leviathan Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Hi All, My family and I are brand new to geocaching. We just got our GPS (Garmin eTex Vista) and are looking forward to get to the chase. Is it just a matter of plugging in the coordinates, jumping in the car and finding these things or is there something else to it? Thanks, Leviathan Quote Link to comment
scontapay Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 As someone who went on their first Geocaching expediation yesterday I can say that was pretty much it. It would be wise to play with your GPSr and get to know it so you know how it operates. I am sure others more expierenced will give you better advice. But basically my son and I went to CircuitCity bought a GPS went home, and started our first expediation in an hour. Good luck to you and your family let us know how it turns out! Sam -- "Geocaching is great! Have something to do with my son and get out an exercise" Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Basically that's all there is to it. But don't expect the GPS to lead you right to the cache. That's a common newie mistake. It can be as much as 30-60 feet off and sometimes more depending on the terrain. Once you get within 40 feet or so (this will be displayed on your navigation screen), start looking. Look for something that just isn't right, a pile of sticks, a stack of rocks that look out of place, a hollow tree stump, the base of a downed tree, etc... "Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois" Quote Link to comment
+Hiemdahl Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Don't forget to print out the cache pages and take them along. Quote Link to comment
+hmarq Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 If you have to go any non-trivial distance on foot, make sure you waypoint your car Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 It's as simple as it sounds, excpet it's not that simple and that's the fun of it. ===================== Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
+Kite and Hawkeye Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 quote:Originally posted by leviathan:Is it just a matter of plugging in the coordinates, jumping in the car and finding these things or is there something else to it? Thanks, Leviathan Click on the mapquest link... it'll likely give you a better idea of where to drive than the coordinates will. You can usually park pretty close to a (sub)urban cache. In a park or wilderness, look for trails, and trust the trails. Unless the cache description says something and/or the terrain rating is very hard, trails will take you very close to the cache. Even if the trail starts heading off in the wrong direction, most of the time it'll curve back around. You're very unlikely to have to go through 300 feet of brush. Don't be a slave to the little GPS arrow. And, to go along with that.. pick fairly easy caches for your first few outings. Pick caches where the recent logs are finds, and the finders don't say things like "This was demonically difficult, it took all afternoon." Don't be ashamed of reading the hints. Once you've found a few, you'll have a much better idea of how everything works. Quote Link to comment
+Bilder Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I have been at this a couple weeks. Here is what I learned so far: 1. Take bug spray if your area has a skeeter problem! 2. Use the trails. Dont be in the brush any more than you have to. My third or fourth find was a fun trek through several hundred feet of brush and bogs only to find a trail less than 75 feet on the other side of the cache. D'oh! 3. Check a map for city caches to find which street will get you closest. Our local yellow pages has pretty good maps in it that I reference before I leave. 4. Take a printout of the cache page with you. 5. Make sure your little ones use the bathroom before you leave the house. 6. When you are within 40-60 feet, quit looking at the GPS and start looking for the cache. 7. Take lots of bug spray. 8. Take lots of bug spray. 9. Take a pen or pencil with you. Never know when the pen in a cache will run out on you. 10. Moose are larger than you are. They get right of way on the trail. 11. Take lots of bug spray. Hope this helps. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have never been lost. Been awful confused for a few days, but never lost! Quote Link to comment
leviathan Posted June 6, 2003 Author Share Posted June 6, 2003 Thanks to you all for your input. However, I have more questions. If you guys don't mind..... 1) Are these things found waypoint to waypoint or am I missing the purpose of waypoints? 2) I have a Garmin eTrex vista, and from what I can gather from the manual the only way to enter coordinates is as waypoints. 3) Do you use the coordinates at the upper left of the cache description page? 4) Also in that upper left area it says "use waypoint:GC3EA8. What do you do with this info.? 5) What is this "EasyGPS for Groundspeak" business. leviathan Quote Link to comment
+Shoebox Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 I click on the map on the cache page and zoom in a bit. That helps me deal with the roads to the cache (in Pittsburgh you can't get there from here unless you look at a road map). If it looks like a difficult area I sometimes bring up a topo map on www.lostoutdoors.com and take a copy of it with me. And shop for some trinkets to trade with. Everything else you will figure out as you build some experience. I now probably take too much stuff but it always depends on the type of cache. And welcome to the madness! Quote Link to comment
+wimseyguy Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Welcome aboard Leviathan; soon all will be assimilated into the collective. 1.The purpose of waypoints is to assign an ID tag to the spots on the planet where some nutjob has hidden a box of trinkets for you to find. The ID code is randomly assigned; I'm sure someone more mathmatical than I can explain how or you can search for threads on that topic yourself. 2.You enter the coordinates either manually (as lotech I do or using a patch cable and a more hitech method). You can leave the waypoint ID alone or edit it to mean something else to you like part of the cache name. This part is real important Be sure to MARK your parking place as a waypoint so you and yours do not get lost in the woods! 3. Yes those are the starting coordinates unless the cache page description gives parking coords to use first. 4. Use it to keep the waypoint/coords matched up. See answer 1. 5. Can't help you here but I'm sure someone else will. Happy Hunting! The more you find, the more you can think like a cacher and the easier it will be to find more caches. Soon your whole life will revolve around geocaching, and you will plan your tips accordingly. These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes; Nothing remains quite the same. Through all of the islands and all of the highlands, If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane Quote Link to comment
+Bilder Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Easy GPS is a nifty software program that allows you to download the coords for caches to your computer, where you can then upload them to your GPS unit. I believe that the Vista came with a PC cable. You download the EasyGPS program, install it on your computer, choose your make and model of GPS from the setup program and you should be good to go. Just follow the instructions for downloading waypoints from the website and it will save you a whole lot of time inputting coords by hand. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have never been lost. Been awful confused for a few days, but never lost! Quote Link to comment
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