GAS - Getting Started

ECO 2006

Geocaching is a new activity, remember that when you try and find a place for it in your big picture. It is stranger than break dancing but the principal is the same, it is an unknown field of endeavour and we are not going to see what is possible until some time has passed. Geocaching is dedicated to GPS users, that is the common theme but the twists and turns are infinite. Finding a geocache is very simple, many parks and outdoor activity areas already contain geocaches and the only people who know they are there are geocachers! A geocache is a container with a logbook and usually other trinkets, hidden somewhere. The coordinates for the container are published on the Internet allowing GPS users to "hunt" for the geocache. When they find the cache they sign the logbook, they take an item and they leave an item. They record that trade on the Internet site where the cache is listed. In its simplest form geocaching is about 90% walking but don't let that fool you, it can involve anything. Like any new activity geocaching is awaiting definition at the hands of its adherents. For some it is a religion, for others a fierce competition. It is a great way to find new places and new friends. It is something that you can do alone or with a crowd. It can be physically demanding or easy. All of these things become clear when you ponder these words "You are the search engine." There are 200,000+ geocaches in 200+ countries, you decide what you would like to do, walk, swim, ride, fly, and it is all about your choices. The single unifying theme that runs through every geocache placed is "fun". Geocachers may disagree on many issues we all agree that geocaching is fun. Every person finds fun in their own way. Take pleasure in the hiding or seeking of geocaches, but have fun geocaching.

The best advice I can give you is to get a GPS and go and find some geocaches. Try and choose easier geocaches that have been recently found, this will ensure your first few trips are a success. Geocaches have two ratings, one for the difficulty of the hide and one for the terrain in which the geocache is hidden. Geocaches with high star ratings are more difficult to find. After you have found some geocaches in your area you should have some idea of what other geocachers in your area are doing. Try and find geocaches hidden by a few different geocachers to ensure you get lots of ideas. Geocaches comes in different types. For your first few adventures you may want to stick to Traditional Caches, a Traditional Cache is as cache where the coordinates on geocaching.com are the coordinates of the cache; you can go to that location and search for the cache. Try and look for cache listings that mention quality containers like Ammo Boxes or Lock N Locks, this will ensure you are not confronted with a broken box that you cannot fix or a wet logbook you cannot sign. If you geocache with children it is a very good idea to make sure you are seeking a good quality geocache, my children love to trade items in and out and like finding dry well stocked caches. They like to examine trade items and they get excited according to rules I cannot decipher. After you have found some Traditional Caches you can try to find Multi Stage caches. In the Multi Stage the coordinates you get from the site lead you to a location where you will need to find the next set of coordinates. The methods that are used in Multi Stage Caches are very numerous, you might look for a tag with numbers, you might read a sign and total some numbers, and you might count chickens or logs or windows. You might have to read plaques and use the information but eventually you find the next stage, it may or may not be the final cache as many Multi Stage Caches have several steps. Try simple offsets or one stage Multis for the greatest ease when you start. After the Multi Stage you are ready for the Puzzle Cache, The Webcam Cache, The EarthCache, The CITO Cache and the Event Cache, these are other cache types that expand the envelope in which the game is played. So get started and have some fun. The forums section on geocaching.com is an invaluable source of common sense knowledge that can save new geocachers a lot of effort. Almost every type of cache that can be hidden has been hidden so reading the forums will give you better ideas about your own caches. The forums are also the best place to ask caching related questions. The local Forum is linked from the main page for the GAS Website and the information there is very specific to Alberta South, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

