any geocachers here?

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becci92
becci92 Posts: 30
in Fitness and Exercise
You may think i've gone mad if you don't know what it is, but it's a great way to keep active, basically you get coordinates of the website: www.geocaching.com, put them in a gps and go and find the "cache" which is usually a tupperware box hidden somewhere, these contain small "swaps" which you can take and replace with something of similar value.

Theres millions of them in the world, and most of them take you on long walks, up hills, down hills, up steps etc.

I've found it's a great way to keep fit whilst doing something fun by finding the "treasure" at the end!

Take a look at the website, it's great fun!

Replies

  • Laurie9797
    Laurie9797 Posts: 14 Member
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    Do you know if there are any iPhone apps for geocaching?
  • ambercole
    ambercole Posts: 426
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    ooooooooo MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! Raises hand! i LOVE it! When me and my 10yr old started, we were obsessed. We would use any free time we had to geocache. Now that we have found all of them within our area we have slowed down because now we have to go out of town to do it. We aldo have several of our own too! We still have a "caching day" once a month though!
  • ambercole
    ambercole Posts: 426
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    Do you know if there are any iPhone apps for geocaching?
    The Groundspeak app is the best one. Just dont use the gps on the phone. You have to use a real gps for serious caching.
  • becci92
    becci92 Posts: 30
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    ooh so i'm not the only one! Yes i've nearly done all the local ones! Still go out and drive miles to find more though haha! It's quite addicting isn't it?!

    I havent made any yet but my sister has!
  • jenlhugg
    jenlhugg Posts: 141 Member
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    I have always wondered what this is, it sounds awesome!
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    I've been doing this off and on for 8 years. Mostly in the fall and spring, our spare time is taken up by swimming in the summer. .

    We moved into a new area a few years ago, I have only 25 of over 500 in the metro area. I prefer caches with at least a little bit of a hike, or drive. I mostly ignore park n grabs...which probably 75% of the caches out there.

    And you probably want an actual GPS to do this, or you'll pull your hair out. Even then it will only get you with 10-15 ft, and in the woods that's a lot of space. You can make it as easy, or as challenging as you like. Once you have a GPS, the most expensive part of the activity is the gas, and it's good way to get outside with your family.
  • mmtiernan
    mmtiernan Posts: 702 Member
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    My daughter and I are Letterboxers, which is very similar to geocaching. You find clues to letterboxes at letterboxing.org or atlasquest.com. You follow the clues to the letterbox, some require a compass but most require just your detective skills. Each letterboxer has their own journal, a personal stamp that you either purchase or make yourself and a stamp pad. When you find the letterbox, it will contain a stamp and a log book that is unique to that letterbox. You stamp the letterbox stamp into your own personal journal to log your find. Then you stamp your personal stamp into the log book of the letterbox. Everytime we travel somewhere new, we look on letterboxing.org for a list of clues to all of the letterboxes in the area. It's great fun! Check it out!
  • becci92
    becci92 Posts: 30
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    My daughter and I are Letterboxers, which is very similar to geocaching. You find clues to letterboxes at letterboxing.org or atlasquest.com. You follow the clues to the letterbox, some require a compass but most require just your detective skills. Each letterboxer has their own journal, a personal stamp that you either purchase or make yourself and a stamp pad. When you find the letterbox, it will contain a stamp and a log book that is unique to that letterbox. You stamp the letterbox stamp into your own personal journal to log your find. Then you stamp your personal stamp into the log book of the letterbox. Everytime we travel somewhere new, we look on letterboxing.org for a list of clues to all of the letterboxes in the area. It's great fun! Check it out!

    Ooh that sounds good too! Will have a look on the website and see if theres any around here! Thanks!
  • jhmomofmany
    jhmomofmany Posts: 571 Member
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    we have done Geocaching... lots of fun! The kids enjoy collecting trinkets to leave behind as swaps.
  • ltlemermaid
    ltlemermaid Posts: 637 Member
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    I just started and found my first cache this past weekend. Its a great way to get outdoors and find hidden treasure :)
  • kimandal99
    kimandal99 Posts: 52
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    Love it. We have great family time geocaching in the forest preserves, while hiking and "treasure hunting" as my kids call it. It's a great form of excersize for the whole family!
  • BobbyDaniel
    BobbyDaniel Posts: 1,460 Member
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    We only occasionally geocache, would like to start doing more of it.
  • hols_89
    hols_89 Posts: 2
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    My boyfriend and I started geocaching this summer and we are slightly obsessed. So far we've found ones in London, Essex, Birmingham, Glasgow and Inverness. I'm going to Paris at the end of the month so shall look for some there too. It's a great way to get more active doing something you enjoy!

