Geocaching 102

on FINDING and HIDING CACHES
Also, see Geocaching 101 - Geocaching Glossary - GPS Guide

Finding Your First Geocache

First, type in your zipcode in the upper right-hand corner of the geocaching.com home page. The zipcodes are good for the US, Canada, Britain, and Australia. Click GO. This will give you a list of all geocaches within 100 miles. The center of this area of caches is a pre-determined point (sometimes the location of a post office) and may not be the closest to your home. Browsing around the options at the website will help you access a way to filter these results to show the caches closest to your current location, but we won't go into that now.

In order to find a good starting cache you need to pay attention to a few different things on this list of geocaches. Under the 'icons' column there is a green and white icon that signifies a traditional cache. You can hover over the icon (with your mouse) for each icon's description. If you look under this 'icons' column, you will notice that there is also a difficulty/terrain (D/T) rating and a 'last found' column.

Once you've found a traditional cache on the list, scan right to the (D/T) column and you will see two things: first, how hard the cache is and second, the size of the cache. The difficulty of the cache is indicated in stars. One star signifies an easy cache and five stars identifies the most difficult. The first set of stars refers to the intellectual difficulty of finding the cache. The second set of stars refer to the terrain difficulty. Is it flat and paved or steep and extreme? For your first cache, you probably want it to be easy, so any cache with a 2-star rating or under is advisable. Also, notice the cache size which is marked with small dots for micros to large squares for large containers. Again, hover over the icon to see the sizes for that particular cache. Micros are generally more advanced and harder to find.

Next, look at the far right column which will tell you when it was last found. You don't want to start off with a cache that hasn't been found in many months because it might not be there anymore. Any cache that has been found in the last month or more recently should be okay.

Once you've decided on a cache that interests you, click the name of the cache to find more information about it. Read the description to see if it is something you might like to attempt. If not, go back to the cache list and find another. When you have the cache you want to be your first cache you're ready to go.

Now, around the middle of the page you will find a link titled 'additional hints.' If you click "decrypt" next to it, this will show you some additional hints that the hider of the cache provided to aid you in finding the cache. You don't have to read the clues. After all, a lot of the fun of geocaching is finding it with no more than simple coordinates; But if this is your first cache, having these extra clues could be a big help.

A really smart thing to do in preparation to go out and hunt is to print the cache description page and take with you. There is a link in small text towards the top of the page next to a small overview map. Look for the 'make this page print-friendly' link and click it. If you want the additional hints to print out then click 'decrypt' again before you print it out.

Now, LET'S GO FIND THAT CACHE!

After you find that first cache, read and sign the log, mention what items you traded, or if you didn't trade anything, log that and thank the owner for the cache. You can really write anything you want; just make sure you sign the log as proof of your visit.

When you are finished, be especially careful to replace the cache exactly where and how you found it. Be careful about being observed when replacing the cache, especially if you are in a more urban hiding area. A cache can disappear if a geomuggle gets a hold of it.

After you return from your hunt, it is polite to notify the cache owner of your visit. Most people do this via the online log function of the site. In order to do this, you need to be a member of the site and logged in. It is easy to register and free to create your own account. Navigate back to the cache page that you found and look in the upper right corner. Click the 'Log Your Visit' button and fill in the form.

If you picked up or dropped off a hitchhiker (called a 'travel bug' or 'geocoin' on geocaching.com) at the cache, be sure to log those after logging your find. When you pick up a travel bug it is expected that you will deposit the hitchhiker in another cache soon after. Both when you picked it up and when and where you placed it need to be mentioned in your log for the travel bug.

We hope you had fun!

Hiding Your First Geocache Choose which type of cache out of the various types of caches suits your style. Next, choose a cache location, which in turn will sometimes dictate your choice of cache type. This can, of course, be done inversely, first choosing a location and then creating a cache with the size to match. Now, one of the big rules for hiding a cache is to not dig a hole to create a place to hide your cache! Caches are not buried. However they are frequently placed under tree branches or rocks, under bushes or even under water. Micro caches tend to be stuck to metal objects, using magnets or in clever containers disguised as normal rock, but with a hollowed out underside in which to hide the log.

There is a procedure for determining the exact coordinates of your hidden cache. You'll need to put these on your cache's listing page so that other cachers will be able to find your geocache. Geocaching.com has an excellent tutorial on how to use your GPS to do this.

Okay, if you have stayed with us through all of Geocaching 101 and 102, you certainly know - ad naseam - most everything there is to know about geocaching. NOW IT'S TIME TO GET OUT THERE. Practical experience geocaching will teach you much more and be much more fun than these explanations will anyway.

But, just one more thing. Here is a brief list of things you'll want to bring when you go geocaching:

• GPS receiver
• pen (for signing the log if there isn't on in the cache)
• spare batteries
• cache information
  

  Depending upon the terrain, you may also want to bring:

• mobile phone
• food & water
• flashlight
• walking stick
• pocket knife
• simple first-aid kit
• whistle
• sunscreen and/or a hat

If, after all this, you still want more information about geocaching, you may want to check out the links to other geocaching sites we have on our links page. There are also a few geocaching books we can recommend to you:

1. Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching
   by Jack W. Peters, ISBN: 1592572359

2. The Geocaching Handbook
   by Dave Ulmer, ISBN: 0762730447

3. The Letterboxer's Companion
   by Randy Hall, ISBN: 0762727942

4. Geocaching; Hike And Seek With Your GPS
   by Erik Sherman ISBN: 1-59059-122-4