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ERIC: Hi, I’m Eric from Groundspeak. I’m going to share some tips on finding your first geocache.
Before we go, we need to make sure that we’re prepared for the adventure.
I’ve already selected a cache and downloaded it to my GPS.
You should watch the “selecting your first geocache” video for tips on finding
a good cache for your first time out.
Now, I am going to read the cache description again to make sure that I haven’t missed
anything important. This cache page also has a hint.
The hint is in code, but you can click “decrypt” to decode the hint.
>>> Now, we’re going to pack and supplies that we might need for your adventure. Depending
on the cache, this may mean a flashlight, gloves, food and water, sturdy shoes or special equipment.
Extra batteries are a good idea and we suggest that you always bring a pen - in case
the cache does not have one or the pen is missing.
I’m heading to where we will be starting the cache hunt.
I’ve just arrived at the trailhead. I am going to turn on my GPS device and wait
until it has a signal. There. The signal looks strong and my accuracy range is 30 feet .
I am saving our current location as a waypoint so that I can find my way back to
the car should I get lost.
I select the geocache that we’re going to search for, look at it on the map and maybe
check it out in the compass view.
My GPS device shows that the cache is that way, but there is a trail right here.
I would bet that the trail leads to the cache location, even though it’s not headed straight there.
>>> Geocachers try to stick close to the trail, since bushwhacking disturbs the natural environment.
Let’s go find this geocache.
I’ve had a nice hike with some great views and see that the cache is fairly close now.
“My GPS device shows me the distance remaining to the coordinates… 100 feet,
80 feet, 50 feet, 30 feet…”
I am going to get the distance remaining to the cache as small as possible, but since
all GPS devices have a slight error, it is unlikely that the cache will be right at 0.
Once you are within about 20 or 30 meters of the coordinates, stop using your GPS and
rely on your eyes.
Now, here’s the big question – what are you looking for?
Well, if you watched the “selecting your first geocache” video, you should know
about what size the container is.
We are looking for a regular sized container, which means it should be about the size of
a loaf of bread. And we’ve read the description and the hint.
The description said that the cache is close to the trail and does not require any
bushwhacking. The hint told us that “if we didn’t find it at first, we should stick around.”
So, it’s close to the trail and, by the hint, I would guess that it might be camouflaged with sticks.
It also helps to think about where you would hide something and look for something
that doesn’t look “quite right.”
There are several piles of sticks around here, but I am eyeing one over there that looks unnatural.
Sure enough, here it is.
Now I sign the logbook and check out the contents of the cache.
This is called SWAG – or stuff we all get - you are welcome to take something as
long as you leave something of equal or greater value.
Look, there is a Trackable item in here. I can tell because it says “Trackable on
Geocaching.com” and has a unique tracking code.
I can take this from the cache without putting anything in as long as I am willing
to look up this code on Geocaching.com,
find out the Trackable’s traveling goal and move it to another cache closer to its goal.
Now that we’re all done, we close the cache up and put it back exactly as we found it.
The only remaining step is to log the cache either on the computer or through a
Geocaching.com mobile application.
I’m going to hike back now. I’ll leave you here to enjoy the view. Have a great time
on your first geocaching adventure!