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Do you really need a GPS for Geocaching???


Interruptor

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I'm new at geocaching (found out about it yesterday!) icon_smile.gif and I was wondering, why the hell do you need a GPS? When I first heard of it, I thought that the only orienteering equipment used was the gps unit, the only thing you knew was the direction and the distance, everything else you would have to improvise. Then i started reading more about it and the equipment includes a map, a compass, etc... If you have the coordinates, the map and the compass, what's the GPS for? making it extremly easy? People even post the instructions on how to get to the spot! unless you're in the midlle of the desert or the sea (where there's no reference points)!...

 

So... can I start Geocaching without the device? Real man can do it just by following the sun (and barefoot!) icon_smile.gif

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No, you do not need a GPS receiver. However, even if you have excellent orienteering skills, many caches may be more difficult than you think.

 

My daughters use 7.5 minute topos and a Silva Ranger compass. But, their success rate would be much lower if I didn't let them augment with NAPP images from http://www.lostoutdoors.com

 

Remember, a 30' cliff can go unnoted on a 7.5 min topo - but top or bottom of that cliff, like which side of a river or stream, can make a huge difference when you are looking for a ammo can sized container.

 

The sport would probably be too course if GPSr's weren't routinely used for hiding.

 

-jjf

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I have found a number of caches without GPS. My success rate is alright but I do think my 'not found' list would shrink quite a bit if I tried using GPS on those caches. Many types of vegetation can appear as featureless as desert sand.

 

-WR

 

"Why worry when you can obsess?"

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I think it'd be great to find a cache w/o a GPS. I may have to give it a try soon as I had to send my Garmin back to fix what I broke last weekend. icon_frown.gif

 

Please don't post any caches with coords derived from TopoZone or MapBlast please. If you can't find a cache because you have no GPS it's no disaster, if someone gets hurt trying to reach your cache mislocated and misrepresented in this way it can be a disaster.

 

~erik~

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Most caches can be found without a GPSr. I've personally done about 120 that way. I didn't even buy a GPSr until after I'd found 33 caches.

 

However, certain types of caches are considerably more difficult without one. These include multi-caches, caches in areas where there is very little terrain variation, and caches in areas where I can't get a decent aerial photo. Ironically, most "locationless" caches REQUIRE a photo of a GPSr in order to claim a "find." I often also use mine when caching with my kids (ages 3 and 6), who get bored when I can't locate a cache fairly quickly.

 

I've found that GPS-less caching makes your basic 1/1 or 2/2 cache a lot more interesting. On some caches, I've even taken to "memorizing" the map, and finding the caches neither the map nor GPSr.

 

Placing caches is another matter altogether. I always use my GPSr when placing caches, even when I design the cache to be found without one.

 

25021_1200.gif

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Speaking from my epxerience, my success rate is better when I'm NOT holding the gpsr. When I'm holding, I focus too much on the readout and not enough on just looking around.

 

I suspect that the proximity of an led screen negates the positive power of "the force."

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My brother and I would cache c-rations then later MREs in the national forest in far in places so that when we ventured in during the late hunting season we would map out the coords to the hiden cache. It was fun to relocate these after a snow fall. We would each share the written coords to our hiding spots. Now we can fall back on this if we feel like being real men, but the GPSr is alot of fun too.. icon_biggrin.gificon_rolleyes.gificon_biggrin.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Night Tracker:

My brother and I would cache c-rations then later MREs in the national forest in far in places so that when we ventured in during the late hunting season we would map out the coords to the hiden cache. It was fun to relocate these after a snow fall. We would each share the written coords to our hiding spots. Now we can fall back on this if we feel like being real men, but the GPSr is alot of fun too.. icon_biggrin.gificon_rolleyes.gificon_biggrin.gif


 

One nice thing about D rations (the survival cousin of the old C and K), you'd never snack on them and leave yourself in a pinch in a real emergency...

 

MREs aren't that bad, but I'd still have to be awfully desperate to go actively search for one! icon_wink.gif

 

-jjf

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I have tried to find two caches so far and I have two finds so far (started today). I found them both by looking at the map and the description and I didn't even cheat. I admit I got lucky but I think a GPS is less important than paying attention and thinking like a person who is trying to hide a cache in a "cool" spot. Having said that, I can't wait to get a GPS! icon_biggrin.gif

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