Geocaching

[rat31465]

After a search for Geocaching turned up only a few passing references to this subject, I thought I would create this thread. I placed it here in Fieldcraft and survival because it does help teach Orienteering skills as well as map reading, GPS useage etc.

So to the uninitiated ...What is Geocaching?

Taken from

http://www.geocaching.com/ website.

Getting Started with Geocaching

Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache.


It is very family friendly but I have been having a good deal of fun running down some of these caches myself.

If your like me I asked myself why would I want to participate in this activity since I already have many Hobbies?

1. Its a good excuse to use that GPS that is sitting in the Bug Out Bag.

2. Its an activity that you can involve the wife and kids in...or in my case the Grandson.

3. Its a good excuse to get up out of the Lazy Boy and get a little excercise.

4. And dang it....! Its just plain fun.

The link above will lead you to a website that will tell you everything you need to know to get started.

Get out and try it.

[K.L. Davis]

Geocaching is indeed fun... for those that are totally new to it, get out at try it; you really don't need a GPS to get started, just find an "easy" hide near you, check it out on Google maps (et al), print out the clues and go find it!

And of course, it will give you an excuse to buy a GPS if you like it

[ROCKET20_GINSU]

Me and a buddy of mine found a couple in afghanistan of all places. Pretty good fun =) I should do it more often. Some can be really easy, and some can be really really difficult. Its pretty neat when you find one in the absolute middle of nowhere or one that is hidden very obscurely in plain sight.

GU

[rat31465]

Me and a buddy of mine found a couple in afghanistan of all places. Pretty good fun =) I should do it more often. Some can be really easy, and some can be really really difficult. Its pretty neat when you find one in the absolute middle of nowhere or one that is hidden very obscurely in plain sight.

GU

Thats cool Ginsu,
I was on the Geocaching website the other night and just for fun I pulled up all the caches listed in Bagdad. Funny to see listing such as...(This cache is located in coalition held territory but should be attempted only during daylight hours.) Or watch out for Muggles with AK-47's and RPG.

You Military types have a unique sense of humor...I Love It...
Be safe

[ROCKET20_GINSU]

You Military types have a unique sense of humor...I Love It...

I wasn't even the guy that put it there =) lol. Its pretty neat how this "hobby" really spans the globe. And there are a lot of really cool and interesting people that play this game. I always have a hard time not looking "sketchy" when searching for one in public. Good fun all around .

You stay safe too,
GU

[K.L. Davis]

Its pretty neat how this "hobby" really spans the globe.

My wife made the observation recently that "we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to put a fleet of satellites in orbit, and easily that much again to connect the entire planet via computer network connections... and to date, the best combined use of these systems is to locate and track a plastic toy around the World"

Well... it is hard to argue with that

[ROCKET20_GINSU]

lol ,

It also depends on your definition of "toy"...little plastic toy or big partially plastic / steel cased / dextex filled / airborne PGM (precision guided munition), of which the gps guided variety are extremely accurate. It's pretty cool to know with near absolute certainty where you are.

Also, once you start talking about the jargon of the navigation be it conversions from WGS84 to EGM 96 or HAE and MSL, etc...its a really interesting field. Who knew that conventional navigation could be so inaccurate.

But back to topic, I do think that this game is really cool, and its especially nice to go for a scenic hike and have a "hidden prize" in addition to a view to look forward to.

GU

[Vic303]

Geocaching is a hoot! My kidlets love it. Haven't been in a while though--too hot or too much PI in TX these days, and too many micros. The kids hate micros (no toys! ).

[RudyN]

I've done some geocahing and it is fun, guess I will have to start up again.

[rat31465]

This is a GeoCoin that I found in the middle of no where near Lake of The Ozarks. It began its travels in Beijing China around the time of the Olympics.

This is a cache container that I have made from a piece of Dolomite taken from near a Road Construction project. I have a location scoped out and this one will be placed in the middle of a 20' X 20' Rock pile...It should make for an interesting cache.

This one is a hollowed out tree branch with a cap on the end of it for concealment. I used to do something similar to this when I was a kid to hide contraband from my Brothers and Sisters.