geocaching and truck campers

Our family (kids especially) love geocaching!
Agreed that a TC makes a very good GC base camp.
-MArk

My wife and I started Geocaching last year locally using our Jeep. We'll be using the TC along with the jeep next time and used the TC as base camp.

We have been doing it since 2008.
Camper03 and Mrs Camper

We have just started. I have a whole drawer full of "useless trinket stuff" that I could not make myself throw away, but I take joy in knowing it will be some kid's (or adult's) treasure.

Droland wrote:
We have just started. I have a whole drawer full of "useless trinket stuff" that I could not make myself throw away, but I take joy in knowing it will be some kid's (or adult's) treasure.

lol.

i have to buy a few more trinkets. when i find a frog toy in a cache i keep it for my frog collection that seems somehow to be growing. i know im not trading one of my frog finds. lol

We letterbox (the old fashioned version of geocashing) and love using our site as a base!

What are some of your best geocashing websites and tools of the trade? A good Garmin handheld GPS is probably a good idea I'm assuming and of course some good hiking legs.

Bigfeets wrote:
What are some of your best geocashing websites and tools of the trade? A good Garmin handheld GPS is probably a good idea I'm assuming and of course some good hiking legs.

I use my android smart phone with the geocaching app on it. the app cost $10 and it works very well. to use your phone app you must have cell coverage. so for the times I am outside the cell coverage area and inside the coverage too...I have a Magellan GC. it cost me $140.00 and it has worked very well thus far.
for the website you use the geocaching website to do everything with caching. it is free to play. you can be a premium member for $29 a year membership. membership does have a few perks, mainly...more caches that are available to you. along with some other neat things. I recently upgraded to a paid member.

caches...some caches are right along a road or sidewalk. some are a hike in to get them. so it can be done on all physical levels.

cache sizes range in size from the size of the very end of your pinky finger to an ammo can or even bigger. there are also virtual type caches. those are a cache that you go to where it says and view/do whatever actions the directions tell you to do. those do not have a physical cache.
favorite cache that I like are any of them that takes me to an area I never new existed. that is the best thing I like about it. I have found conservation areas I never knew where a few miles away from home.

This will probably come across as being negative, and that is not my intent. I have looked at geocaching several times in the past 10 years. I really do not understand the interest. As I understand it, you have longitude and latitude, and locate them on your GPS. I am stumped at the challenge. I have a laptop with Delorme Streets and also Topo. I also have a Delorme hand held. By entering in the longitude and latitude in any of these it shows the exact location, within 20 feet, depending on the satellites. It also gives detailed directions.

Again, I apologize if this sounds negative, but I am trying to understand the attraction to geocaching. Due to my ignorance on the subject. maybe I am missing something, please tell me what.

Wayne

Wayne:

Geocaches can be quite complex to decipher; some are camouflaged, wrapped in riddle and enigma...even if given the precise coordinates, some complex cache games can be quite difficult to uncover, indeed.

There are caches with all kinds of bonus / swag items, like solid gold coins, expensive electronic toys (small enough to be hidden), gift certificates, highly sought-after tickets to sports events, and cash (some donators have to beg geocachers to take the items, even if they have nothing of equal value to replace it with! Geocachers are honest to a fault).

I'll bet there are high-stakes geocaching games being played all around the World, with chaches ranging from million dollar bearer bonds, valuable diamonds, Rolex watches, wads of cash, etc...out there.

Other genres of geocaching may involve self-imposed mysteries to solve: ie. finding an extremely desirable ancient ruin site or sites (or, a Lost City hidden in the jungles or under sand in the Middle East, ...somewhere around the World: site the recent book: Jungleland), talked about, but utterly hidden by the handful or one "in the know". The twist is: the "cacher" being a dead and extinct civilization for 1500 years. Whazoo and I played such a game over many months, and won. A trip report was posted on it roughly a year back. The title of the report and content did not mention or intone a "geocaching adventure", however, this was really what this adventure was in essence. Massive investigation went on behind the scenes, using all kinds of technology to find these places (you can't even imagine).

For 99.99999% of geocaching participants, the motivation is getting out with the kids, and having constructive fun, all the while developing critical thinking in the children...

S-