Archive for June, 2010

While I was in Flagstaff camping, I got to check up on all the caches I placed last August. I was really excited to see how they had fared after a winter of snow, wind, and rain.

I haven’t hid that many caches (13) so I’m not really sure how often I needed to check on them. The ones in Flagstaff are kind of tricky, since I live about 2 hours from them; not really practical to scoot over to check after the first DNF!

The first cache we checked on was The Quiet Zone. This cache is a favorite of mine, but I was concerned about the container; the prior three people searching for it had been DNF. As I drew closer to the cache, it was clear to see what had happened.

A bear had made off with the cache!

I found a better location and replaced the container. I was rather disappointed that the original contents had disappeared as well but there was no way I was going to argue with the bear!

The other caches: Mom’s Birthday,  Cousin Trees, No Cows Here, The Groaning Gate,  and Mud Bug Haven,  all fared fine. All the caches were in good order with dry contents and plenty of swag.

But I did have to wonder about No Cows Here. It’s just off a trail bordered with tall Ponderosa pine trees. It is just off a main road so a lot of people look for it. But, for some reason, No Cows Here gets a fair share of DNF. Now, I’m pretty sure that has to do with bounce (the GPS signal gets interference from the trees) but I don’t feel I need to point that out. The cache seems so obvious to me — hidden but under a rock pile that just seems to scream: Here’s the cache!

So, what’s your take? Post a hint that the trees might interfere or leave it as is and trust to people’s geosense?

And for Cousin Trees, I changed the altitude of the cache just a bit. (I moved the cache from UNDER the tree to being IN the tree.)

Do you think that I need to explain that in the hint? I think saying something like “YBBX HC!” would be too much of a giveaway. What do you think?

To decrypt that hint, use Geocaching.com’s decryption key.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |  I |  J |  K | L | M
————————————————–
N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

Readers Weigh In:

• How often do you check on the caches that you’ve hid?
• Do you rely on people’s geosense or do you try to make your hints obvious?
• Do you like hints that say if the cache is under something? (A rock, tree, etc) What about hints that say the cache is in a tree?

This article was written by the geocaching family of Kris Mazy, or kmazy on geocaching.com. Kris can offer some unique advice that I just can’t: 15 tips for caching with kids.

4 of the 5 kids in this caching family.

Caching With Kids

By Kris Mazy

In this day and age of technology, it is hard to persuade kids to get outside. I know this for a fact! We have 5 kids in our family ages 11, 8, 6, 4 and 2 who love playing on their computers, wii and gameboys. (My husband is a Network Administrator and I am a digital graphic and web designer, so computers are our life.)

A year ago, in order to both get additional exercise for our homeschooled family and find a family activity that was not only fun, but also a way to get our kids “thinking outside the everyday box”, we discovered geocaching from our friend of many years, The Outdoor Princess. With a family of this size, it was hard at first to organize ourselves to get going with any activity. In the last year, to date, our family has placed 5 and found and logged 83 caches.

Here are a few tips to get your family started in geocaching.

1. When searching for caches online, find ones that are not on main busy roads. It is much too hard to get your kids out of the car and search for the geocache safely.
   

   Away from roads means that each cacher can walk -- easier since Mom & Dad don't have to carry & the little cachers feel they're really part of the team.

2. Caches are ranked on the website 1 to 5, 1 being the easiest. Only take the kids out on caches that are ranked 1 to 2. Success is the key. If they can’t find it, it will no longer be fun.
3. Print out each cache that you are planning on going to and put each sheet in folder. They are easier to keep track of in the car and to keep track of after you finish.
4. 3-5 caches is about the limit for 2 year olds. (Trust me on that!)
5. Always think ahead, carry hats, sun screen, extra batteries for the GPS, a camera or 2 and bottled water. We have a canvas bag that we load up with the essentials to take with us. Don’t forget a SNACK!!! Nothing is more trouble than a hungry 4 year old. If you are going to be gone for a long time, pack a picnic lunch.
6. Before you jump in to find a cache, make sure that your kids each get a turn at carrying the GPS (they will not break them and it makes the experience more fun for them.)
7. Some kids can find geocaches better than others. Let the little ones look first. It is not a game against each other. Your family is on the same team!
8. Kids are smarter than you think. They will follow clues, sometimes better than adults. My 8-year-old discovered that the names of the caches are sometimes clue – If something is called a honeybee, then it is probably hidden near something yellow and black.
   

   Kids are great at figuring out clues.

9. You never know what you are going to come across. Keep that camera readily available.
10. To get started you do NOT need a $500 GPS. We picked one up for less than $60 and it has lasted us a full year and is still going strong.
11. When traveling on vacation, make use to check out the area that you are going to. On the way, there are bound to be a few that they kids will enjoy to find, also a chance to stretch your legs.
12. Take photos of every place that you go. I guarantee that your 6 year old will have an adventure story to go along with each place.
    

    "And then I had to save Mom from a run-away donkey! She was looking for the cache when..."

