A section of the Health Avon Trail, a wonderful spot I would never have known about were it not for geocaching. And this is just one of many.
How to start out? Aye, there's the rub. If you're a self-starter chances are you've skipped this section and are already out there caching. But if you're like most people you'll likely need some kind of a nudge and that's going to be a problem.
While a lot of regions have some kind of geocaching club the Region of Waterloo does not. I was fortunate when I started out in a couple of respects - the second being a geocaching club* from another region decided to do a group event on the St. Jacob's Trail. I happened to find out about it and on a cold December 27th met them and peppered them with questions the whole day.
The first time I lucked out was on my first ever cache. It was in a wooded area easy walking distance from home. I got to where the GPS said I should be and did not have a clue how to go about looking for the cache. All of a sudden I looked up to see someone else headed my way with his nose buried in his GPS. Turns out this was an "Inukshuk"er (caching name) and he patiently answered all of my questions and gave me tips while simultaneously finding the cache in two seconds flat.
These two encounters were the nudge I needed to get started on my own.
Most cachers, including myself, are thrilled to provide a nudge because we love sharing the experience of geocaching. So if you know someone who caches contact them.
If you don't, contact me.
Just want to talk a bit about geocaching its own self. On that first cache when I bumped into "Inukshuk"er I wasn't certain what was kosher and what was not. I didn't know if I should read the logs on a cache page before looking for the cache or if that would be considered cheating. "Inukshuk"er said to me, "I read anything that will help me find the cache".
So here's my point - no one can tell you how to cache - no one.
Once you get on a cache page at geocaching.com you'll see the Hint, if there is one, is encrypted. Some people like to try to find a cache without using the Hint. If they can't find the cache then they'll remove the encryption and try again.
No one says you have to do this. Want to read the Hint before you go looking for a cache? Read the Hint.
Along the way you'll encounter a number of situation ethics. For example, you're out caching with a friend and Friend finds the cache. Do you also log it as a Find even though Friend found it? Can't tell you. You have to decide. I do know that about 100% of people would log it as a Find as well, including myself - if I felt I would have eventually found it. But that is just the way -> I <- cache.
Have I ever not logged a Find if a friend has found it. Yup. Once. This cache was so hard and I was so not near finding it that it just didn't feel right logging it as a Find. But that's me. No one can tell you how to cache.
That said geocaching is based on an honour system. If you want to log a thousand caches without even leaving home well, what can I say? The world is full of deluded you's.
Geocaching has few moral requirements - you honestly find the cache and you respect both the cache and the property around it. That's about it.
I really hope you try geocaching. I also hope that these web pages have been useful to you.
If you have any questions or suggestions, post them in the Forum or use the Contact Me page.
Maybe we'll bump into each other on a trail some day. I'd like that.
waterloo.bob
* The name of that geocaching club is - Golden Horseshoe Monthly Geocaching Club (GHMGC). You can contact them on Facebook and ask to be put on their notification list.
While a lot of regions have some kind of geocaching club the Region of Waterloo does not. I was fortunate when I started out in a couple of respects - the second being a geocaching club* from another region decided to do a group event on the St. Jacob's Trail. I happened to find out about it and on a cold December 27th met them and peppered them with questions the whole day.
The first time I lucked out was on my first ever cache. It was in a wooded area easy walking distance from home. I got to where the GPS said I should be and did not have a clue how to go about looking for the cache. All of a sudden I looked up to see someone else headed my way with his nose buried in his GPS. Turns out this was an "Inukshuk"er (caching name) and he patiently answered all of my questions and gave me tips while simultaneously finding the cache in two seconds flat.
These two encounters were the nudge I needed to get started on my own.
Most cachers, including myself, are thrilled to provide a nudge because we love sharing the experience of geocaching. So if you know someone who caches contact them.
If you don't, contact me.
Just want to talk a bit about geocaching its own self. On that first cache when I bumped into "Inukshuk"er I wasn't certain what was kosher and what was not. I didn't know if I should read the logs on a cache page before looking for the cache or if that would be considered cheating. "Inukshuk"er said to me, "I read anything that will help me find the cache".
So here's my point - no one can tell you how to cache - no one.
Once you get on a cache page at geocaching.com you'll see the Hint, if there is one, is encrypted. Some people like to try to find a cache without using the Hint. If they can't find the cache then they'll remove the encryption and try again.
No one says you have to do this. Want to read the Hint before you go looking for a cache? Read the Hint.
Along the way you'll encounter a number of situation ethics. For example, you're out caching with a friend and Friend finds the cache. Do you also log it as a Find even though Friend found it? Can't tell you. You have to decide. I do know that about 100% of people would log it as a Find as well, including myself - if I felt I would have eventually found it. But that is just the way -> I <- cache.
Have I ever not logged a Find if a friend has found it. Yup. Once. This cache was so hard and I was so not near finding it that it just didn't feel right logging it as a Find. But that's me. No one can tell you how to cache.
That said geocaching is based on an honour system. If you want to log a thousand caches without even leaving home well, what can I say? The world is full of deluded you's.
Geocaching has few moral requirements - you honestly find the cache and you respect both the cache and the property around it. That's about it.
I really hope you try geocaching. I also hope that these web pages have been useful to you.
If you have any questions or suggestions, post them in the Forum or use the Contact Me page.
Maybe we'll bump into each other on a trail some day. I'd like that.
waterloo.bob
* The name of that geocaching club is - Golden Horseshoe Monthly Geocaching Club (GHMGC). You can contact them on Facebook and ask to be put on their notification list.