You need a Garmin Map 60CSx, just kidding. There are not a lot of names in the GPS market and odds are pretty good you have a GPS if you are reading this page. The best GPS will never be a single model; every maker has strengths and weaknesses. The true test is to go back to the original phrase, "You are the search engine." and that will help you decide which GPS is going to serve you best. I geocache with three active children so I knew I wanted a rugged GPS and the Map60C has proven to be a good choice for my family's geocaching adventures, durability will matter in the field. Make sure that you do a few things as soon as you get your GPS; Use a screen protector on the glass screen itself. You can purchase these at The Source and they can be trimmed to fit your screen with scissors. If your GPS has a belt clip with the round peg that screws down, make sure you put LocTite on that before you tighten it. These are both tips you will be glad you followed if you decide you are going to actively geocache. A key ingredient to successfully getting large amounts of prepared data into your GPS is the ability to hook up to the computer through a serial port or a USB port. A GPS that can do this is a good thing to have if you are geocaching a lot, it saves a lot of time that is otherwise spent keying in coordinates. A USB connection is much faster than a serial port, if you have a mapping GPS and you transfer maps to and from your GPS you will want the USB port. Get an antenna, this will allow you to use a handheld GPS easily in a vehicle. Check your GPS to make sure you have an antennae port and if you do then an antenna is an excellent vehicle add-on. If you use a GPS in the car a power adaptor can usually supply power to the GPS, this lets you leave it on all the time without worrying about the batteries. Batteries are going to be required, lots of them. A good choice is a short cycle rechargeable battery charger and lots of batteries. I use a dozen or so which allows a couple of spare sets for my GPS and one spare set for my digital camera. I have never used the case I purchased for my GPS. The way it covers the keys makes it feel awkward for me so I just rely on the maker offering me a robust product. I have dropped my GPS many times, it still seems to work. I am not sure that would be true if I did not select a robust unit. A GPS used in geocaching is almost certainly going to get wet, get dropped and generally will suffer the same indignities as any other outdoor item.

When you first get a GPS you are going to go and find some geocaches and the type of geocache you find will depend in a large part on where you live. There are some areas where there are not a lot of geocaches, some smaller cities and towns have none and you have to drive a fair distance to find a geocache. In any case the first thing you have to do is familiarize yourself with a few websites. The main listing service and the service I recommend is geocaching.com or GC. When you go to that website you will have the ability to search for geocaches, from the Home Page take the Hide & Seek a Cache link and this will take you to the main search page. After you enter your home postal code and submit your search you will get the results listed by proximity to your postal code. This gives you a search radius of 100 miles which is the default. The search results page will contain information about each cache including the size of the cache, the type of cache and the distance from your chosen search center. Another good way to visualize the location of caches near you is to download and install Google Earth and run that prior to starting your adventure. Google Earth and the geocaching KML file are excellent programs for looking over your area. If you have never looked for geocaches near your home coordinates you may be surprised to find that there are many close by, choose some that have been recently found and go have some fun.