13. Don’t pick flowers! You never know what they are… and a 2 year old itching will end the day.
14. Bring some little knickknacks to exchange. A dollar store bag of army men go a long way.
15. Have FUN! This can be a GREAT family experience! It has been for our family.

Caching Parent’s Advice:

• If you could offer one piece of advice to a family new to geocaching, what would that be?
• How many geocaches do you try to find in a day?
• What size of cache do your kids prefer?

My good friend, Kris, is an avid scrapbooker as well as being a geocacher. Even though I swore up and down it wouldn’t happen to me, she’s gotten me hooked. She has since moved on to digital scrapbooking but I like working with paper, adhesive, and stickers.

You are probably asking yourself what scrapbooking and geocaching have in common, right? It might not sound like they have much in common, but they’re both really about memories.

So, the next time you’re out caching, be sure to pack a camera to record your trip. Here are seventips to make sure your pictures come out well.

1. Have your subject look into the sun- the light will be behind the photographer. Yes, the subject might squint a bit looking into bright light, but you know that the entire face will be evenly lit. It just makes a better photo.
   

   The light was behind us. See how dark our faces are? NOT a great photo composition!

2. Get close to your subject so it fills the entire frame in the camera. I prefer to do a combination of physically moving closer and the zoom.
   

   I didn't crop this image at all. I created the close-up effect with the camera, not the computer.

3. Take a few landscape shots that show the area around the cache. Try to photograph what the terrain is like: shoreline, water, trees, and the distant background. In Arizona, the background usually has big mountains in it!
   

   You can really see the landscape and cacti in this photo. It gives scope to the whole cache location.

4. Get a least one photo of somebody holding up the cache, logbook, or cache contents.
   

   I love the jumble of items that came out of the cache.

5. Photos with people in them are generally more interesting. Try to get at least a few shots with your group members in them. It’s always fun to look back on how fashion and hairstyles have changed.
6. Ask somebody to take a group picture. Otherwise, you’ll get great memories of the trip, but no pictures of you! (I learned this the hard way on a solo vacation to London. When I got the prints downloaded, there were no pictures with ME in them. Very disappointing!) You can also bring along a tripod and use the camera’s self-timer feature.
   

   You'll always remember who you went caching with: Raven from Up With People

7. Do something with the pictures. Put them on your blog or website, email them to family, create a scrapbook, print and frame them. But, don’t feel you need to keep every single photo! Some are blurry, some are boring, etc. Pick out the ones that best tell the story of the adventure and share them.

Geocachers Weigh In:

• Do you usually bring a camera along on your caching trips?
• What are some of the best photos (memories or cool compositions) you’ve taken while caching?
• What was one time you wish you’d had your camera and didn’t bring it with you?
• What do you take photos of when you’re out caching?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve covered the different sizes of caches, what I like to use for a cache container, and cache camouflage. Now, it’s time to talk about that all important category:

Non-Traditional Caches

For the longest time, I thought that a cache was just a box hidden in the woods. Or the city. Or wherever. I had no idea that geocaching actually offered more than just a “Here’s the coordinates, go find it” type of experience. Each cache not only has its own definition, it also has it’s own icon on the geocaching.com website. All of the icons shown below are copyright and property of Groundspeak.

Multi-Cache – A multi-cache (sometimes referred to as a “multiple”) involves two or more locations, the final location being a physical container. There are many variations, but most multi-caches have a hint to find the second cache, and the second cache has hints to the third, and so on. An offset cache (where you go to a location and get hints to the actual cache) is considered a multi-cache.

The first time I did a multi-cache I had no idea that there would be different “legs” to what I was finding. Imagine my surprise when instead of finding a container full of swag, I found a magnetic key-hider with coordinates in it!

Puzzle Cache – A puzzle cache, sometimes known as a mystery cache, is the “catch-all” of cache types. A puzzle cache involves puzzles (sometimes really complicated puzzles) you will first need to solve to determine the coordinates.

I’ve never actually tried a puzzle cache but I look forward to. (Or, I look forward to convincing ESP Boss that we should try one. He likes the good old fashioned PNG.)

Event Cache – Occasionally, local geocachers and geocaching organizations designate a time and location to meet and discuss geocaching. After the event the caches are archived. Event caches can have caches hidden specifically for the event, prizes, poker runs and more. Each cachers who participates gets credit for “finding” the event cache.

My first event cache was the A.J.A.C.S. 6th Annual Campout Event Cache. For three days, we searched for new caches (got our first FTF), met geocachers from across the southwest, camped and generally had a blast.

Letterbox Hybrid – A letterbox is another form of treasure hunting using clues instead of coordinates. In some cases, however, the owner has made it both a letterbox and a geocache and posted its coordinates on Geocaching.com. If there is a stamp inside a letterbox hybrid, it is not an item intended for trade; the stamp is meant to remain in the box so that visitors can use it to record their visit. To read more about letterboxing, visit the Letterboxing North America web site.

