Options Lead To Decisions

Thank you for such positive responses to my little adventure! I'm glad I could help inspire some people to get out there and try something new! This has been a major learning experience for me (silly since my generation grew up with Xangas and Blogs). Keeping that in mind, I want to learn more about one of my favorite past times. Until I did a bit of research, I thought the best site to look up caches (see first post for lingo) was geoaching.com. Boy was I wrong, Take a peek at my reviews of some more sites to find caches!

Navicache

Navicache.com isn’t as flashy as Geocaching.com, but it still has thousands of geocaches logged for any region of the United States. It does feature international caches, but you will come to find that they are mostly located in Germany. You don’t need a membership to view geocache information on Navicache.com, but you will need to create an account if you want to add a new geocache to the site.

Terracaching

Terracaching.com has active caches in 48 countries. The site has wonderful resources for geocachers, but it does have one flaw. In order to view information you must be a member, and in order to become a member you must be “sponsored,” or recommended, by two other geocachers already in the Terracaching.com community. It’s a pain, but once you do it, it is said that it will be a good resource for all your geocaching needs.

GPSGames

GPSGames.org is a great way to make geocaching more entertaining. It contains listings of geocaches that can be incorporated into different types of games to be played with your GPS. Some of the options include GeoDashing, Minute War, GeoPoker and GeoGolf. If simple geocaching isn’t enough for you, GPSGames.org will probably have something to challenge you.

Earthcache

Earthcache.org doesn’t have as many geocaches on file as some of the other websites listed, but there is still a significant number to choose from in many different countries.

Whichever of these you use, you'll be set up for an exciting adventure. Happy travels!

A Geocaching Adventure

I had one hour off of work, just enough time for a mini-adventure in my current city of St. Augustine, FL. Below is a slideshow documenting my adventure to find the cache known as "Redneck Fishing Hole." Unfortunately being new to Flickr, the photos are a little out of order, but you catch the drift. I literally went through step by step on how to get started geocaching.

For this adventure I used the built in GPS on my BlackBerry Curve to help me along my travels. After a comfortable hike to the coordinates listed on this humid day, under a palmetto tree I struck gold! To my dismay there were no sign sheets or a logbook in the cache, but I logged it in my personal logbook. Feel free to view the photographs and let me know what you think! I'll keep you updated on my future geocaching adventures.

Where Am I?: GPS Units Explained

When my father got his first global positioning system (GPS) I wondered, how does it work? I feel though many people own GPS units they don't truly know how they work. It's important to know your equipment especially if you're hiking or geocaching in unfamiliar areas.

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So we are now faced with the grueling task of finding the right GPS for you. Here are a few ideas:

Garmin: GPSMAP 60CSx

Rated: 4.5/5 stars

Retail Value: $399.99

Pixel Color Display: 160x240

Waterproof

Impact-Resistant

AA Batteries

Runs up to 18 hours

Apple: iPhone 3G S

Rated: 4/5 stars

Retail Value: Begins at $99 (8G)

Geocaching Application

Magellan: eXplorist 500

Rated: 3.5/5

Retail Value: $199.95

Waterproof

Impact-Resistant

Runs up to 14 hours on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery

all information obtained from geocaching.com, video obtained from youtube.

Works Cited:

"GPS Reviews." Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site. Groundspeak Inc. Web.

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ouTubeSeeHowGPSTrackingWorks." YouTubeBroadcastYourself. Web.24Oct.2010..

Cache In, Trash Out: Keeping It Green

Geocaching fully embraces the green living movement. Remember while on your adventures, "cache in, trash out." In short, this means enjoy the experience but be sure to pick up your trash and the trash of others you find along the way! However helping our planet does not have to stop with trash picking along your hike, here are some other green tips!

REDUCE

• Simplify- Only keep objects that you use on a regular basis.
• Reduce Purchasing- Think before you buy! Do you really need it? Who will this product impact the environment?
• Buy Used- There's local thrift stores, Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon, Freecycle, Garage sales, etc.
• Borrowing and Sharing- What are friends and neighbors for?
• "Tree-Free Home"- Do your best to reduce paper products. Here are a few ideas: replace paper napkins with cloth ones, purchase bleach-free, obtain a reusable message board.

REUSE

• Donate- clothes, furniture, dishes, books, sports equipment, outdated computer equipment, cell phones, eyeglasses, hangers, art materials (inspire some kids!)
• Buy Durable Products
• Library
• Cloth grocery bags

RECYCLE

• Glass, paper products, plastic (1-7 identification codes), aluminum, cardboard, tin cans, scrap metal, motor oil, ink cartridges, styrofoam, tires and athletic shoes to name a few.
• Composting- Click to see tips on how to get started!

For these and more eco-friendly living tips!

works cited:

"Environmental Tips - Eco Tips - Eco-Friendly Living Guide." Environmental Tips, Sustainable Solutions-Global Stewards. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .

"YouTube - Lost & Found: Cache In Trash Out." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .

I'm Going On A Geocaching Adventure And I'm Going To Bring...

If you've read my previous posts, you now know all about the background of geocaching.

Feeling inspired? Ready for your own adventure and curious what to bring? No worries, I've got ya.