If you want to make a cache you start by reading the guidelines posted on geocaching.com. This will give you some insight into the rules the reviewer will use in deciding to publish your cache. After you have a good idea of the rules then you need a location that does not currently contain a geocache. It is a good idea to try and choose nice locations but isn't a rule. Then you need to choose a container or containers as the case may be, this is the actual making of the geocache and will be related very closely to the hiding spot. Remember that a geocache is supposed to be in place for awhile, choose a quality container and you will save yourself a lot of trouble. If you have decided on a Multistage cache then you need to decide how to hide the stage(s). The methods that have been employed are endless. I have placed a link to the Cool Cache Containers thread on geocaching.com on the Local Links page. That thread is about twenty pages of neat pictures that offer great ideas and examples of crafty hides. In my opinion Lock N Locks and Ammo Boxes (repainted) make the best containers. Your choices for disguising your geocache are fairly broad and closely related to the actual terrain in your chosen location. I have found a cache container painted a simple gray to match weathered wood is actually better than any type of camouflage pattern when you are in a deadfall area on the prairie. I like black flat paint for geocaches hidden in deeply shadowed areas. Browns, greens, a mixture of both, gray, gray primers, rust, rust primers; I use a lot of colours and simple patterns. Glue can be used to add rocks, sticks leaves, grass and other natural material to the container. I often take a bag of material from the site where I intend to hide a cache; it is useful for matching colours and aiding in disguise. People will be seeking your geocache in all types of weather and in every season so a good container makes sense. Inexpensive containers do not handle the abuse that a typical geocache might experience. After you have a location selected, and a container disguised for the spot you have chosen, you need a few sound items - nothing expensive is required. Small trinkets are fine as many children geocache, dollar store items are also used, geocaching themed items are popular, the choices are endless. If it is an item you would not give to your children or grandchildren, don't place it in a cache. Some people hide small containers which cannot hold any trade items, others choose large containers which can hold lots of trinkets. Clean, dry and sound is the best rule of thumb, geocaching is a family activity and most children enjoy trade items. Now your geocache is almost ready to go. You should have a geocache note in the cache that explains exactly what the container is so non-geocachers will know what it is; the best way to prepare this note is to laminate it to make it durable and waterproof. The last few items are the most important, the logbook and a pencil. Avoid pens, they freeze in the winter and the ink can ruin a cache quickly, inexpensive mechanical pencils are a good choice, these pencils can be had for about the same price as a sharpener. It is often a really good idea to make sure that you have the best backup, a standard Mirado or other high quality pencil, (The Real McCoy) and a decent small pencil sharpener. This will provide the most reliable performance under all conditions. The logbook can be fancy or plain but many geocachers prefer the official logbooks. The GC logbooks are high quality logbooks. Now you are ready to hide the cache, I always decide the name early so I can use it when I prepare the cache note. Place your logbook in a high quality Ziploc or other resealable bag. I always add a note asking geocachers to leave the pencils out of the Ziploc as pencils rip the baggies very easily. You can use camouflage tape, paint or even nothing to disguise a cache, it all depends on the location. Regardless of how you have decided to disguise the cache the last and perhaps one of the most important things to do is add the information that "THIS IS A GEOCACHE" in a prominent location on the container. Special stickers and stencils are available for this task; you can also use something as simple as a felt pen on the paint job.

