Posts Tagged ‘Terms’

I’m lucky enough to spend a lot of time with a brand-new geocacher. This gives me a lot of perspective on what the newest of the new cachers know and what they don’t know. (And sometimes that is surprising!)

So when I was chatting with Code Wolf today about today’s geocaching article, the subject of a “power trail” came up and he asked me to write an article about it.

Now, there are people who love power trails since they can rack up a bunch of finds in a short amount of time. And there are people who think that scooting down a 10 mile long road grabbing a cache every quarter mile is just silly.

A power trail is loosely defined as a series of caches laid out along a roadway. They are usually a series of PNG caches with cache sizes being small or micro. There are some power caches that are 50 or more caches along a single route!

An example of a 50+ power cache series is “Hang’m High On Hwy. 51 #1″ GC20GR1 in Louisiana.

For me, there’s a big difference in a power cache series like this versus a road that has lots of caches along its length but each cache is hid as if it were a stand-alone hide.

Way back in 2009, I wrote about caches along a trail. But I wasn’t thinking of anything like a “power trail”. I like hiking along a trail or a loop and finding a cache on a regular basis, like the caches along the trail that lead to my “High Gear” GC1PN22 cache.

Somewhere between caches along a trail and a power trail are caches that are one right after another BUT you have to walk or bike to get to them. There are two trails like that here in Prescott, both Rails to Trails, that I have been itching to go after: the Peavine National Recreation Trail and the Iron King Trail.

 

 

 

I don’t think I’d make power trails by caching bread and butter, but just once I think I’d like to try my geosenses against a true PNG power trail. Just to say I did it!

Readers Weigh In:

• Power trails, yes or no?
• Do you think that power trails add to or detract from the geocaching experience?
• Is it still a power trail if you have to walk to get all the caches?

When I first started geocaching, I had no idea that there are actually TWO types of geocoins: trackable and collectable. It wasn’t until I doing research for the EatStayPlay.com Geocoin that I discovered the difference!

Back in April, I wrote an article all about what trackable geocoins are and how they work. But, since then, I’ve realized that many people might not actually know the difference between a trackable geocoin and one that you collect.

The difference (in a nutshell): A collectable geocoin typically does NOT have a tracking number on geocaching.com. While a collectable geocoin might move from cache to cache, its movements are not able to be tracked on geocaching.com.

Some collectable geocoins DO have an ID number. That ID number is like when an artist makes prints of a painting and says: Print #127 of #230. While knowing that a collectable coin is part of a limited edition is really neat, I think that the ID number would cause confusion with people thinking that the coin is trackable!

Designs (and materials) vary from coin to coin. A standard geocoin is a minted, metal coin that can range in size from a dime to the size of a silver dollar. While most people think ah, “coin=round” that’s not necessarily the case. A “coin” can be in any shape and even be three-dimensional with raised portions.

4 Tips For Your Collection

1. Collect non-trackable coins.

There are a bunch of non-trackable coins available for personal collections. They range from minted coins, to wooden nickels, to plastic tokens, to signature items. (Not sure what a signature item is? Keep checking back, I’ll do an article about that soon!)

2. You should only collect unactivated trackable coins!

If the coin is already activated, then the owner is expecting it to move from cache to cache. Trust me, coin owners get really frustrated when their TRACKABLE geocoin ends up in somebody’s shoebox collection under the bed never to be seen again!

(I just found an article where the author said that any time she finds ANY geocoin in a cache, it goes into her personal collection. Not cool!)

3. Collecting activated trackable coins.

I know I just said to only collect unactivated trackable coins. But, the exception to that is if YOU are the owner of the coin. ESP Boss has two coins from our original EatStayPlay.com Geocoin minting that he has kept. They are activated and he is the owner, but the coins remain in a frame on the office wall.

4. “Collect” the coin by discovering it.

Unlike finding a trackable item in a cache, taking it and moving it along, you can mark the trackable item’s number as “discovered” on your geocaching.com profile. That means that you are saying that you’ve seen the item but are not responsible for moving it along. I know of several geocachers who have an online “collection” of geocoins that they have found. This is perfect if you don’t want the responsibily of moving a coin or if you only cache occasionally. By discovering the coin, you can show the coin on your profile without getting angry emails from the coin owner when you haven’t moved it in 4 months!

