The Cub wants to try geo-caching. I know in a vague way how it works, but is there a special app that is used? Any tips? What do you look for? How do you know where someone has geo-cached something? And, most important, is this doable during a Saskatchewan winter? :eek:
You can go to the geocaching website and sign up. You can then put in a postal code and see the various caches nearby. Its very easy to get signed up and start looking.
I did it for a while before I had a GPS, which makes it more challenging/fun.
As far as Saskatchewan winters…the caches are left there, so if you can brave the weather, its doable. I’ve done it in Northern Michigan winters and Fairbanks Alaska (but in summer)
Its been a while, but I assume there is an app now. Each site has the lat and long coordinates as well as a short description and brief hint if you want to use it. The descriptions are sometimes helpful, but also could contain spoilers. (i.e. “Wow, didn’t realize I had to go over the barbed wire fence.”)
Yes, just start at geocaching.com and you should be able to find all the information you need there. You need to create an account. This is free, but some of the “premium features” require paying. Years ago when I started, everything was free, and I kind of lost interest when you needed to start paying a monthly fee just to see where some of the caches are. There is a mobile app which makes things easier but you don’t need to use it. When I started, I just had a standalone GPS unit. You’d get the coordinates of the cache, make a waypoint in the GPS unit, and start walking towards it. The phone app shows you maps, instructions, hints, etc.
Take a few trinkets with you. There is a tradition that people swap out little “treasures” in the caches, space permitting. An old film canister won’t have more than a sheet of paper to write your name, but cigar box-size and bigger will often have key chains, little figurines, etc.
My sister and the nieces really got into this. Basically, its a defined treasure hunt, where the reward is usually just finding the cache, and adding your name to the list.
You go to one of the geocaching sites to look up locations near you. You then load up the geocaching app on your mobile device. Its strongly recommended to have a good provider with a good signal. If you are in an area with no reception, you can print out the information from the website.
You then load up the geocaching information on your phone, and are given an area to look in. Usually, they are well hidden to avoid non-players finding it, and walking off with it. You then get the thrill of uncovering the hidden item, seeing what other folks have left there, and looking at the names and locations of other folks that have found that item.
Some of the boxes have “traveling bugs” in them. Items that have a place where you can register them, and then give their new location, so you can see the history of where the item has gone. For example, you could pick up a bug in Florida, and drop it off in Alabama during a trip. Someone picks up the bug in Alabama, reports in on the website that its now in Kansas, and a history of the item is sent to the originator, and to you, so you can see its travels.
However, during a winter like you describe, it may make finding things difficult. Most folks, however, will take this into account, and hide them in non-snow-covered locations - The interior of a garbage can lid, inside a hollow stop-sign post held by a string, or in a removable brick in a wall.
It is an enjoyable activity, but like all things, you can lose interest in it.
Fun. Young kids and preteens love it. Go to the web site. Lots of info there.
Another tip: most caches have a clue to help find it, like “near the big tree.” These are usually encoded with a simple letter substitution so people who don’t want to know the clue don’t inadvertently read it. The letter mapping should be in the FAQs on the geocaching website.
I recommend solving the clue before you head out, especially with kids who might get frustrated by a long search. You don’t want to be mapping letters out in the snow.
This might be a moot point if the app has decoding built into it. It didn’t back when I was doing this, but it seems like an obvious feature.
To avoid frustration on your first few outings (especially with children):
- Make sure the cache you are looking to find is a “Traditional” cache. This means that there is a physical cache container actually hidden at the co-ordinates. Other types include multi, unknown, etc., which are a lot of fun but start with traditional.
- Look for caches where the difficulty and terrain ratings are 1 or 1.5. Eventually you may enjoy searching for fiendishly difficult hides or very demading terrain, but not for your first few with the kids.
- Look at the recent logs. If there are several recent “Did Not Find” logs or the cache hasn’t been found for months, there’s a chance it’s missing and you will be wasting your time. On the other hand, if someone found it yesterday and logged “Nice easy find” you are more likely to be successful.
- Read down through earlier logs - you might become aware of some danger or problem that the cache description didn’t tell you about (nearby wasps nest, thorn bushes, cache is 10m away from co-ordinates).
- Check the size. Lots of caches, especially urban caches, are tiny nowadays. Very common are magnetic “nano” cylinders the size of your little finger nail. If you know what size it is, you will have an idea what to look for.
- Look for photos on the web page. These can be photos placed by the cache owner or by other finders. They can be extremely helpful in finding a tricky cache. There may even be an explicit “spoiler photo” provided.
Use the geocaching map to find caches in your area. The green ones on the map are traditional; ignore the orange and blue ones for now.
Accumulations of snow will make some caches effectively impossible to find - urban caches may be okay in winter. Enjoy, be prepared for some Did Not Finds, and be aware that it’s a community activity and that the people who hid the caches and those who come after you will appreciate an interesting log whether you find it or not.
I would go beyond this and say, make sure your first few caches are medium or large size. Especially for kids, it’s a lot more fun to find a big box of goodies rather than a tiny canister with a piece of paper in it.
I know absolutely nothing about geo-caching. But I just thought of something that may be relevant, if you’re doing this for your kid:
For the first time,check it out yourself first,on your own. Make sure you know where it’s hidden…and then bring your kid to find it ‘all by himself’. Let him get excited with the first success, and then see how interested he is in continuing.
Why risk a disappointed, unhappy child?