Must-Have Geocaching Tool Kit

Most cachers have a geocaching “kit” that they take with them on the hunt. It was born of the “I really could have used a _________ on this find” reasoning that always seems to strike.

My “kit” not only includes my writing stick of choice (blue ball-point pen) and my trusty camera but also a few choice items that make retrieving caches much more user-friendly.

  1. Walking stick. This is a must for Arizona where all manner of creatures (usually that bite, sting, are poisonous or all three!) like to live around caches. So a walking stick is perfect for jamming into a likely crevasse or flipping over rocks. Keep Reading!

6 years ago • • Tags:

Geocaching Snack – Cheesy Trail Mix

Maybe it’s just me but I ALWAYS need to have snacks handy. I’m like the poster child for the ‘hangries’ (that’s when you get hungry and then you get angry!) Everybody in my family, Ben included, knows that you’ve got to feed me, regularly!

Of course, sometimes there’s just not a convenient time or place to stop for a whole meal. Enter… Trail mix!

Cheesy Trail Mix - a go-to #geocaching #snack Click To Tweet

I can’t STAND that pre-packaged store bought crap. Shudder. Usually way too much on the carb/sugar side and too low on the protein side. Or it’s filled with things that I’m just not that into. (I love raisins but won’t touch a cashew with a ten-foot-pole!)

Here’s a favorite go-to trail mix of mine, PERFECT for geocaching: Keep Reading!

8 years ago • • Tags:

When Should You Archive A Geocache?

Geocaches were never designed to be a permanent fixture in the landscape. Of course it’s fun to find a cache that’s been around for years (especially one that gets a lot of traffic!) but at some point you need to think about archiving it.

042315-RetireACacheAnd archiving doesn’t JUST mean archiving it on Geocaching.com – you also need to go pick up the cache container and deal with it!

Here are three ways you know it’s time to archive a cache:
1. The only container that will fit there is also prone to damage.
I have a great pill-bottle cache. It’s the ONLY size container that will fit in this spot. But it leaks! It’s fine February – June when we get little rain, but come monsoons… The cache turns into a soggy mess. It’s time to either pony up for an expensive cache container or archive the geocache.

Keep Reading!

8 years ago •

Diving into CITO

090710-CITOThis weekend (April 24-27) is when you can participate in a world-wide Cache In-Trash Out effort. Geocachers around the world are hosting events where you can gather to clean up natural areas, pick up trash, plant trees, or remove invasive species.

And you can get friendly with YOUR local geocaching heroes!

Keep Reading!

8 years ago •

Geocaching GPS: Anthology Update!

The writing contest ended last week and I’ve been hard at work reading all the entries to let winners know they’re in (or not.) And I am OVER THE MOON to share that there were 51 entries! Geocachers – you ROCK.

If you submitted, look for an email tomorrow (4/17/15) about the results!

And remember, the book will be released the end of May at Geowoodstock!

8 years ago •

Geocaching Tees – Most Popular Design

Of all the geocaching tee shirt designs I’ve created over the years, THIS one remains the most popular!

041315-been_there_found_that_tshirt

It’s available on a variety of shirts and other items. AND you can also get it in blue, green, and red!

Keep Reading!

8 years ago •

What’s a Geocaching Podcast?

Podcasts or podcasting are HUGE in my “other” world of business. You can get followers, expertise, and share your passion.

040915-GeocachingPodcastsAnd I have no clue how to do it!

(Not even sure I want to add ANOTHER thing to my already packed life!)

But there are tons of popular geocaching podcasts out there. Here are a few to check out!

PodCacher
Offers a weekly podcast about Geocaching as well as a written journal of our Geocaching experiences, musings, rants, raves and opinions.

The GeoSnippits Reboot Podcast
The GeoSnippits Reboot Podcast is a brand new tutorial show designed to educate and entertain geocachers of all experience levels. Each Thursday at 8:30PM ET, Co-host Dave ‘Debaere’ DeBaeremaeker and GeoSnippits founder Andy ‘Headhardhat’ Smith disc
Keep Reading!

8 years ago • • Tags:

Strawberry Swag

I’m always looking for a craft I can do that would also double as something else. What can I say, I have a hard time justifying “crafting time” if the only purpose is to look pretty!

040615-StrawberrySwagI read on Pinterest about painting rocks like strawberries to keep birds out of the strawberry bed. (IT does actually work! Made some for my mom for Mother’s Day.)

But then I was thinking that it would be a GREAT thing to leave as swag in a geocache! Especially since MOST caches are full of… crud. Personally, I wouldn’t turn it into a signature item but a trade item that might move from cache to cache.

There’s no need to make this into a billion steps (Pinterest says to paint them white first!)

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • • Tags: ,

Carrying water while geocaching: How much and how to carry it

I got asked the question:

What’s the best way to carry water while geocaching. A Camelbak seems like overkill!

~ Roger

Great question, Roger!

You might not know this but I spent about 10 years volunteering for Yavapai County Search & Rescue. One thing that was common was that people didn’t carry nearly enough water!

While geocachers probably AREN’T hiking 10, 12, 15 miles in a single stretch water is something that you should always have plenty of.

Jess carries a TON of water with her all the time!

Jess carries a TON of water with her all the time!

It’s important as well to know your personal water needs. My friend Jess needs about double the water I do. On a recent 10-mile day hike, she carried SEVEN LITERS! But she knew she needed it! I’m typically good with 3.

And don’t forget to take weather and activity into account as well. If it’s hot you’ll want more water. If you’re exerting (up and down hills) you’ll want more.

Here are my top tips:

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • • Tags: , ,

Raising Funds for ‘Geocaching GPS’

Wow! The support and responses from “Why I Quit Geocaching” has been… wow! I had no idea. It makes me sad that so many cachers experienced some of the negativity I did but the outpouring of support is just — wow!

And I have to say, I wrote that blog post at 1 am when I just couldn’t sleep with all this running through my head. I even debated about posting it but decided that I would be better to be completely honest with everything.

Which is why I’m honestly asking for help for funds for Geocaching GPS. I’ve started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $850 to cover JUST the costs of producing the book for the contributors. Here’s my math:

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • • Tags: ,

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