Bob DeVarney’s Geocaching Page

Bigdog not far from Colchester Woodpecker Hollow

So, I’ve heard Bob talking about this  Geocaching  stuff on the radio almost endlessly. What is the big deal?

Well, the big deal is this. It gets you out in the fresh air, to (mostly) very picturesque (fancy word for pretty) locations, and you get some exercise in the deal. And of course, you get to use that GPS you “had to have” that’s been sitting in your junk drawer since you bought it.

What do I need?

Well, that depends almost entirely on you. I’ve worked with people who can’t take a trip to Rutland without nearly a weeks’ worth of supplies, gum, candy, drinks, extra blankets, etc.

But one thing you will need most is a GPS. A GPS receiver depends on the Global Positioning Satellites orbiting the globe 24/7. With a GPS receiver, you can find your location almost anywhere on the globe to within 30 feet or so. You punch in the location of the cache (more on this later) into your GPS, and it will tell you distance and heading. I won’t make any recommendations as everyone has a favorite. I know lots of folks who are very happy with the Garmin Etrex. My personal favorite is the Magellan GPS companion for my Handspring Visor. The Visor is a Palm-OS PDA (Handheld computer) and I like it because I can keep the Geocache pages in the computer for reference when I am out caching. The GPS companion is easily as accurate as my Garmin GPS-12, in fact it seems to handle heavy tree cover better! I also have a small digital camera plugin so I can take pictures once I get to a cache. I don’t take it out if the weather is foul though… then I revert to the Garmin GPS-12.

My two GPS receivers, Handspring Visor Prism/Magellan GPS Companion on the left, Garmin GPS 12XL right

Second thing I would recommend is a good compass. If you spend less than 20 bucks on it, it’s not a good compass. I have a silva that I spent 50 bucks for, and it is excellent. I can adjust it to read true north by accounting for magnetic declination. Magnetic declination is a fancy term that means that the magnetic north pole, and the “real” North Pole are not at the same place. Here in northern Vermont, the difference is about 15 degrees. mag north being about 15 degrees west of true north. That seemingly insignificant difference can make a huge error over a long distance. I like my compass because I never have to worry if I compensated for the difference or not.

My Silva Ranger Ultra compass

Third thing, and this isn’t anything you can buy; Common Sense. You will be walking in the woods, sometimes totally off-trail. It’s all too easy to get lost (even with a GPS) hurt, or worse. Let someone know where you will be, at least down to a general area. Let them know when you will be there, and when you expect to be back. If you can avoid it, never go geocaching alone. And take along a cell phone, or some sort of two-way radio. Lastly, carry some survival supplies (first aid kit, waterproof matches, survival blanket, etc) and know how to use them. There are several excellent survival books on the market, available at your local library or bookstore. The few hours you spend getting educated can make a huge difference down the road.

Some folks take along Topo maps of the area they are caching in. This is a good idea, in case your GPS batteries go. you can still get out. Of course you have to know how to navigate with a map and compass. This would have been covered in your survival training… I hope. I like at least looking at a topo map before I go so I know roughly how tough a hike I will have in.

My personal geocaching kit consists of:

GPS (either Garmin GPS-12 or Handspring Visor)

Compass

Camera (either digital or film.. you’ll be glad you took one)

Extra batteries for GPS

Small first aid kit (available at your local Red Cross, or any hiking or outdoors sports store)

At least 1 quart water

Some sort of munchies… gorp, granola bars, fruit…

Bug spray (summer.. believe me you’ll thank me)

Common sense

Cache sheets (either paper printouts, or in my Visor)

Goodies to leave in the cache (more on this later)

Part of my Geocaching kit

Here’s why you’ll want to take a camera along

The view from Stimson Ledges taken with my eyemodule (digital camera)for my Visor Prism

Okay, you say, I have all this stuff, when can I go Geocaching?

Right now… go to the Geocaching web page, click on “hide and seek a cache” and then type in your zip code, or alternately, use the pull down menu and select your state. Pick a cache that’s near where you are. Try to choose one that the difficulty and terrain/details are 1/1 or lower numbers. These are the easier ones… better to start with one you can find easily, and that won’t kill you on tough terrain first time out. Print out the pages for the cache, including the hints and any recent logged visits. Read them carefully, because sometimes they will lead you to the cache when your GPS will not.

