Topic: Geocaching (Read 1178 times)

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Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. At the moment, there are 846,343 caches hidden around the world. (wikipedia)

I just started geocaching this week and I've had a lot of fun even though I've only successfully found one cache. Basically, what you do is go to a Geocache website (I use Geocaching.com), look up a cache near you that you think you can find, and go get it. Inside caches are wide variety of things, from knick-knacks that you are free to take, provided that you put in a knick-knack of your own, and items that you can track online. All caches are placed on public property so there's not a lot of danger of being arrested, although people have reported getting in trouble with the authorities for looking suspicious. I find it amazing that all this caches have been all around me and I've never noticed them before.

So, do any of you Geocache/Have any memorable experiences doing so? If you have, is it worthwhile to geocache, or did you find yourself bored after a few weeks.

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I went geocaching with a friend last week actually. We didn't find anything at any of the 5 sites we went to, although at one of them we did find obvious cache markers, as well as a christmas light + ping pong ball, which I assume were once in the cache. All the others led to huge patches of poison oak, or to fields of brambles and fox tails. Overall, I really hated doing it because there were too many variables (places people could hide things, too many possible variables (inaccurate GPS, wrong coordinates, etc.).

Following the arrow on the GPS kinda makes me feel like Link. Next time I go out though I'm bringing the ocarina, master sword, and green skirt + cap.

Da da da daaa!
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I went geocaching with a friend last week actually. We didn't find anything at any of the 5 sites we went to, although at one of them we did find obvious cache markers, as well as a christmas light + ping pong ball, which I assume were once in the cache. All the others led to huge patches of poison oak, or to fields of brambles and fox tails. Overall, I really hated doing it because there were too many variables (places people could hide things, too many possible variables (inaccurate GPS, wrong coordinates, etc.).

Following the arrow on the GPS kinda makes me feel like Link. Next time I go out though I'm bringing the ocarina, master sword, and green skirt + cap.

Da da da daaa!
Yeah I tried to find one that said it was located under a rock. After 20 mins of flipping over stones I gave up, but I was hoping that was not the case with other caches. What do you use to locate them on the spot? All I have is a gps-enabled phone and I was hoping that'd be good enough for most caches.
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i've always wondered if i farted in a geocache box and shut it really quickly could i get someone to search for several hours for a box full of farts

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I usually establish a 40-50 ft perimeter around where the object is 'supposed' to be and search the most obvious places (in a tree, a patch of leaves, under a bush).

Under a rock though? That means they buried it. You probably should've brought a shovel.
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I usually establish a 40-50 ft perimeter around where the object is 'supposed' to be and search the most obvious places (in a tree, a patch of leaves, under a bush).

Under a rock though? That means they buried it. You probably should've brought a shovel.
According to Geocaching.com it was only a 1.5 in difficulty so I thought it'd be easy to find.
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I'm actually totally down for doing this, I gotta see if I have any friends that are interested now. It'll be something to do I guess.
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wow, there are a ton of these in my little town.  I wouldn't have expected that.  I run around this town all the time, so I might add this to it.
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Wow, there are actually a few of these in my area. Kind of interesting! If I had a GPS, I'd probably consider giving this a try.
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A cache really should be a box, which is why I'm a little bit iffy about it fitting under a rock. Was the rock obvious? Or were there a helluva lot of rocks to pick from (which is the case most of the time). Either that, or someone moved it. Always check when the cache was last updated on that website. Anything within a month or three is preferable.

Yeh, I was amazed that we had some too. But it's really just the boy scouts who lay them, so I'm not surprised that you guys might have some too.

Also, GWcache.
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me, morpheus and trinity are trying to find the one. we call it 'neo caching'

i've found one of these boxes before, it was full of broken junk and a book to write what you put in and what you take out, and a camera to snap your goofy self. i didn't have a gps i just found it.
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My own little town has a few recent caches around.  I'll have to borrow my parents' GPS for a day and go for a hunt.  Does anyone know what these "Replicoins" are? 
keep posting...
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added to geocache: a few dead earwigs

I'm going to hide a gwcache, see if you guys can find it. coordinates SERVER TOO BUSY
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Also, I like how they refer to all non-cachers as Muggles.  "This is a high Muggle-traffic area, so watch out."  Those pesky Muggles sure can ruin a cache.
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found in cache: american civil war game figurines, harry potter and the chamber of secrets, a pokedex, a strap on leopard tail and a lightsaber flashlight.

also there's a guy near me who talks like a spiritual woodlands ranger. you would think he was an american indian or something but he speaks in half german half english
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I've got a geocache for you:  IT'S YOUR MOTHER IN A COFFIN.  FIND IT SOON IF YOU WANT HER TO LIIIVVVVE!
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I love the idea of this.. I'd just need a GPS system.
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it'd be sweet to have a gps that slowly revealed itself like an automap, i'm sure you could get one. i want one. it'd be sweet.
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Quote
it'd be sweet to have a gps that slowly revealed itself like an automap, i'm sure you could get one. i want one. it'd be sweet.
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Geocaches usually have stupid puzzles you have to solve before you can find the coordinates. Imagine this -- an 8 hour rpg you play that gives you cache coordinates after you beat it, leading you to a box full of condoms and a letter to get laid.
"I would be totally embarassed to write this, even as a fakepost. it's not funny except in how you seem to think it's good. look at all the redundancies, for fuck's sake. "insipid semantics, despicable mediocrity" ugh gross gross. I want to take a shower every time I read your prose." -Steel