Readers Weigh In:

• What types of geocaching items do you collect? Coins? Signature items? Etc.
• Have you ever had somebody “collect” your trackable?
• Do you move trackable items or do you “discover” them? Which do you prefer?

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?

Anytime I pick up a new hobby, I have to spend some time learning a new language. There are all those terms that are unique to the hobby. Or, in some cases, are used differently inside the hobby than in the rest of the world.

Geocaching is no different!

Geocaching has its own terms and abbreviations that are unique to the game. My post Log Abbreviations: Decoded! is one of the most popular posts on FindYourGeocache.com. But, I realized that it goes over all the terms geocachers use in the log books and online, but it doesn’t cover all the OTHER terms that are part of the game.

So, here are some of the most common geocaching terms and what they mean.

Common Geocaching Terms

Archive – Archiving a cache removes the listing from public view on Geocaching.com. This action is usually taken when a cache owner does not intend to replace a cache after it has been removed. As an alternative to archiving, the cache owner can temporarily disable their cache if they plan to provide maintenance on the cache or replace the container within one month.

Attribute – These are icons on a cache detail intended to provide helpful information to geocachers who wish to find specific types of caches. These icons represent unique cache characteristics, including size, whether the cache is kid friendly, if it is available 24 hours a day, if you need special equipment and more. Attributes are also a tool to help you filter the types of caches you would like to search for when building a Pocket Query (see Pocket Query).

Benchmark – Using your GPS unit and/or written directions provided by NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS), you can seek out NGS survey markers and other items that have been marked in the USA.

Bookmark List – A Premium Member feature that can be used to group cache listings in whatever way you like. You may want a bookmark list of caches you intend to find this weekend, or perhaps an “all-time favorite” list you can share with friends.

Cache – A shortened version of the word geocache. (See Geocache).

Cacher – One who participates in geocaching. Also known as geocacher.

Caches along a Road – A road that has caches at every available pull-off, or nearly every pull-off. These are popular for people who like Park and Grab caches.

Caches along a Route – A Premium Member feature that allows you to identify caches along a specific route for quick and easy geocaching. You can choose from routes already created by other geocachers or use Google Earth to build your own unique trip.

Caches along a Trail – This means that there are multiple caches placed along a hiking trail. Similar to Caches along a Road, Caches along a Trail is an “easy” way to find a lot of caches in a short amount of time.

Datum – A datum is something used as a basis for calculating and measuring. In the case of GPS, datums are different calculations for determining longitude and latitude for a given location. Currently, Geocaching uses the WGS84 datum.

Dipping – The act of logging a Travel Bug or Geocoin into a cache, and immediately logging it back into ones possession. Someone cachers “dip” a Travel Bug or Geocoin in order to register miles traveled before placing the trackable for someone else to find. Some people use a “personal traveler” to track their miles between caches, and will “dip” the traveler into each cache they find.

Drunken Bee Dance – The movements of a geocacher, trying to pinpoint Ground Zero, chasing the directional arrow first one direction and then another, has been termed the Drunken Bee Dance.

EarthCache – This is one of several unique cache types. An EarthCache is a cache that promotes geoscience education. Visitors to EarthCaches can see how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage the resources and how scientists gather evidence to learn about the Earth.

Event Cache – This is one of several unique cache types. Events are gatherings set up by local geocachers and geocaching organizations to meet players and to discuss geocaching.

GC Code – A unique identifier associated with every geocache listing. The GC Code starts with the letters “GC” and is followed by other alphanumeric characters.

Geocache – A hidden container that includes a logbook for geocachers to sign. A geocache may also include trade items.

Geocoin – Geocoins work similarly to Groundspeak Travel Bugs® (see Travel Bugs) in that they are trackable and can travel the world, picking up stories from geocache to geocache. Geocoins are often created as signature items by geocachers and can also be used as collectibles.

Geomuggle – see Muggle.

