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Geocaching--What to Take |
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Essentials In addition to the obvious GPSr, and your items to trade, here's what else you shouldn't leave home without: Log pen--Besides those micros that don't contain a pen, there may be another reason to carry your own. If you're as much of a creature of habit as I am, you find yourself sticking the log pen from the cache into your pocket after you're finished with it. Carry your own, and get in the habit of using it instead of the one from the cache. Water--Take more than you think you'll need. Face it--sometimes your planned one-hour hikes turn into four hours. Sun screen--Again, on those unplanned extended hikes, you'll toast without this--and that's not good. Insect Repellent--This is basic Geocaching survival equipment. You can count on chigger bites in wooded areas, and mosquitoes will hover unseen in the undergrowth until you're distracted by opening the cache box. Then they'll strike with a vengeance. So spray your shoes, pant legs (you wouldn't go Geocaching in shorts, would you?), and exposed skin before starting out. Technology Alert - I've acquired some electronic mosquito repellers, and my field testing has shown them to be moderately effective for me, but not effective at all for my daughter. First Aid Kit--Skinned knees and elbows are the most common injury I've seen on Geocaching trips, so I pack my first aid kit accordingly.
Compass--If
your GPSr doesn't have a built-in compass, it can only indicate direction if
you're moving along at a fairly good clip. When you're almost zeroed out, and
standing still, the normal variations in GPS accuracy can cause the GPSr
direction pointer and compass rose to swivel around seemingly at random. But if
you can read the bearing to the waypoint, a regular compass can then give you a
steady and accurate direction. In this short-range situation, compensating for
magnetic variation is usually not necessary. Flashlight--Sooner or later you will run out of daylight before you find the cache, and you won't want to admit defeat. And there are night-only caches out there. Or you might need a light to check a dark hiding spot for rattlesnakes before reaching in. Spare Batteries--Take spare batteries for your GPSr and flashlight. Printout of cache information page--Sometimes it is possible to miss vital instructions when reading the page online. Having the information available on the trail can save a cache. Of course you won't need them, but be sure you print out enough pages to get the encrypted extra hints. Someone in your group will want to decrypt them on the way back home to see how silly it would have been to need that kind of help. If you have any suggestions for adding to this list, please email me. (You'll need to be logged into geocaching.com to use this link.) |
Conveniences Not necessarily essential, but occasionally quite useful: Spare Flashlight--Even if it's just one of those key chain LED flashlights, it's a good idea to have a spare. If you have to change batteries or bulb in your primary flashlight, it can be tricky in the dark. If you cache at night, the spare flashlight may fall in the "essential" category. Calculator--If you go for multi-caches, and your GPS requires coordinate entry in decimal degrees (such as W30.53364), you'll have to convert coordinates in the field from the degrees and decimal minutes format. Without a calculator, you'll have to do error-free long division in a cloud of mosquitoes with your rear-end full of cactus thorns. Also, some caches require you to do math as part of the solution. Trash-Out bag--Clip a plastic grocery bag with handles on your clothes or gear with a carabiner, and leave the park cleaner than you found it. A couple of extra pens--Your own pen or the one in the cache with the log might run dry, or someone might have absconded with the one from the cache. Hat--mostly for protection from the sun Gloves--Gloves are good protective equipment when bushwhacking in thorns or reaching into holes and crevices to pull out cache boxes. Emergency food--Back to those unexpectedly long hikes again. If you're Geocaching for fun and not as a means of self-punishment, a snack on the trail can make the difference between "great" and "so-so". Weather radio--When the weather starts to change during a long hike, it's good to be able to turn the radio on and see if something's up. FRS radio--Geocachers use channel 2 Cache Rehabilitation Kit Sometimes you'll find a cache that is damaged, or it will be obvious that the cache is missing (and you still want to be able to get a smiley). Carry a rehab kit in your backpack and you may save the day for yourself or someone else. Container--Carry your kit in a generously-sized plastic-ware container that you can use to replace a missing cache or damaged container. Replacement log book and pens Replacement film can micro--a complete package, including log and pencil Re-closeable plastic bags--large and small Paper towels--to dry out a wet cache and contents If you have any suggestions for adding to this list, please email me. (You'll need to be logged into geocaching.com to use this link.) |
Carrying It All A backpack is the obvious choice--but here's an alternative. I'm now carrying my stuff in a photographer's vest. All those pockets are great for keeping things organized and stashing things so you don't have to put them down to free up your hands. (I read an account of someone losing his GPSr because he set it down while looking for the cache, went farther than he thought, then couldn't find his way back.) There's something of a learning curve at first, until you memorize where to look for each item. Sometimes while bushwhacking with a backpack, I would lean forward to squeeze under some limbs, and the backpack would get hung. Or I would turn sideways to try to slip through a narrow gap between trees or rocks, and the backpack would kind of defeat the purpose. The vest doesn't stick out so far. After testing the vest in really hot, humid conditions, I've found that it doesn't get too hot for me. Others may find otherwise. One benefit I've discovered in having the vest: when I was using a backpack, my kids never volunteered to carry it. But now they insist on taking turns wearing the vest! A Note on Batteries Starting with your GPS, many geocaching tools require batteries. If you can standardize on a battery size, you may not have to carry so many spares. Most of my electronic devices use AA cells:
A couple of four-packs of AA cells can serve as spares for all of those items. It's unlikely they'll all run down at the same time.
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