An artist friend of mine, Ann, has hidden several letterboxes near Prescott. I had actually known of letterboxing long before I knew about geocaching. But, I thought it sounded complicated and was positive there wouldn’t be any near where I live. I was totally wrong on that! (But, between you & me, I prefer the principals behind geocaching!)

Mega-Event Cache – A Mega-Event cache is similar to an Event Cache but it is much larger. In order to qualify as a Mega Event, the event cache must be attended by 500+ people. Typically, Mega Events are annual events and attract geocachers from all over the world.

I’m trying to convince ESP Boss and The Queen Mother that we should attend GeoWoodstock VIII this year. I’ll let you know if we’ll be there!

Earth Cache – An EarthCache is a special physical location that people visit to learn about a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our Earth. EarthCaches include a set of educational notes and the details about where to find the location (latitude and longitude). For more information about EarthCaches, visit http://www.earthcache.org/.

Grandfathered Cache Types

These are cache types that are no longer available for creation on geocaching.com. These cache types are now considered waymarks and are part of Waymarking.com

Virtual Cache – A virtual cache is a cache that exists in a form of a location. Depending on the cache “hider,” a virtual cache could be to answer a question about a location, an interesting spot, a task, etc. The reward for these caches is the location itself and sharing information about your visit.

I’ve run into a few virtual caches but I never participated — I wasn’t sure what the ghostie meant and it made me nervous!

Webcam Cache – These are caches that use existing web cameras placed by individuals or agencies that monitor various areas like parks or road conditions. The idea is to get yourself in front of the camera to log your visit. The challenging part, however, it that you need to call a friend to look up the web site that displays the camera shot. You will need to have them to save the picture to log the cache.

I tried to do a webcam cache the last time I was in Las Vegas. Even though I found the correct street corner, I couldn’t figure out the whole camera-online photo thing.

Locationless (Reverse) Cache – Locationless caches could be considered the opposite of a traditional cache. Instead of finding a hidden container, you are given a task to locate a specific object and log its coordinates. A scavenger hunt of sorts, it involves collecting waypoints of various objects around the world.

All in all, I know I prefer a nice traditional cache with a few multi-caches thrown in for spice. And the next time I have the opportunity to attend an event cache, you can count me in!

What’s Your Opinion?

• Do you have a favorite type of cache?
• Do you participate in any of the “sister” games to geocaching like letterboxing or waymarking?
• Have you ever been to an event cache?

Container Sizes Explained

When I got started in geocaching, I had no idea that caches actually came in different sizes. As a newbie cacher, I was like a little kid: all about the swag! The thrill of trading toys in the woods hasn’t really worn off either; I really only go for caches that are big enough for trade items.

However, I know some people who live and breathe for micros. Or, the evil little brother of a mico: the nano.

But, if you’re new to geocaching, you’re probably scratching your head and wondering just what I’m talking about. So, here are cache container sizes explained!

The first place you can see a cache’s size is on the list of caches when you run a search. But, don’t use this chart as the gospel truth of the cache size. I found a cache that was listed as a “small” but was really just a log sheet stuffed behind a sign!

Cache Sizes

Large – This is listed as the size of a 5 gallon bucket. I’m not really sure how many caches this size exist. I know I’ve never seen one listed in my area, let alone actually found it!

Regular – A regular is an ammo can, nut jar, or other container that is about the size of a 3 pound coffee can. There will be plenty of room for trade items and trackable items.

Small – This is defined as holding a log book and a few trade items. I classify my favorite cache containers as a small. A small may or may not hold a trackable item; it just depends on the size and shape of the traveler.

Micro – a 35mm film canister size. This typically means a log sheet and nothing else. Bring your own pen.

Nano – This is an unofficial cache size. It isn’t recognized as a real size by geocaching.com but anybody who’s hunted for a cache that’s so tiny it uses 1/4″tall strip of paper for a “log book” will agree this is a far cry from a micro!

Not-Specified – Sometimes the hider of the geocache doesn’t actually say what size cache it is. That can be fun or it can be frustrating. Usually on this “size” I read through the logs to find out if trade items were left, and if so, what types of items. You can pretty much figure that if they say they left a Happy Meal toy that it’s not a micro!

Each cache’s unique page will also have the cache size listed. If you’re not sure if the size is listed correctly, scan through the logs. Usually, if a cache is listed as a regular and it’s really a small, somebody will have mentioned it in a log or two.

If you’re just getting started, I recommend going for Regular or Small caches since it is more fun to FIND the caches when you’re new. As your geosense develops then start going after the micros.

And if you’re caching with kids: decide if the FIND is more important or if they like the SWAG. My other advice for caching with kids is to make sure they have fun and are successful. Most of the kid cachers I know define successful as finding the cache!

The more you geocache, the better you get at finding the container. I think most geocachers have a favorite size of container that they go for.

You can buy some really interesting geocaching containers on Amazon.com

For the experienced cachers:

• What is your favorite cache size?
• And for everybody who loves finding micros and nanos — what advice do you offer to get somebody started with that?