Newbie Requests Help and Advice

[ptd99uk]

Please excuse this rather long first post, but I’m hoping for some help for a newbie who’s very interested in geocaching, but doesn’t really know where to start.

My wife and I are in our mid-40s – we’ve been campers for over 20 years, and have recently started going on some serious but relatively gentle walks – of the sort found in “Country Walking” magazine rather than “Trail” or “TGO”. There have recently been a few articles in these walking magazines about GPS, and I’ve toyed with the idea of purchasing the Garmin GPS 60.

It’s within this context that my interest in geocaching has arisen, but I have a few questions that I’d like to ask:

Is geocaching more for the “extreme” sportsperson, e.g. are caches normally hidden half-way up (or down!) a mountain, or at the bottom of a lake or bog?

Are there group geocaching events that a couple such as my wife and I could attend, to accompany those more experienced in this hobby? If so, would we need to have our own GPS already?

Are there any recommended books for a beginner, or periodical magazines on geocaching?

Thanks in anticipation of any help given – it will be very much appreciated.

Peter

[The Hokesters]

Hi Guys,

Welcome to 'The Addiction'.

1. Geocaching is most certainly not an 'extreme' sport. Caches can be found anywhere from the bottom of your street to the top of Ben Nevis with many places in between. Every cache is also rated for your info with a 1-5 rating for both difficulty and terrain.

Some caches may involve a long walk some can be done from the window of a car so it really is a sport for all.

2. There are many events all over the country and these can be found by searching for 'Events' in Geocaching.com's search facility. Alternatively for a more personal approach why not apply for a mentor in the Geocaching.com forums Adopt-a-Newbie topic HERE (https://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=91205).

3. There are a few books available in the major bookstores (usually in the hiking sections) but these are a bit UScentric. We have a UK online magazine but it is offline currently as it is changing hands.

You might like to come into the UK GC chat room to ask any questions. Follow the very easy instructions HERE (https://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=106927).

I hope this helps but please ask any more questions either here or in the Geocaching.com UK forum HERE (https://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showforum=35).

Simon from The Hokesters... :D

[RonnieH]

I too am very new to the GPS Geocaching and consider myself hooked! I have a Etrex Vista C but my instruction manual does not tell me how to manually load reference points onto it, can anyone give me a clue?

[Bill D (wwh)]

RonnieH wrote:
I too am very new to the GPS Geocaching and consider myself hooked! I have a Etrex Vista C but my instruction manual does not tell me how to manually load reference points onto it, can anyone give me a clue?

From the online manual:

Press in and hold the Thumbstick to access the Mark Waypoint page. (You can also access this page by highlighting the Mark Icon on the Main Menu page then pressing the Thumbstick).

Highlight the Location field on the Mark Waypoint page and enter the new co-ordinates using the numerical keyboard. Highlight and press "OK" when finished.

You may also change the waypoint name and/or symbol.

You can find the online manual in pdf form here (http://www.garmin.com/manuals/eTrexVista_OwnersManual.pdf). (It's a bit over 2 meg, so it'll be very slow to load if you're using dial-up.

[Geocaching Monkey]

For what it is worth this my first weekend of Geocaching following getting a GPS as a gift. I must admit it is NOT an extreme sport - my 3 yr son comes with me and today I also had my 18 mth old on my shoulders for much of the day. IT is just a really good way to get out into the open countryside and find some really amazing hidden gems.

[RonnieH]

Thanks very much for your help Bill, easy to understand !

Ronnie