Before I can take on the task of getting the troop and crew pumped up about geocaching, I have to master it. Ok, I have to at least have a better idea of what I am doing. I have tried to get prepared by glancing through my book on geocaching (Scout Shop), training (thanks Todd!), and research on geocaching.com where I found a set of 8 caches within, literally, a mile of my house. My son is going to take on today’s adventure with me and we are not coming home until we’ve found at least three of them. Should I tell him that? Nah. I’m really excited about it. Today’s the day I am going to be successful. I’m sure of it. :: gulp ::
In preparation, I am setting up a backpack to be sure we’ll have everything we need.
GPS (Garmin Oregon 300) Print outs from geocaching.com
Water bottles Long Pants (learned that the hard way)
Small 1st Aid Kit Hiking Boots (to protect our feet)
Bug Spray Camera (for proof of this day)
Snack (could take a while) Non-food Goodies to take one, leave one
Pen Paper (in case of damaged/full logs)
Take the time to enter the coords into your GPS before you venture out. You will have a better time if you don’t have to battle the technology out in the field.
http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=ca7b7c46-2dd8-42a1-9589-e1230a715596
That is a good point. I actually download them from geocaching.com but I should have mentioned that as one of the things to do as well.
We found our first cache today. We’re heading back out now… refreshed.
This afternoon’s session was amazing! We found 4 additional caches so we beat my goal of 3 finds by 2. I do believe I’m addicted.
Congratulations! We tried this with my Venture Crew on our last hike. Found 2 out of 4. Lost my lucky coin for a dontated marker, but gained happy memories in return. Lucky for me! After you find a bunch you have to find locations where there aren’t any caches. My son’s troop hiked in back to a waterfall and created a new cache there. I’m still a newbie. The boys have done it all themselves. I just tag along. Still fun.
Thanks for this article, very thought-provoking. I did a lot of research before I bought a system for my geocaching. It is such a relaxing hobby. What receiver do you use? Click here if you’d like to check out my site. Thanks again for a very informative site!