The simplest questions often require the lengthiest answers. Hiding a geocache is fairly straightforward and can be a fun and rewarding experience. Hiding a geocache that people really like is going to be a bit more work and hiding one that is nondescript and unremarkable is the easiest thing to do. There are a lot of things to keep in mind when you hide a geocache but the primary thing is the location. Location doesn't mean the most breathtaking spot; the best location is the spot that best suits the geocache you intend to hide. Remember that a geocache has two ratings, one for terrain and one for difficulty; these will determine the best spot. A very difficult to find micro might be best hidden in a picnic shelter where searching will have little or no impact, a beautiful trail in the park might suggest an easier hiding spot so that searching through the vegetation does not cause damage. The combinations are endless and here are a few rules of thumb. A geocache rated as a 1 star for Terrain should be reachable by those who are wheelchair bound, every step of the hunt has to be considered before you rate a geocache a one. If the final hiding spot is ten feet off the trail in a hole high up in a tree, it is not a 1 star Terrain, it is a 1.5 or 2. Terrain rated 3 stars or higher is not suitable for children. A 4 or 5 star Terrain rating indicates very rough terrain, hands and feet required, possibly climbing gear, experienced outdoor enthusiasts only. Rate your cache correctly for Terrain and it will be far more enjoyable, if it rated incorrectly then searchers may find themselves in a place they might not choose to be, or they might end up carrying ropes and gear to a cache that can be reached by hiking. 5 Star Terrain always indicates special equipment or extreme difficulty. Boat only caches, scuba caches and mountain cliffs all fall into the 5 star Terrain. In addition to the Terrain rating a cache will have a Difficulty Rating and this rating is often difficult to pin down. A 1 star difficulty is essentially a walk up cache, many caches placed in remote locations are one star caches; there is no need to hide it well as only serious hikers are likely to be near the cache. A 2 star difficulty might keep people looking for a while; it is much more difficult to determine when a hide is two stars. I have seen many geocachers using the rule of thumb at 15 minutes of searching for each star. The ClayJar Rating System says that a three star cache could keep people looking all afternoon. Once you have found a few geocaches you will realize how difficult it is to fool some people!!! There are actually very few 3 star difficulty caches. A 4 star cache will often require multiple visits to find. It is very challenging, according to the ClayJar Rating System a Difficulty 4 star cache should provide "a serious mental or physical challenge" and some caches provide both. Many Puzzle Caches are difficult to find and easily qualify for a lot of stars, it is much harder to produce a 4 star Traditional, a 4 star Traditional that is not a micro is much harder to pull off, geocachers are clever people. After you have thought about the Terrain and Difficulty rating you should assess possible spots, the best spots are ones you already know and enjoy that are close to your house so maintaining a cache is not a big problem. Look for hiding spots that do not attract attention, you geocache should be found by geocachers but not by non-geocachers. You can make a hiding spot or find a hiding spot but make sure you read the guidelines on geocaching.com before you select the spot. Private property, railroads, major structures, schools and other sites like military installations will all preclude the hiding of geocaches in that area. National Parks, some State Parks, reserves and ecologically sensitive areas are almost always out of bounds. Use common sense, people will be coming to look for the geocache and they will park where they want, approach the cache the way they want and search in the manner they choose, you have no control over these things but a little imagination can go a long way towards anticipating what might happen. Make sure you select a quality container no matter what size of geocache you are placing. Unique containers are attractive but the real standard for a container is keeping the cache and logbook dry. Using a poor quality container is the single largest failure that occurs when new hides are being set up. The work required to make a hide memorable justifies the use of a good quality container in every case. I try to use ammo boxes, purchased at Princess Auto for all remote caches. I use Lock N Lock's for most of my urban caches. If I see a unique container I will try and build a cache around the container but most unique containers are not suitable for outdoor use in the Canadian climate. I try and place my plastic cache containers in hides, I often make hides from old tire tubes or anything else that is weather resistant and resistant to outdoor decay. Margarine containers, ice cream pails, peanut butter jars, film canisters, pill bottles, cool whip containers and all disposable containers (Gladware etc...) are very poorly suited for making geocaches. Dollar store plastic containers do not resist the elements well and often crack or degrade after a short exposure to the sun or the snow, the single best thing you can do is select a good quality container. Make sure you paint the container and try to write on the inside with indelible marker. This destroys the utility of the container for in house use and discourages some would be thieves. Rubbermaid and Tupperware can both be used but neither takes kindly to paint, the Lock N Locks are available at Zeller's and love to be painted. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes making them the perfect choice for a high quality hide. Keep your first few hides fairly simple until you see what people are going to do to find your cache, you have no control over the visitors to your cache and things will often be replaced in a fashion that you may not have selected. I have had to look for my own caches and some have been hidden better than I originally hid them some have not. Don't worry too much about making the first cache you place an earth shaker, start with small steps and work your way up. Do not worry about things like FTF prizes or rewards, the people who search for the cache won't be focusing on the goods they will be focusing on the logbook. Try to make your cache a permanent placement, think about the long term effect of searchers on the hiding spot. Use a laminator to laminate cache notes and information cards for the cache. Use high quality plastic bags to hold the logbook and regular plastic bags for things that might be damaged by water. Make sure to include a pencil and don't use pens as they freeze. For the same reason, don't put liquids like shampoo or conditioner into a cache. Don't add scented items into a cache that is placed where animals might try to gain access. Once you have the parameters of the cache selected, the location selected and a rough idea of what might make decent trade items you are ready to place your cache. If you want to place a good cache you have to think about how you are going to comply with the guidelines at every step of the process. The guidelines can be your inspiration when it comes to placing a great geocache. It is good to get excited about hiding geocaches and it seems pretty easy but time is tough teacher so it really is a good idea to listen the voice of experience and you can find the most knowledgeable geocachers on the geocaching.com forums. The GAS Geocoin and the GAS Project have threads on the Lethbridge Geocachers Forum website. The GAS website is also linked on a thread called Geocaching Alberta South on the Canada National Forum on Groundspeak's geocaching.com website.