    I downloaded the iPhone app an intro to geocaching, which was free before purchasing the full geocaching app (think it was about £4.99 but totally worth it) Definitely recommend checking the lite version out first. Happy caching!
  • kennedar
    kennedar Posts: 306 Member
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    We went for a hike 2 weekends ago and stumbled across a geo-cache without intending to! It was so cool! We were a little lost and y husband turned around and saw the box under a log! We filled out the journal but did not take anything becuase we did not have anything to leave in return. We have been meaning to look into it more to help encourage us to hike. It seems like fun!
  • dayh1ker
    dayh1ker Posts: 83 Member
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    LOVE GEOCACHING!

    I'm just new to this site and found your post. I see it hasn't been active in a few months, though. My husband and I have been caching for almost ten years and whenever we travel, no matter how near or how far, our GPSs go with us. We've also put out two travelbugs and one of them is in Switzerland now. It's a great way to get out in the winter and go hiking...concentrating on the clues keeps your mind off the cold. We prefer ones in the woods, trails, etc. over the park & grabs. Last weekend we took our lunch and a thermos of hot tea and "ate out", then continued searching. We did a very clever multi-cache which kept us busy for 2 1/2 hours. I wore my heart rate monitor and when we finally made our way back to the truck I had burned an impressive number of calories! Would love to hear from other cachers!
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
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    *raises hand*

    Do a search for "PUC #13" Psycho Urban Series.

    Myself, my boyfriend and friends started climbing / training to be able to tackle this one over the summer. Cache and dashes got boring, so we started extreme caching - 4.5 or higher terrain, climbing required. We're currently building up our climbing equipment collection and tackling some smaller climbs first - abandoned bridge pylons, railroad trestles, etc. And...we're all certifiably insane.

    If you're really into it, the iPhone app is good, but it's good to supplement with a quality GPS to enter coordinates for multi-stage caches or puzzle caches. Another good iPhone app to supplement is iGCT (geocaching toolkit) for waypoints, calculations, etc.

    Though we still do really enjoy caches along hiking loops. If anyone is in the PA/NJ area there's a great loop at the Merrill Creek Reservoir near Alpha, NJ. Another awesome one on the radar this summer is the "Raccoon Loop: 20 miles for one smiley???" near Pittsburgh, PA.

    Caching is addictive and I'm amazed at how well it can keep you in shape!
  • melkneec
    melkneec Posts: 309 Member
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    Me! Me! Me! My family and I geocache and love it!!!! Can't wait for some of the snow to melt so we can get back to it! :) Lots of places around here where you have to hike. Not that many park and grab. So much fun. Going to have to look into the other website! That sounds like fun! :)
  • dayh1ker
    dayh1ker Posts: 83 Member
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    *raises hand*

    Do a search for "PUC #13" Psycho Urban Series.

    Myself, my boyfriend and friends started climbing / training to be able to tackle this one over the summer. Cache and dashes got boring, so we started extreme caching - 4.5 or higher terrain, climbing required. We're currently building up our climbing equipment collection and tackling some smaller climbs first - abandoned bridge pylons, railroad trestles, etc. And...we're all certifiably insane.

    If you're really into it, the iPhone app is good, but it's good to supplement with a quality GPS to enter coordinates for multi-stage caches or puzzle caches. Another good iPhone app to supplement is iGCT (geocaching toolkit) for waypoints, calculations, etc.

    Though we still do really enjoy caches along hiking loops. If anyone is in the PA/NJ area there's a great loop at the Merrill Creek Reservoir near Alpha, NJ. Another awesome one on the radar this summer is the "Raccoon Loop: 20 miles for one smiley???" near Pittsburgh, PA.

    Caching is addictive and I'm amazed at how well it can keep you in shape!

    I don't have an iPhone but I do have an Android and use the c:geo app and it's great, especially for reading the logs, hints, etc. It also shows any caches in any area we are in on a Google map. Nice! Nothing beats a GPS though. I like your idea about doing only the tough hides, getting out in more rugged terrain. I'll have to look up the ones you posted about...they sound like a lot of fun. I love the multi-caches and the guy who created the one we did last weekend is very clever, indeed! He's actually made quite a name for himself in my area. He prefers out-of-the way places and they are not at all easy. All ingredients for sucking you in! Yes, you are right, it is quite addicting!
  • becci92
    becci92 Posts: 30
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    sorry guys i havn't been on here for a while! Im amazed at how many people know and do this!

    I've also got a travel bug out there now, it started of in cornwall, uk and is now in Germany!!!

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