Groundspeak – The parent corporation for geocaching.com. Groundspeak also manages waymarking.com and wherigo.com

Groudspeak Lackey – A “Groundspeak Lackey” is a term used to refer to the employees and founders of Groundspeak who do the most basic tasks to support the overall needs of the community. This willingness to serve each other and provide recreation for a worldwide community is a core value of our company.

Hitchhiker – A hitchhiker is an item that is placed in a cache, and has instructions to travel to other caches. Sometimes they have logbooks attached so you can log their travels. All trackable items can also be called a hitchhiker.

Latitude – Latitude and longitude create a waypoint. Latitude is the angular distance north or south from the earth’s equator measured through 90 degrees.

Letterbox – A letterbox or letterboxing is similar to Geocaching, but you use a series of clues to find a container. Once you find the container (or letterbox), you use the carved stamp from the box, stamp your personal logbook and return that stamp to the letterbox. You then use your carved stamp and stamp the letterbox’s logbook.

Longitude – Latitude and longitude create a waypoint. Longitude is the angular distance measured on a great circle of reference from the intersection of the adopted zero meridian with this reference circle to the similar intersection of the meridian passing through the object.

Mega-Event Cache – This is one of several cache types. A Mega-Event cache is similar to an Event Cache but it is much larger. Among other considerations, a Mega-event cache must be attended by 500+ people. Typically, Mega Events are annual events and attract geocachers from all over the world.

Muggle – A non-geocacher. Based on “Muggle” from the Harry Potter series, which is a non-magical person.

Muggled – The discovery of a cache by a non-geocacher. Also can be termed “geomuggled”. When someone refers to a cache as having been muggled, it almost always means the cache was stolen or vandalized.

Multi-Cache – This is one of several cache types. A multi-cache, or multiple cache, 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.

Mystery or Puzzle Caches – This is one of several cache types. The “catch-all” of cache types, this form of cache can involve complicated puzzles you will first need to solve to determine the coordinates. Examples include complicated ciphers, simple substitutions, arithmetical quizzes and clues cleverly hidden within the graphics.

NAD27 – Stands for North American Datum 1927. The precursor to WGS84. Many maps still use the NAD27 datum , so always check before using a GPS unit with a map.

Nano – An unofficial cache size. A nano cache is usually considerably smaller than the typical micro. One popular container is approximately the size of an eraser on the end of a pencil.

Personal Traveler – A trackable item that is activated but is not released. The owner of the item dips it in caches but it never leaves the owner’s possession.

Pocket Query – (PQ) A Premium Member feature, a Pocket Query is custom geocache search that you can have emailed to you on a daily or weekly basis. Pocket Queries give you the ability to filter your searches so you only receive information on the caches you want to search for.

Reviewer – World-wide network of volunteers who publish the geocache after the listing is submitted to geocaching.com.

ROT13 – Hints for geocaches are encrypted using a simple format where each of the letters are rotated 13 characters up or down in the alphabet.

Signal – Signal is the official mascot of geocaching.com. Designed by artist Koko, Signal is a frog with an GPS antenna on its head.

Signature Item – An item unique to a specific geocacher that is left behind in caches to signify that they visited that cache. These often include personal geocoins, tokens, pins, craft items or calling cards. These are acceptable trade items and may be removed from a cache.

Spoiler – A spoiler is information gives details that can lead the next cacher to the cache. It is like an accidental hint. An example would be a post for a geocache like: “We parked right next to the log where the cache was hidden.”

Swag – Are the items that are left in a geocache for trade. This is sometimes expressed as the acronym ‘Stuff We All Get” however the word “swag” is not really an acronym.

Trackable Item – Any item that can be tracked on geocaching.com.

Trade Item – Items in a geocache that are available to be taken. It is a best practice that you leave an item of equal or greater value for each item you take.

Traditional Cache – The original cache type consisting of at least  a container and a logbook. The coordinates listed on the traditional cache page are the exact location for the cache.

Travel Bug Hotel – A geocache with the intended purpose of acting as an exchange point for Travel Bugs. These are almost always regular or larger sized containers.

Travel Bug® – A Groundspeak Travel Bug is a trackable tag that you attach to an item. This allows you to track your item on Geocaching.com. The item becomes a hitchhiker that is carried from cache to cache (or person to person) in the real world and you can follow its progress online.

