Anybody on DU do Geocaching? I am thinking of getting into it....

[texas1928]

It looks like a fun way to get some exercise, see new things, use my brain, and get out of the house.

http://www.geocaching.com/

What is Geocaching, you ask.

Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache.

[wildhorses]

1. i have heard of that--sounds like fun

need to get a gps though:hi:

[texas1928]

2. I am looking at them now.

Some are pricey but, I want a good one, and they can cost a little bit.

[Blue-Jay]

3. I've always wanted to do that. maybe this spring, I'll start.

[texas1928]

4. I am trying to decide on what kind of trickets I am going to leave.

Was thinking guitar picks.

[Blue-Jay]

5. I think I'd leave a beer koozie filled with trail mix.

Or a live lobster.

[texas1928]

6. I don't want to spend that much...

the caches are sometimes not that big.

[petronius]

10. A live lobster is good. And for the smaller caches, you could leave a live anchovy

:rofl:

[Ellen Forradalom]

7. It's great fun if you have a school-aged child

Or are one at heart.

[Blue-Jay]

8. Hi kiddo!

We miss you in Chicago. :(

[texas1928]

9. Don't have any kids,,,

But I love to find new things.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

11. Fun stuff

I have a basic Garmin eTrex which is fine for what I do. I did some geocaching years ago, and left a cache nearby. As it happens, we were out one day to check on it, and someone else was entering the park with a GPS. He saw mine and asked if I was looking for the cache. I told him I was the owner and had just checked on it. Then I watched as he proceeded down the wrong path. B-)

He emailed me later laughing about how he slid down a 60 foot mud covered incline to get it instead of taking the other path and the easy way.

Oh yeah, don't leave food in a goecache. The critters will sniff it out and destroy the cache.

DBDB

[texas1928]

12. My biggest fear is I won't be able to get to a lot of them...

Since I am in a wheelchair.

[Xithras]

13. It REALLY depends on your area.

I've geocached with my kids a bit, but there aren't a whole lot of us in this area who do. We'd hit all the published caches after the first few months and gave up. I still check geocaching.com about once a month to look for new sites, and we've placed a few caches ourselves, but in the past year I'd bet that we haven't been out more than 3 or 4 times.

If you already have a GPS device, it's a fun distraction from time to time. If you're thinking about buying one just to get into geocaching, I really recommend checking your area out on Geocaching.Com first to ensure that there are enough caches around you to justify the purchase. And while EVERYONE says "I can cache while traveling", very few people actually do. Most people taking long trips to scenic destinations have far better things to do than chase down a half buried film canister on some shrub covered hillside :)