Since The Rainbow Connection was asking about it, I figured I would write a post about how to get started on geocaching.
We ourselves started a few years ago. A friend had been telling me it would be a great activity for our family, and after a few gentle nudges, I finally went out and got ourselves a GPS.
Figuring out which GPS to get was not an easy task. I went to the geocaching web site and to their forums, and read tons of the messages on there, and mostly got more confused. Eventually I just closed my eyes and ordered something on amazon that looked ok and didn't get bad reviews on the forums.
I just looked and this might be a good thread for ideas for a cheap GPS.
When I bought my Garmin Etrex GPS, it still was around $164. It felt like a HUGE amount of money and I have to admit that I did have second thoughts and wondered whether it would be worth it. A few weeks later, there was no doubt in my mind at all that this was worth it. It was a lot of fun to go out and find caches as a family.
Looking back a few years later, I have gotten such an immense amount of enjoyment out of my GPS. The prices have really come down now though, so where I spent more than $150, a good GPS can be had for a lot less now.
I can recommend it for anyone who likes to spend time outdoors, it is a wonderful way to discover new places and interesting location right in your backyard and farther away. When you go out caching, make sure to put flash lights in your supplies though, to prevent things like this from happening. Things did got a lot smoother when we got into the habit of always bringing flash lights. Of course, us being us, even with flash lights, we still got ourselves into prickly situations like Oliver's Cave.
Geocaching has gotten it to the tops of mountains and into the darkest woods. It has gotten us digging through plant containers in shopping malls, helped us discover cool monuments and has been a very enjoyable family activity. If you have been wondering whether you should get into it, the answer is yes ^^
Let me know if this post helps you or if you have more questions. And let me know if you decided to take the plunge and buy a GPS!
Those last few pictures are from the top of Mt Kearsarge, where we were FTF on a new cache. Stunning views!
6 comments:
breathtaking... simply breathtaking...
I have to admit I'd never heard of geocaching until I started reading your blog awhile back. I've thought about trying it, but haven't yet. I think it would be much more fun where you live, what with all those covered bridges and all. I've always wanted to live in NH/VT or Maine. I love New England. Thanks for the info on geocaching. ;-)
Charles has been wanting us to start doing this again. He bought a GPS a few years ago, but we took it back. Now we sort of regret it.
Lovely pictures and kids.
And hey, check this out toofamily ecards. I hope u'll like them.
take care
Carol
I keep bugging my DH about getting a GPS thingmabob. My bday is coming up, but we already made bday plans so I won't be getting that from him. Well if I get bday money, I know what it will go towards!
Thanks for posting this!
I really want to start before this baby comes.
Your post was very convincing about how much fun geocaching is, but I'm still not really sure how to get started. Do you just go to a website and pick a cache and find it? What kinds of things do you bring along to put in when you take something out? What do the littler kids do on an outing? What else do I need to know?
Post a Comment