Like I really needed another hobby....I have read for a year or so about geocaching from my friend Yogi's blog.Geocaching seemed to me like something that might be fun, and something that might fir in with a long run in the woods. But stopping and hunting for a hidden treasure for 30 minutes or so would most likely be the end of my long run. Besides, spending big bucks of a handheld GPS might mean one less pair of trail shoes or scratching a race. But when browsing for iPhone apps and seeing a geocache app for $9.99, I took the plunge. This, along with a subscription to geocaching.com, gets you an endless list of treasures to seize.
This app locates a boatload of hidden caches near you, or near an address that you enter. See, you can plan a whole day of hunting in an area where you will be anyway--how convenient!!
So what is a geocacher looking for exactly??
Containers of varying sizes and descriptions. The common theme is "water-tight". Inside these treasure boxes is a log to write your name down and the date that you discovered the cache. Then, you can log in your find on the said website along with comments about how nifty the location was, how much fun you had trying to find it, or whatever.
Not all caches are large boxes however. Some are magnetic key boxes with room for a log and maybe a small treasure such as a coin of some kind.
Some magnetic caches are much much smaller, and can be hidden in places that are next to impossible to find!!
These small magnetic nodules are referred to as micro-minis, or nanos. A similar vessel--a bison tube--is hung by a chain or small keyring in out-of-the-way places--always hard to find.
Inside these micros, minis, nanos, or bison tubes, there is not room for knack knacks or souvenirs. Inside you'll find a miniature log rolled up and if you write small enough, you can put "TZ was here", or whatever your geocaching name/handle is, along with the date. I always look for Yogiabb, or Firegoat1--the alias of Catherine and Corgi, which telles me they were there before I was. Yogi has found over 1,000 caches, and Firegoat1 is in the 400 cache range.
Speaking of Firegoat1, while finding a cache a couple of days ago, she "found" a treasure that someone had left.
I am halfway certain that this find was not associated with the cache, but who knows--I could be wrong. I am fairly sure Firegoat and friend did not roll this back up to stuff into the canister. This discovery has spawned a few "fully functional blow-up doll walked into a bar" jokes on Catherine's Facebook wall--but that's another story.
I'll post more on geocaching in the future along with some hair-raising stories of my own. The one mapped on my iPhone above is tops on my list.
This app locates a boatload of hidden caches near you, or near an address that you enter. See, you can plan a whole day of hunting in an area where you will be anyway--how convenient!!So what is a geocacher looking for exactly??
Containers of varying sizes and descriptions. The common theme is "water-tight". Inside these treasure boxes is a log to write your name down and the date that you discovered the cache. Then, you can log in your find on the said website along with comments about how nifty the location was, how much fun you had trying to find it, or whatever.Not all caches are large boxes however. Some are magnetic key boxes with room for a log and maybe a small treasure such as a coin of some kind.
Some magnetic caches are much much smaller, and can be hidden in places that are next to impossible to find!!
These small magnetic nodules are referred to as micro-minis, or nanos. A similar vessel--a bison tube--is hung by a chain or small keyring in out-of-the-way places--always hard to find.
Inside these micros, minis, nanos, or bison tubes, there is not room for knack knacks or souvenirs. Inside you'll find a miniature log rolled up and if you write small enough, you can put "TZ was here", or whatever your geocaching name/handle is, along with the date. I always look for Yogiabb, or Firegoat1--the alias of Catherine and Corgi, which telles me they were there before I was. Yogi has found over 1,000 caches, and Firegoat1 is in the 400 cache range.Speaking of Firegoat1, while finding a cache a couple of days ago, she "found" a treasure that someone had left.
I am halfway certain that this find was not associated with the cache, but who knows--I could be wrong. I am fairly sure Firegoat and friend did not roll this back up to stuff into the canister. This discovery has spawned a few "fully functional blow-up doll walked into a bar" jokes on Catherine's Facebook wall--but that's another story.I'll post more on geocaching in the future along with some hair-raising stories of my own. The one mapped on my iPhone above is tops on my list.
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