Waypoint - A waypoint is a reference point for a physical location on Earth. Waypoints are defined by a set of coordinates that typically include longitude, latitude and sometimes altitude. Every geocache listed on our website is a waypoint. Geocaching.com generates a unique “GC Code” associated with every geocache listing.

Now, here’s a question (or two!) for all you senior cachers out there:

In doing my research, there are a TON of terms I’ve never seen before. Is that just me or are they not really used anymore?

What were the most important terms that you needed to learn when you were new to geocaching?

Don’t you just hate it when you KNOW that Geocaching.com does FILL IN THE BLANK but you can’t remember where you saw the link? That happened to me the first time I was hiding a geocache; I wanted to print out that cool sheet that appears in the caches. You know the one I’m talking about, right? The printout that says “Congratulations, You’ve Found It!” and then goes on to explain what geocaching is.

I knew that printout had to exist. Somewhere. After all, I’d seen it in caches around Northern Arizona. I just didn’t know how to navigate the geocaching.com website in order to find what I was looking for!

This article is actually a reader’s request and addresses just that issue: What ARE the parts of geocaching.com?

Since this website is HUGE and offers a ton of information, I’m giving my top three pages you need to know the anatomy of! If you have a section of geocaching.com that you feel everybody should know about, then let me know!

The Home Page

We all know the homepage of geocaching.com — that’s where you can log into your account!

Well, have you ever scrolled DOWN the page a bit? There’s a ton of really neat links hidden towards the bottom of the page.

So, starting on the top left and heading down the page:

1. You can search for a geocache from this page using a zip code or a GC code
2. A section for interesting products and services
3. Upcoming geocaching events around the world

From the right side and heading down the page:

1. A link to follow geocaching.com on Twitter
2. Information about CITO
3. Geocaching in the news

Hide & Seek a Geocache Page

To me, this page has a wealth of information that is hidden! Even though the title clearly says HIDE a cache, I never remember that this page has all the links I need to do that!

Left Side of Page – Seeking a Cache

This is where you can search for a cache. It starts with an area where you can enter different parts of an address to find a cache. It includes address, postal code (zip code) and state.

Below the first section, you can enter in lat and long in either a WGS84 Datum or a decimal format, depending on how your GPS is configured. The standard for the USA on new GPS units is the WGS84 Datum.

And, then a really exciting section! This is where you can search by keyword (I want to find a cache with “yellow” in the name. You can also search by a telephone area code. If you know the exact GC code of the cache, you can enter that as well.

(I use the GC code search function when I am returning after a day of caching and need to log my finds.)

And, my favorite part: Found by Username and Placed by Username. This lets me see what my favorite geocaching buddies have found lately AND I can also search for my favorite cache hiders.

Right Side of Page – Hiding a Cache

The right side of the page is always the part that gives me the most trouble. Since I am usually looking for a cache, I forget that all the links I need to place a cache are on this page as well!

From the top down:
The cache placement requirements. I review these every time I place a cache just to remind myself of all the little particulars of the game.

Right below the requirements is actually the form you use to tell geocaching.com that there is a new cache. It took me placing about 5 caches before I remembered where this link was!

And the cache note is next. Not only is this the “Congratulations You’ve Found It!” note, but it also has a log sheet that you can print out and include with your cache. Below this section, the cache note has been translated into a myriad of different languages to help cachers around the world.

Trackable Items Page

This page has all the links to Frequently Asked Questions regarding all things trackable. But, below that section is where you can enter a tracking number of an item you have (or discovered), you can activate your trackable, or search for a trackable item by name.

The first time I activated an EatStayPlay.com geocoin, I had no idea what I needed to do. I didn’t even realize that below the three boxes on this page were the forms that I needed!

If you’re confused about trackables, I’ve got two articles that might help you out: The Truth About Trackables and 5 Tips About Trackables

To all you experienced cachers out there:

What are the most useful pages/sections on geocaching.com for a new cacher?

What have you discovered about the website that would have made life easier for you if you had known it when you had just gotten started caching?