I thought it would be nice to hear how some of you got into Geocaching. So take a little time and jot down how you came about this fun and exciting game.
Geocaching is a new sport to our family, and it is funny how we got started into it.
My 11 year old son was at the Dalton Park and he came home with a treasure he had found. Of course my wife and I did not think much of it. A few days later I read about Geocaching on the internet. As I explained what the cache (pronounced cash) was to my daughter, she said that it sounded like what her younger brother had found at the park. That was when I realized my son had stumbled upon a Geocache. I called him in and had him get the treasure he had found so we could take it back. I got on the internet, went to Geocaching.com, and downloaded the coordinates for the cache at the park. I used my GPS to find the spot and when I had found it my son told me I was right on. We put it back and then went back home. I then checked for other caches around our zip code and downloaded them into my GPS. We then headed out to see if we could find them. It didn’t take us long to locate a few of the caches that were listed. Once we had found the caches we went back on the internet and logged the finds.
This has become a very addicting sport, and we now go out as often as we can. The registration on Geocaching.com is free, and you don’t have to own a really expensive GPS to make it work. There are many articles to read to help you understand just how to do it and how to log your finds. We have now been able to complete caches in Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Canada. If you want to try a really fun sport, which can be done alone, with a friend, or with your family, then try Geocaching.
Hello, my name is Kevin and I’m a cross addicted cachoholic!
ReplyDeleteIt all started just about two years ago when my oldest son, Brian (from a previous marriage) visited us over the Thanksgiving Day holiday. We talked about a lot of things but he had mentioned geocacheing. I was interested and learned more online. Brian, being part of Team Blueball invited me on a caching run and I accepted. We found 5 caches that day and I found myself a new outdoor activity that allowed me to use my love for technology, meet my passion for the outdoors and let me “play” treasure hunter (which was one of my favorite games as a kid).
After a while I wanted to start hiding. I knew what I was doing and what folks wanted by reading forums, logs and other geocaching material but, I wanted my hides to be different. After trying different things I settled into doing elaborate cache pages, detailed hides in challenging areas that most any cacher could do without any special equipment but they would know this was no ordinary cache. So, in addition to being addicted to finding caches, I was addicted to hiding caches too. I was absolutely cross addicted!
It was about this time when I turned into a Geocaching “pusher”! I was talking about geocache to friends, coworkers, neighbors, even strangers and, yes even my family! Anyone who would be willing to listen. I started interacting with the caching community and began to develop friendships with people who were just as far gone as I was. I built a web site, participated in forums, started threads, created topics and began to realize something. Even in the short time that I have been geocaching, the sport was changing. It was beginning to come into its own and was catching on like wildfire. I knew that someone had to help guide the sport towards a place where it was all good and it didn’t lose its diversity or be confined by too many rules. I decided I was going to help shape the future of geocaching one cache at a time. And, I was starting with my own by making a commitment to keep mine stocked with swag, operational at all times and available to all users. I then started to help friends hide theirs, supported new cachers and built a reputation as a resource in the field. If you were a new cacher (under 25 finds) and logged a find on mine, I would surly follow up with a “welcome to geocaching” email that some of you may have received.
Today I have my addiction under control. I do more helping others these days than caching myself and balance my time with friends and family. I don’t lose too much sleep these days over being the FTF and if I have to post a DNF well, then that’s just what needs to be done. Yes, today my passion for caching is greater than ever but more centered around the betterment of the sport and the support of new cachers who will truly shape the future of this fantastic hobby, sport, outdoor activity, obsession we call Geocaching.
Your friend in caching,
Bloodhounded
Great story Kevin. I enjoy hearing how people got started into the sport. Keep it up. I am also really getting into hides and also big caches. I found one late last night with my kids and it was a 5 gallon bucket loaded with SWAG. What a great job Pete did on that one.
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