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I've been geocaching (very occasionally) since 2003. The weather has been spectacular the last few days, so I went out with some friends and found some caches. The novelty of taking/leaving items has worn off, plus most of the enduring caches tend to be tiny "micro" caches with just a paper log to sign. I'm happy just to find and log them. Geocaching is definitely not as popular now as it was in the mid-to-late 2000's, but there are still tons of caches in my area. Anyone still getting out and doing this?
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Apr 10, 2023 17:59
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 06:43 |
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I always forget to go Geocaching when I travel. Apparently I've only found caches in my home states (at the time), and for some reason, several places in the Bahamas. I think the thing that has killed some of the magic for me is that GPS on phones is more accurate than on the old dedicated GPSr units. They can use WiFi signals, cell tower triangulation, and other tricks to figure almost exactly where you are. With a clear sky and strong cell signal, my smartphone can often get me within five feet with +/-5 feet error radius, so I spend a lot more time staring at my phone screen. Plus, assuming the coordinates are accurate, the maps on my phone are so good that I can often tell exactly where the cache is, down to the specific tree or bench. In the old days, you'd import (or manually type!) coordinates into your GPSr, head toward the general area of a cache, and about 30-50 feet out, you'd put it away and just start searching. I know, I don't have to do it that way. Heck, I still have my old Garmin GPS (with 20-year-old road maps loaded on it). But the app is there, and easy to use. By lowering the barrier to entry through technology, finding a tricky cache feels less like an accomplishment. Or, more likely, I'm just old and jaded. But it's still fun to go out on a nice day and go hunting for caches with friends.
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Apr 11, 2023 15:46
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schwein11 posted:I do get sick of the same common hiding spots, especially in urban areas where I do most of my geocaching. Light pole skirts I’m looking at you. The first light pole cache I found absolutely blew my mind. Now when I see a likely LPC in the app, I usually skip it. The novelty is gone. Plus street lights tend to be where people are around, and pulling up the skirt on a street light looks sketchy as hell to "normals". Last weekend we found a cache hanging from a hook inside the top of a chain link fence pole. I suspect this might be a common hiding spot, but it was new to me, and it seemed ingenious at the time.
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Apr 12, 2023 14:14
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I found a neat cache with a Schrodinger's Cat theme. At the time of hiding, the owner placed 100 small cardboard boxes inside the cache. Each box contains a "cat" (a small wooden token with a picture of a cat on it) that is either alive or dead -- a 50% chance. Each finder is instructed to take a box, and either open it or not, their choice. The box also features a QR code you can scan to register whether you opened your box, and whether the cat inside is alive or dead. I didn't open mine (so my cat is equal parts alive AND dead), but my caching partner opened hers: her cat was dead, and it had a "death certificate" absolving her of any responsibility to the cat. It was a fun theme that took a fair amount of work from the creator. A welcome change from the standard "pill bottle covered in camo tape hanging from a random tree" caches that I tend to find.
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Jun 5, 2023 22:03
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Well Played Mauer posted:Went out for the first time ever with my wife and kid. A downed tree blocked our way about 30 feet into some brush so we didn’t find anything but it was still a lot of fun. It's a bummer you didn't find it, but keep at it! It's a fun hobby and a great excuse to get outdoors. Use the map on the Geocaching website to scope out your local parks. Often there will be several beginner-level caches in a typical city park, especially ones that have wooded walking trails. If one has gone missing, there should still be others around to find.
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Nov 3, 2023 19:24
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