Summary

GPSr (Global Positioning System Receiver)

Any GPS’r will do just check out the GPS threads in the forums for more information. The most common mistake is not setting the GPS to WGS84 when cache hunting.

Other Equipment Required

You are outside and walking use your head (and eyes) the only other common piece of advice is to bring spare batteries for the GPS’r.

Researching and Finding a cache

For your first cache look at those difficulty and terrain ratings. Go for a cache light in the grade i.e. Difficulty 2 Terrain 2 at most. Try to find one in area you are familiar with.

Use the mapping links to print out the road map to the nearest parking. Be prepared to spend about 30 minutes hunting and finding the cache. Make sure you read the cache page and other people’s logs.

When you find the cache move away from the hiding place to sign the log book and do your (fair trade swaps) reseal the box and hide it as well as or better than you found it.

When you get home write up a good found it log as this is the cache owner’s reward for placing the cache.

Or you can team up with an existing cacher have a look at waymarking.com for a list of cachers near to you who are willing to help you to find out more about it.

Placing a cache

BE PATIENT find at least ten caches before you hide one. This is to save your cache going missing in action. Follow the guidelines on the GAGB web site for hiding a cache.

Travel Bugs

Follow the guidelines on the web site again for these. Please don’t keep them and move them on as soon as you can.

Acronyms

The most common ones are TNLNSL TFTC = Took Nothing Left Nothing Signed Log Thank for the Cache

Miscellaneous

Get out there! Have fun. Don’t get disappointed if you don’t find it (DNF) try an easier one

The meaty stuff

GPSr (Global Positioning System Receiver)

Good places to try are eBay and GlobalPositioningSystems.co.uk.

ANY GPSr is fine for Geocaching as long as it has the ability to input way points (set positions) and you can pick new ones up from about £85

Notes on buying (or not buying) a GPS receiver.

1) Some caches can be found without a GPSr if you know the area. Look for a 1/1 cache in your listings, and see if you can work out where it is from the description and clue.

2) If you post your general location when saying hello in the forums, local cachers may offer to hook up and show you the ropes while you borrow their GPS receiver. There have been successful public events in Hampshire where this has happened.

A cheap GPS receiver (GPSr) is as good as an expensive one for starting out caching, so it's not too much outlay. If you don't enjoy caching (unlikely!) then the GPSr has many other uses, it won't be a wasted purchase.

GPSr selection - the cheaper models do not offer data cables. A data cable will become invaluable when you become addicted (you know it's going to happen). A data cable allows you to download bulk way points from GC.com (if you are a premium member) in a matter of seconds where it would take days to enter them manually.

Ensure the GPSr is set to HDD.MM.mmm WSG84 before you go looking and way point the car if you don’t know the area

Spend a few hours practising with your new GPSr as well, mark your home as a way point and use it to navigate back home (pretend you don’t know the way?  )

Extra utilities like Electronic Compass and Altitude etc. (which eat up battery life btw!)...are not all that necessary for the even the most experienced geocacher

OK now for the common problems

Make sure the datum is set to WGS84! Don't try using OSGB with lat/long co-ordinates as it just doesn't work, stick to the co-ordinate format used on gc.com and you should be OK

Also multi path can be a big problem in tree covered areas, it's where the signal is bounced off objects (trees) before reaching the GPSr. 

Other Equipment Required

Spare batteries for your GPSr and a mobile phone always useful

Remember that AAA batteries don't last as long as AA's when choosing a GPSr 

Also, rechargeables are reasonably cheap nowadays and well worth the cost 

A good pair of all weather walking shoes / boots is essential in our experience, get ones with a sturdy tread to minimise slippage and subsequent breakage / sprain age / twist age.

1=spare batteries for GPSr and torch

2=a torch! Regardless of time of search

3=a map of area, especially wooded areas or wide open spaces

4=proper footwear and clothing (waterproof).I even take a very lightweight mountain shelter in case the weather turns very nasty or a casualty needs keeping dry or warm

5=few choccy bars or boiled sweets

6=drink of some description

7=mobile phone, charged and with credit.

8=small medical kit, plasters, talcum powder etc.

Finding a cache

Before you head off for the cache, save the position of your car into the GPS. People have been known to have difficulty finding their way back to it 

If you are reading this then the chances are you are already registered on GeoCaching.com. Make sure you input your home location and then you can view all your nearest caches!

I recommend printing out the cache page for your first target and reading it very carefully. You can click on the Streetmap.co.uk link on the cache page to get an idea of the location of your cache too.

Put the co-ordinates listed on the cache page into your bright and shiny new GPSr and follow the arrow to the cache location.

With any luck you should find your first cache very easily but just in case there is a clue which can be decoded using the ABC key which is printed on the page. Sometimes the cache placers also add a photograph or two (called spoilers) to help you locate the box.

Once you have found your first box (yay!) you should sign the logbook inside the box. If it is a regular cache then there are probably a few items in the box which are there to trade. There is an unwritten rule that you should trade items of similar value or 'trade up' by leaving an item of a higher value please remember that lots of families go caching so only leave items that a child can look at or handle safely. You may also find Travel Bugs in a cache. These are special items that do not need to be traded. You can pick them up and drop them off as you like without a swap. It is important to check if the travel bug has any specific mission and then you can try and help it on its way.

NB. You do not NEED to trade anything. If you like you can just leave a note that you 'Took Nothing, Left nothing' (TNLN) and signed the log (SL).

There are a lot of different types of cache including many that are too small to allow trades or even no cache box at all. See Geocaching.com's cache type’s page.

When you have finished trading make sure you hide the box exactly as you found it (or better if has become exposed by weather or critters). Then when you get home log your visit on Geocaching.com and tell everyone about your adventure!

