Geocaching

misterhelpful

misterhelpful

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Ohio (formerly Mid Glamorgan)
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Anyone on here do this as a pastime?

My wife and I came across this by chance a little while back and wondered what it was. We Googled it and found it interesting, so we downloaded the Official Geocaching App and gave it a go. The result: WE ARE HOOKED!!

For those who don't know what it is:

Basically, it's a kind of treasure hunt that people all around the world participate in. When I say treasure hunt, I really mean a search for various sized caches that people have hidden anywhere and everywhere. Coordinates are given by the app for every cache and all you have to do is follow your phone's GPS (or even just your nose if you have a good sense of direction). Most caches are just small containers that hold a logbook for you to sign and some contain the odd little knick knack that you can trade for something of equal or lesser value, if you want to.

The idea is that you keep the exact location of caches secret so you must locate the container, sign the log and replace it without being seen by the general public who are not participating (Muggled). Some caches are hidden close to public areas so it can be tricky to hunt them down without being spotted, some are in places that are creepy - which just makes it more fun - some are hidden at points of interest, and others are just hidden in plain sight.

It's a free activity, unless you get into the advanced or premium versions of the game, that takes you to all sorts of places you probably wouldn't visit otherwise, and makes you wonder how many of these things you've actually walked right past without even knowing they are there. Your only real expense would be petrol, if you drive a car to the locations, but many are located and accessible via bike/hiking trails and maybe even in your own street.

Those weirdos you see looking around in trees, drainpipes, graveyards and cornfields in the middle of nowhere - they may just be participating in Geocaching. (Although they could just be weirdos!)

Obviously, it's not something that will appeal to everyone, but if you are looking for something to do with the kids this summer, or just by yourselves, with the added bonuses of being free and getting you a little exercise, why not give it a try?

We're off again this weekend.

Happy Hunting!!

mrH :)
 
While I don't actually do it, when out I often look for places that i'd hide a cache in when encountering a pile of stones etc on a hill.

Not found owt yet, perhaps I should use the apps I have installed on my phone lol
 
mattylad said:
While I don't actually do it, when out I often look for places that i'd hide a cache in when encountering a pile of stones etc on a hill.

Not found owt yet, perhaps I should use the apps I have installed on my phone lol
Click to expand...

Lol...that sounds like a good idea. We use the app which gives exact coordinates and we still take ages to find many of them - they can be right in front of you and still not noticeable. It's a good feeling when you find them but really frustrating when you don't because you know that they are right there (unless they've been muggled!) but you just can't see them for looking!! We only found a few over the weekend but didn't get to spend as much time searching as we had wanted to.
 
That looks fun.
Looking at the free app, it seems (like so much else) to be an American thing.
Are there many Geocache locations in Britain and, more to the point for me personally, oop north?
 
It's a worldwide thing but I have to admit that I've only started it since moving to the US. I assume that the official website will just show you where caches are hidden near your location as it doesn't seem to allow me to search for places in the UK from my current location, although there is a link to the older version of the site on the homepage that will allow you to search places in the UK. That said, I checked the app on my phone and it shows that there are loads around your area. Here is a screenshot of what came up when I searched for Cheshire:

Screenshot_2015-07-06-18-50-11.png


The green dots are the caches available to find in the free version and the grey ones are for the advanced/premium version.

Also, here's a link to the website and caches in Yorkshire:

https://www.geocaching.com/seek/nea...bc9333-5e52-4957-b0f6-5a2c8fc7b257&children=n
 
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Thanks for that. Yes, I googled it and there are quite a lot in this country too, including a couple of sites only ten minutes from where we are.
I had a word with my first wife, who is always suggesting that we 'go for a nice walk', and she seems quite taken with the idea. It seems that a work colleague of hers does it.
We'll have a look at the UK site to learn more about it and probably join the 'Free' group and try our luck.
 
Let me know how it goes if you do give it a try, and be wary of those Muggles. :sneaky:

We only use the free version right now but are considering upgrading because we have found the majority of basic level caches in our local vicinity. We've been going further afield but that does tend to take up a bit more time so only do that when we have a few days of free time to fit some searching in.
 
misterhelpful said:
Anyone on here do this as a pastime?

My wife and I came across this by chance a little while back and wondered what it was. We Googled it and found it interesting, so we downloaded the Official Geocaching App and gave it a go. The result: WE ARE HOOKED!!
Click to expand...


Shouldn/t you have asked.. are you all "muggles" ? haha

Yes ive been doing it for a while now, take my 9 year old son along, he loves it, he calls it treasure hunting. His favourite cache is right new our house, there was a toy car in it the first time he found it, so calls it the car cache.

its great, although I find the GPS isnt the best with the official App.

Im going to the lake district at the end of the month, I bet there are loads of geo caches around there.

Have you ever found a trackable?
 
No trackable found yet but we are still relatively new to it so, hopefully, it's only a matter of time.

We were gutted a few weeks ago when we drove way out into the sticks, to the middle of a corn farm, to try and find one. We saw the obvious spot (an old piece of metal fencing) that the GPS led us to and looked all over for it. Even though we are newish to Geocaching, we knew about the magnetic nut/bolt caches but they completely slipped our minds and we left empty-handed. We logged it as a DNF and as soon as we got home the horrible message came through from the cache's placer that it was indeed a magnetic bolt. We remembered seeing them, but obviously none had stood out enough for us to realise our oversight, so it was a really well disguised one. 'Frustration' isn't the 'F word' that came to mind!! :mad: :censored:

We've got the next three days off, with weather predicted to be in the 90's, so I'm sure we'll be tracking down a few more!

I bet you'll see some great sights hunting them in the Lake District. :)
 
We do it... The kids love it finding little swaps and stuff, we also are owners of a few caches.
 
Cool. We are planning on hiding a few of our own soon - we've made camouflaged containers, so now it's just a case of choosing some deceptively obvious hiding spots!! We're also heading back to the UK for a few weeks soon so it will be fun to see if we can find a few in my hometown and the surrounding area.
 
In the olden days I always used map and compass, but things have moved on.
As I understand it, GPS is perfectly acceptable to most geocaching organisations. Indeed, co-ordinates for GPS receivers are often provided for caches. It doesn't mean they give away their locations as they are usually well camouflaged.
 
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