Before you head for the woods, make sure you have some goodies to leave in the cache. The idea is you take a souvenir from the cache, and leave one for the cache. Some of the souvenirs I have collected include: foreign coins, pins, a small (kids) flute, dog biscuits, a hackey sack, anything you don’t mind leaving behind. My nickname is “Bigdog” so I go to the Bigdogs store and pick up key chains or lanyards and leave them. I have also left bug spray in at least one cache. Spare batteries make a nice thing to leave and can come in handy. I also usually try to remember to take along dog biscuits for the 4-legged cachers.

So you have about 50 pounds of stuff in a daypack, you have arrived at the parking place; you are ready to find your first cache. A bit of advice here, not to be taken lightly: mark the location where you leave your vehicle with your GPS! If you don’t know how to mark your vehicle as a waypoint, or landmark, you are not ready for geocaching yet. Go home, and spend an afternoon playing with your GPS and the manual in your backyard! Believe me, even if you don’t find the cache you are looking for, it’s real nice to be able to find your way back to your car! Just trust me on this one…

So we have punched the location provided on the geocache web page into our GPS and we’re ready to go. All Geocaches will have a waypoint listed below the actual lat/lon.. this will get your GPS “in the ballpark” when you are manually entering the coordinates of the cache. This is best done at home, as opposed to fumbling around with it in the field, with the mosquitoes buzzing around you. This is when having the data cord for your GPS is real handy.. this lets you enter the information on your computer, and download the coordinates into your GPS. Check out the link for “read about EasyGPS”.. you’ll come to appreciate the utility of this. Unfortunately, my Magellan GPS Companion for my Visor doesn’t support this. I have to enter the cords manually, but it’s a little easier on the PDA.

Most GPSs have a “GOTO” function, just use this function. Use this function now, and choose the coordinates or waypoint you just entered for the cache as your “goto”. Your GPS, if it has been turned on for a while, and has achieved sync, will now display the bearing and distance to the cache. Pull out your compass (which hopefully you know how to use, now’s not the right time to have to learn) and choose an easily recognizable landmark (a rock, or distinctive tree) in the direction you need to head. Walk to the landmark you have chosen. Now take a new bearing with the GPS and your compass. Repeat until you get close to the cache. When you start getting close, most GPSs will start beeping to let you know this. Keep your eyes open, and if you have them, get out the hints or any recent logged visits to the cache… they can help provide clues to help you find the cache.

Some caches will be very apparent when you get there, others will not. Hopefully, you have chosen an easier one, so you will find it more easily. 

Fun for all ages

I will now assume you have found the cache. Congratulations! It was fun wasn’t it?! Open the cache, and sign the logbook, leaving any comments, or suggestions to the person who hid the cache. Leave behind your goodies, and select a goodie or goodies to take yourself. Please don’t be greedy; leave something there for others to find. If you are in a high traffic area, such as on a hiking trail, try to be discreet so non-geocachers will not steal the cache and its goodies. Rehide the cache in the same spot, and now we head back to the car. Now let’s see, which way WAS that…. Wait, no I though it was over that way… now you can see why it’s nice to have it marked in your GPS. There’s no surer way to spoil geocaching for your spouse, significant other, wife, friend, or whatever, than to get yourselves lost finding a cache. It’s no fun, and it can be potentially very dangerous wandering around the woods, particularly early or late in the year. So please, use common sense, and mark your vehicle no matter how close it is to the cache. It’s too easy to get “turned around” in the woods, especially if you are “bushwhacking” (heading cross-country or otherwise off-trail through the woods)

Now you are home, basking in the glow of having successfully (and Safely) found your first cache. Log onto the web site, and when you pull up the web page for the cache you found, click on “log your visit”. If you already have an account, log in using your username and password, if not, now’s a good time to get an account. It costs nothing, and you don’t get any more SPAM unless you ask to be put on the mailing list.. then you receive notifications of new caches , etc. Log your visit, leaving any comments, and a list of what you took and left. Please try not to spoil it for others to find by telling exactly how you got there, or where it was hidden, etc. The person who hid the cache may go in and either encrypt your log, or delete it entirely if you do this. It’s no fun if someone gives you all the clues.

Congratulations, and welcome to the sport of Geocaching! Warning, it can prove to be quite addicting!

Happy Caching from Bigdog and Crustacean!

My fiancee’ Cherie (Crustacean) and Dusty O’Dawg,our faithful 4-leggedgeocaching companion.