There is more information on Geocaching.com's FAQ page.

If you would like someone to take you out and show you the basics, just give a shout, we're a friendly bunch. And someone will volunteer to act as a Shepherd for you!

A must for newbie’s (& not so newbie’s) is to attempt caches with in your capabilities.

DON'T go out into open moor land etc. with out being prepared. If you get lost or injured you need a back up plan.

Most important of all...be aware of your surroundings and the surface you are walking over, many accidents can be avoided by using the MK1 eyeball

There is no "big secret" to caching. After hunting for a few dozen caches you will be able to recognise suitable areas that a cache could be hidden in. The best tip I read was "Look for somewhere YOU would hide something" after hunting for a few caches you will be able to see what kind of places people hide stuff and (unfortunately) you won't be able to pass a "nook and cranny" without thinking "that'd be a good place for a cache"   

Reseal the box with care, don't make a habit of rubbish or dangerous swaps, sign the log book, do the right thing with Travel Bugs (TBs) and that sort of thing

Placing a cache

Cache placement - it is generally advised that you find a few caches before being tempted to set your own. Varying opinions on this but I should think the majority would say 'find 10 or more before setting your first'. This just helps you learn the pros and cons of cache setting simply to ensure that you have some experience to know what makes a cache well hidden.

How do you find out who the landowner is,  Do you get their consent in writing? 

In order to find out who owns the land you just need to ask around, or if a public space then there is usually an information board. The Geocaching Association of GB is negotiating for permission to place caches with the Major Landowners. More details on our progress so far is in the Landowners Agreements Database

Consent doesn't need to be in writing although it helps to send a confirmation as your record.

Tombs and ancient mounds etc. should be left alone...........BUT...........if you place a cache somewhere near (so as not to damage it) and unobtrusive you could well be informing people of a site of historical importance that they never new of!

Don't know if this has already been mentioned but check out just how cheap ammo boxes are before buying lots of Tupperware, they are far more resilient to the elements and surprisingly easy to hide.

You rarely find a waterlogged ammo box!

You can find Ammo boxes (ex-army strong steel boxes in various sizes) online, but the postage can be expensive. Try your local Army Surplus Store.

Travel Bugs

These little critters and their close cousins Geocoins travel from cache to cache on special missions such as races or just to move about the world visiting strange places. Generally accepted good form is to move them forward in their mission if you can and give the person who put them in the cache time to drop them off (you will see them listed on the cache page) full instructions are available on the main web site

Acronyms

A muggle is the geocaching name for non-cachers. The uninitiated. Those who do not cache. Civilians. It comes, of course, from the Harry Potter books where it's uses as a name for non-magical folks.

A cache box can also be muggled, if it's found by a non-cacher (or rare, evil cacher) and either removed, emptied or otherwise damaged or destroyed. It doesn't happen often, happily, but it has been known.

SSI Sight of Scientific Interest

CCW (Countryside Council of Wales

Numbers Man (or Woman) –

Any cacher who tries to maintain a high number of finds per day/week/month/year. Sometimes used as a derogatory term by people jealous of others free (or rather, caching) time. This is because such cachers are in such a rush they can't possibly appreciate a cache in the way the setter must have intended. Mostly a light-hearted phrase used in forum banter for anyone who's racked up lots of finds. There is no obvious equivalent term for people who hide lots of caches, release lots of Travel Bugs, etc.

Research

Look at the difficulty and terrain. Terrain is your call however attempting a 5 difficulty cache for your first attempt will probably lead to failure however after 10 or so 3* finds they should become a little bit easier.

When you read the cache page,  pay attention to the past logs. Sometimes they give hints but even more important you can get an idea of how hard they are, whether kids have enjoyed that hunt, whether muggles were present and whether it has taken several attempts for experienced finders to find. 

Or even that the last 10 visitors have been unsuccessful - it could save a fruitless search.

And realise that not all cache pages clearly outline the dangers ... so be prepared to call it a day if you suspect that you might be taking a risk you normally wouldn't take ... and either give it a miss or come well prepared next time 

If you have found all the caches near home, it's not economic to travel say 50 miles just for one cache. If you can bag 10 to 15 while you are there it makes the fuel costs worthwhile.

For us, part of the challenge is the planning the weekends caching in advance, using the various mapping tools available to work out a rough list of which caches to do in what order. We are having great fun at the moment planning IOM and Edinburgh trips in April.

Miscellaneous

Event caches are a great way to meet up with fellow cachers to swap TBs and stories of caching wounds/escapades.

All Newbie’s are also welcome to join the UK stats race. It’s just for fun but I find it is an extra encouragement to get out there and cache - as if we needed one!

Cacher of the Month Tables

And don't forget - bottom place is a hotly contested slot!

That is just it - the beauty of this sport/game/obsession is that you can tailor it to suit your own lifestyle.

So some rush around and the thrill of the hunt is sufficient and others take their time and enjoy the places they have been introduced to.

Everyone has their own way of playing the game. Some decrypt the clue at home, some on the trail. Some do it at night because they choose to, or they work all day every day. Some like ones up mountains and some like ones you can reach from a wheelchair - and I guess they don't have a choice in this. So long as the cache isn't raided, it's well rehidden and the cacher respects the countryside around it

It does get harder to keep up the pace when you've found all the ones in your local area and have to make a days expedition to find more - and if you're caching for the day, it makes sense to find as many as you can in the fresh area you target. With over 9,000 caches in the UK, and more popping up every week, you don't need to worry about running out of ones to hunt. And if you do, turn your attention to hiding the coolest flipping' caches in the world - ever!!

If you run low on caches there are always Trig points 

That is without doubt, the best thing about Geocaching.... opening up new areas of interest that otherwise, people would never have heard of let alone considered visiting

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