's fun because it really teaches you to observe and to be aware. To me, that really enhances the enjoyment of being outdoors in the first place. If you simply "hike to your destination," you can fail to see anything along the way.

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The post earlier that pointed out the up-comming GC event was set up by Steve Brown. Steve is insane on this kind of activity. One of our funnest cache events was one of these combo O and GC caches and thanks to Steve, we were successful.

 

His combo events are done by capturing the coords for the control points and Steve (Mr. Gadget) had the coords available for download at the event as a route on your Garmin GPS.

 

We decided to do this one as a traditional Orientering run. We got most of the way through however, towards the end we got turned around on one of the control points and had to call Steve on the cell phone to get the coords for the third to last control point. It sure made us unhappy to not be able to do the course without assistance, however, it made us realize how handy a cell phone and a GPSR can be.

 

If you ask Steve, he will likely let you in on the process for combining the two hobbies if you are interested in setting on up or participating in one.

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I also enjoy orienteering, although simply as a hobby and not in competition. It's a very, very good skill to know, and it's fun because it really teaches you to observe and to be aware. To me, that really enhances the enjoyment of being outdoors in the first place. If you simply "hike to your destination," you can fail to see anything along the way.

Well put. My attempt to introduce geocachers to orienteering is called Cache-O. It's a fairly difficult course as geocaches go but the start is easy to get to and it can be done over more than one trip. I don't expect a lot of people to try it but I think those who make the effort will be rewarded.

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