What To Put In Your Pack:

• Gardening Gloves- It's a good idea to have these on hand incase the cache has sticks over it, over, covered in dirt or any other reason you may find them helpful.
• Band-Aids- Always good to take on any type of hike just incase!
• Water Bottle- Hydration is important to stay alert and healthy on your adventure.
• Small Shovel- Any outdoors person will tell you, there's always an excuse to use a shovel... especially when you don't have one on hand you'll find you'll need it the most.
• Sunscreen- The best offense is the best defense.
• Global Positioning System (GPS)- This is your number one necessary object. It will help you get to the general area of the cache and find your way back. You can purchase a GPS or most smartphones have them built in.
• Trinkets- Remember the ethics code we talked about? Take something and leave something of greater or equal value in its place in the cache.
• Writing Utensil- Don't forget to sign the logbook!
• Flashlight- A necessary object if you go on a hike anytime near sunset.
• Small Garbage Bag- Keep it green! Pick up any and all trash you see along the way to help keep our planet beautiful.

Hope you're feel prepared to go on an adventure! Keep an eye out for my next post discussing a major part of geocaching, keeping it green!

Geocaching: Yesterday- Today

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) were first developed by the United States Department of Defense intended for military use.

May 1st, 2000-President Clinton announced that this technology would now be available to civilians with an accuracy point within 10 meters.

May 3rd, 2000- Portland, Oregon native, Dave Ulmer celebrated this major technological event by hiding a bucket of trinkets in the woods on the outskirts of the city and announcing the the location in a posting made to USENET newsgroup. With this posting, a new hobby was born known as "Stashing".

Within one day the first stash was found and logged. As the days past, more stashed had been hidden in various states and within a month stashes had been found as far away as Australia. The hobby had become a worldwide trend.

May 8th, 2000- Mike Teague began a website to collect the locations of the treasure chests that had grown into the name, "stashes." This site is not longer in existence but still archived on the Wayback Machine.

May 15th, 2000- James Coburn began a mailing list on eGroups (part of Yahoo!) for a discussion of geocaching (this was the original layout for what would become 'wikis' today). The list is archived and is known as the best record of the early days of this hobby.

May 30th, 2000- Matt Sturn suggested to change the name from "Stashing" to "Geocaching" in order to avoid negative connotations.

Sept. 2, 2000- Jeremy Irish contacted gpsstash mailing list saying that he had registered the domain name, geocaching.com and had set up the site with help from Mike Teague's database and later all handling was passed from Teague to Irish. Irish looked for ways to capitalize on the hobby, which was not supported and lead to multiple controversies.

May, 2001- California geocacher, Ed Hall (aka Buxley) created online maps pinpointing the locations of geocahces. Though this was a major step, Irish was not pleased and threatened legal action, creating further controversy.

click for the full history

Today, geocaching remains a popular activity and has even been idolized in the independent film, Splinterheads (2009).

Works Cited:

Scout. "The History of Geocaching." Geocaching. GPSgames.org. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .

"YouTube - Splinterheads Geocaching Teaser." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .

What Is Geocaching? An Introduction

Need a hobby? Something to interact and bond with others in the great outdoors? Geocaching is the answer!

Geocaching is a way to bond both technology and outdoor lovers. It's the ultimate treasure hunt, a game that is played worldwide. The basic idea is to use a global positioning system (G.P.S.) to help locate "treasure chests" (known as 'geocaches' or 'caches') planted by fellow geocachers. Below is a video that best describes the concept:

As with all activities like this, there's lingo that every aspiring/ or interested cacher should know in order to discuss their adventures. (found from Geocaching).

In General:

• Cache – A box or container that contains, at the very least, a logbook
• Geoswag – The items that can be found in some larger caches.
• Muggle – A non geocacher that is in some way preventing you from finding a cache.
• BYOP – (Bring Your Own Pen/Pencil) The cache in question lacks a writing device for the logbook.
• CITO - (Cache In Trash Out) and refers to picking up trash on the hunt.
• CO - (Cache Owner) The person who is responsible for maintaining a cache, usually the person who hid it.
• DNF – (Did Not Find) Did not find the cache container being searched for.
• FTF – (First To Find) The first person to find a cache container.
• GPS - Short for Global Positioning System also occasionally refers to the receiver itself

Logging Your Adventure:

• TFTC - (Thanks For The Cache) This is often used at the end of logs to thank the cache owner.
• TFTH - (Thanks For The Hunt or Hide or Hike) It shares the same purpose as TFTC, but can also be used when the cache was not found.
• TN - (Took Nothing) no trade or traveling item was removed from the cache.
• LN - (Left Nothing) no trade or traveling item was added to the cache.
• SL - (Signed Log) used when the participant visited the cache and signed its logbook.

Location Description:

• GRC - (GuardRail Cache) used in the description on where a cache may be hidden.
• GZ - (Ground Zero or Geo-zone) refers to the general area in which a cache is hidden.
• ICT - (Ivy Covered Tree) used in the description on where a cache may be hidden.
• LPC - (Light Post Cache) used in the description on where a cache may be hidden.
• PLC - (Parking Lot Cache) used in the description on where a cache may be hidden.
• POR - (Pile Of Rocks) used in the description on where a cache may be hidden.
• UFO - (Unnatural Formation of Objects) a pile of material that obviously did not form naturally and is a likely cache hiding spot.

Don't get too crazy, geocachers have a code of ethics of which is expected to be upheld. Most of them can be found on The Geocacher's Creed which directly states:

• I will not endanger myself or others.
• Observe all laws and rules of the area.
• Respect property rights and seek permission where appropriate.
• Avoid causing public alarm or disruption.
• Minimize my and other's impact on the environment.
• Be considerate of others.
• Protect the integrity of the game pieces.

Sounds like fun, right? In the following posts I'll discuss geocaching in pop culture, keeping it green, the best gear and of course a documented event of my own adventure right here in the nation's oldest city!

Works Cited:

"Geocaching." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .

"Geocacher's Creed." When Placing or Seeking Geocache. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .

"Geocaching." Geocaching. Groundspeak Inc., 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .