Does anyone geocaching?

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Wish I could

I have a gps perfect for geocaching, but I really haven't made time for it yet. I'm still on the hunt for a job and thats kept me pretty busy.
 
We do it -- started as another activity when we go camping, and trying to do more around the area for a "boys day out". My daughter seemed to lose interest when she turned 14.
 
Met some folks one day that were doing it. They were glad to explain it to me. It sounded interesting. I looked for one in Gainesville that was on the website but couldn't find it...
 
I love geocaching! Our Son got us into it. So when he went with us to Hawaii a couple of months ago, we spent a couple of days chasing caches. It was great fun!

Scott.
 
I geocache - can't say I do it a ton (280 finds now since 2004) but its fun for a diversion now and then.

If you're a geocacher, I recommend getting your hands on a 6040 Fiber Tip Refill (fits any of the pens we make that take a 5888 or 888 refill). It writes pretty easy on just about anything, including the annoying "log entry is damp". I know Dawn has them, but you should be able to ask any private reserve dealer/vendor. I've got one zen and a jr gent with these refills - I grab one of these 2 pens whenever I have any likelyhood of trying to cache.

I have a handheld GPS somewhere in the house, but I tend to use the iPhone since its always with me. If you have an iPhone, the official geocaching application is $10 and I don't use the GPS anymore because of the ease of the iPhone.
 
I have not done it recently, but I am around 300 finds and it it a lot of fun when I have time.
 
Been a cacher for years! Started in Feb 2001 when there very few cache sites out there. I was the first one in Louisiana! At that time, there were NO posted cache sites in LA. Loved doing it for years, now family situation has changed and can't get out near as much.
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
Tried it, but I don't like rooting around with tics in the woods...
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They have what are called "virtual caches". These are landmarks that you have to find and take your picture by. Just a few in Virginia Beach for example are the statue by the oceanfront and the seal tank outside the Aquarium. There is to ticks around these. :wink:
 
navycop said:
maxwell_smart007 said:
Tried it, but I don't like rooting around with tics in the woods...
Click to expand...
They have what are called "virtual caches". These are landmarks that you have to find and take your picture by. Just a few in Virginia Beach for example are the statue by the oceanfront and the seal tank outside the Aquarium. There is to ticks around these. :wink:
Click to expand...

Unfortunately virtual and webcam caches are now moved to waymarking.com (other than those grandfathered in). http://www.geocaching.com/about/cache_types.aspx

However, I agree that there is a TON of caches not "in the woods". My family isn't thrilled about woods either (but I don't mind it) so when we do caching most of it is in city parks or in other city locations.
 
Been doing a few caches a year since my girls were little. We always try to go where ever we are on vacation. Lots of fun and a great way to spend time together.
 
I would like to weigh in on another side of geocaching. I work evenings as a Policeman, and Geocaching has lead us to call the EOD squad twice now.

The first call was when we found a plain unmarked green ammo can in the middle of a school playground. The home owners changed where the geocache was and the new owner carryed it 50 feet off his property to the next door, a school playground. While this was not the fault of the geo cachers directly....I believe that they should paint the containers to say "Geocach". If that would have been a school day we would have evacuated the school.

The second time the container was a pipe with screw ends and was covered with camo tape. It had a magnet epoxy to it and it was affixed to a bridge abutment.
We closed the road, and called EOD.

Bottom line is, we all knew in our mind they were probably geocachers...but were not completely sure and could not risk the lives of our citizens, or ours for that matter. In the post 9-11 world, extra care is required. I know painting the containers is "taking their word for it too"....but between the Geocache website and the label, we would be more secure in "taking care of it ourselves".

It really does look like fun, but please, if you plant the geo cache....label them.
 
moke said:
It really does look like fun, but please, if you plant the geo cache....label them.
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I agree with that 100%.... And as a cacher, If you see a cache that will cause concerns like this, give feedback to the cacher/geocaching to mark this.

A geocache sticker adds under $2 to a cache and should be a required for ammo can caches.

And a "pipe" cache under a bridge should be removed by the first cacher to find it. :( Thats just not smart.
 
Both the cache in a school playground and the one attached to a bridge would not be listed by geocaching.com under the current guidelines. I suppose they could have been listed on one of the lesser sites.

That being said, I seriously doubt that most LEOs would risk not calling in EOD just because someone writes 'geocache' on the side of the container. You may as well write 'not a bomb'. If it were that easy, anyone planting a bomb would just scribble 'geocache' on the side of it.

There was a cache a while back that was hidden just outside a police station with the CoP's permission. It was a small lock-n-lock and was clearly labelled as a geocache. EOD blowed it up real good.

Personally, I see no real issue with geocaches occasionally being 'made safe' by EOD. Just think of them as training exercises.
 
I agree, a cache is not supposed to be placed anywhere that a bomb would wanna be in the first place. Come on folks, a little common sense here. That being said, an official "This is a geocache" sticker with the contact info for the owner goes a long way to keep it from being "remote detonated".

I take my cub scouts caching when we're on a campout, and my kids on vacation, but not too heavily.

I use a free app called "blackstar" on my blackberry bold 9700, it's the bees knees!
 
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