[Dee Rokus]

And I thought of Ninja R.

There is apparently a 'GEOCACHING MEGA-EVENT' in Perthshire.

[Ninja R]

Yet another brilliant reason to start geocaching.

And no, people who think they're going to pretend they placed caches without having placed anything there -- there are mechanisms in the cache approval process to prevent that.

[Ricky van Wolfswinkel]

I actually went geocaching and found some. It was ace.

[Dee Rokus]

I'm going to geocache to see if I can find a left back to give Celtic.

[Ninja R]

For me, it's less about what's in the cache and more about finding the damn things in the first place. I like the challenge.

[Dee Rokus]

I was making a joke about SOCCER.

[Ninja R]

No one pays attention to association football.

[Ninja R]

I'm paddling out to these two islands tomorrow (download and view linked files in Google Earth; when opening, drop down the file type to GPS [gpx]) to get a couple of caches with another cacher.

One

Two

Should be fun.

[Dee Rokus]

I now have a phone with GPS on it (years after everyone else). Someday soon I may give this a go.

There's even some kind of 'geocache app' which seems rather superfluous.

[Ninja R]

Real GPS or GPS simulation? There's a difference.

Geocaching with a cell phone can be a bitch. The accuracy is around 50 feet, which is kind of fucked when you're trying to find something pretty small. It works, though...I know people who use them exclusively. Just don't hide one using a cell GPS. There are a couple of former cachers around here who pretty much got blackballed out of doing things in the area because they recorded cache coords with their iPhones. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but when coords happen to fall on private property and the cache is 75 feet away, it can cause some serious issues.

And yeah, there are some geocaching apps out there. I've heard they're pretty slow...only seen one used one time, and it crawled.

If you're going to start up, find one close by and plug in the coordinates in Google Earth or Google Maps. Take a look at the area and mark memorable spots...hell, I used to print out maps the first few times I went out. Sometimes, it's pretty easy to tell where it is if it's in a parking lot or something, so you can figure out approximately where it is and use/test your GPS' accuracy.

[Dee Rokus]

Ok! It's real as far as I can tell. By simulation do you mean the kind of 'GPS' which relies on being within range of a cell tower or wifi signals? I suppose a sure way to test would be to go the 30 miles or so into the mountains, where there's no signal.


Anyway I got all nerd-excited using the SatNav app for walking down the street lol.

I remember from looking at the Google Maps site that there are some nearby (there's a huge park at my back door, more or less). I will do as you suggest!

This post has been edited by Dee Rokus: 02 August 2010 - 04:42 PM

[Ninja R]

Dee Rokus, on 02 August 2010 - 04:41 PM, said:

Ok! It's real as far as I can tell. By simulation do you mean the kind of 'GPS' which relies on being within range of a cell tower or wifi signals? I suppose a sure way to test would be to go the 30 miles or so into the mountains, where there's no signal.


Anyway I got all nerd-excited using the SatNav app for walking down the street lol.

I remember from looking at the Google Maps site that there are some nearby (there's a huge park at my back door, more or less). I will do as you suggest!

kk, just checking. GPS sim (yep, off cell towers and WiFi) is even less reliable. Those things are really meant to get you from point A to point B within a range of error. I mean, if you need to know how to get to the local marmite store, they're good tools for that....not like you can miss the marmite storefront because marmite is in such exceptional demand.

Geocaching is extremely nerdy. Just sayin'. There are two types of geocachers around here: Very, very, very, blindingly smart and dog dumb. The middle grounders are few and far between. One of my caching pals is a weapons engineer for Lockheed Martin and is absolutely the smartest person I've ever met. He and I get together for the more difficult puzzle and heavy terrain caches.

Make sure to note hints given and the container size. Because you're just starting out, you don't know what the containers look like, so it'll be hard to spot them. Around here, stuff in parking lots are usually hidden under lamp skirts. I don't know what it's like over there in Heathenland without electricity.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Geocaching is a blast, I seriously recommend it. Started off with my dad when I was little, now whenever we have a family vacation he looks up some remote challenges near where we are going. It's like finding a fucking treasure chest, and you feel like a hero.

Ninja is right, the phone apps just don't hold up to a proper gps device. I suggest getting one thats reasonably weather/waterproof and durable. Might seems like a pricey investment now, but if you end up getting it you'll be really happy you did. We've done a couple ones we had to kayak to, and one where we had to cross a river to get it it. Also, it'll be a handy tool in the zombie apocalypse!

I havn't done it in a while, I'll have to call my dad up and plan a trip.

[Ninja R]

The cockknocker who has my travel bug needs to move it along. Damn thing's been sitting at his house for almost three months now.

http://www.geocachin...aspx?id=2485372

It's traveled 1,189 miles, only to have this flippin' guy hold on to it.

[Ninja R]

Finally went out to an island with a pal of mine today. Was going to go for another one on another island farther out, but it was a flat out bitch getting to this one in the first place. Halfway there, I jumped out of the boat and swam the rest of the way.

Here's the view from the island back to the opposite shoreline (no, that's not me in the picture).

 fromGoatIsland.jpg (153.34K)
Number of downloads: 0

This post has been edited by Ninja R: 08 August 2010 - 05:05 PM

[Dee Rokus]

I think geocaching in London would be a good way to get shot 7 times in the head by undercover cops.

[Superman]

this seems really nerdy

[Ninja R]

A travel bug I found down the road found its way to Scotland.

http://www.geocachin...51-f2dea9c1d2f4