What To Bring When Geocacheing? Options

[rpwings]

I am new to this hobby. I found this site when looking for GPS info and thought "this is great!". I found 2 caches near where I live so far and I know there are more I am starting a list of things I need to bring with me during those "expeditions". First off, a GPS (ok, need to go buy one) then what else do you suggest?

Some of the obvious: pen, paper, maps, cache descriptions, good shoes, hat, photo equipment...

Thanks for your help,

RPwings

[AuntieWeasel]

Here's my checklist. (Yes, I wrote it down. I forgot too often):

GPS
Compass
Binoculars (don't always take these to the cache, depends)
Cell Phone
Camera
Wallet
This Notebook (the one with the checklist)
Handheld (Palm device)
Bug Spray (a must!)
Water
Spare Batteries
Stick (don't leave home without a stick!)
Trade Items

I've got another list somewhere of stuff that I should bring but I wouldn't be lost without, like extra logbook pens and spare logbooks, in case one is needed.

This post has been edited by AuntieWeasel: Jul 4 2004, 01:00 PM

[Spencersb]

[Smogman]

Also I add the following Items

Toilet Paper (depends on length of trek)
Gloves
Flashlight
Lip Balm
Pen and Pencil
And I keep all the above items in a ready to go Jansport book pack
works great!!!!!!

[AuntieWeasel]

[Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

beer

[dampeoples]

depends on where you live and what type of cache is around. 95% of them that I have found around here require nothing more than a GPS

[Gizmo & Brazin]

In addition to all the goodies listed above: We take extra logbooks, pencils, pencil sharpeners, zip lock bags, garbage bags and extra stash goodies. That way if we find a cache whose logbook is full, pencil missing/broken and low on trade items, we can leave the cache in better shape than when we found it.

[Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

more beer

[RacerGirl8]

I also carry a bottle of Anti-Bacterial Hand Cleaner or Handi Wipes. Because after touching some of these caches you may want to wash your hands. Also I always bring my sunglasses and suntan lotion. I want to have fun not get fried like a lobster.

[tirediron]

GPSr, PDA (w/ Cachemate, Fugawi Palm, and Mapopolis) trade items, and (depending on location/duration) hiking stick, water, snacks, et cetera...

[Torry]

#1 - pack some common sense. Don't wander around the city tracking down light pole micros dressed like Indiana Jones on expedition. Pack as light as possible if your car is handy to save grief.

I usually carry little more than the GPS, pens,pencils, exra notebooks, trace goodies and maybe a bottle of water for anything lengthy. If I am going on a major expedition I may go fully armored but rarely do I need bother.

I get a tad testy when waiting for some of the more techno-oriented folks to get all their gadgets for a 5 minute walk to a pillbox.

[briansnat]

[rpwings]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I expected to receive help but you all are great. Those were great ideas and suggestions and depending on the cache surroundings I'll be able to pick and choose what makes best sense for the occasion.

Thanks again. Maybe we'll meet on the run!

RPwings

[Boot Group]

How about swag to trade? That's an important part of our pack. Or do you just sign logs? We have a little kit of swag because the kids always want to grab something. We normally carry our bag of swag, a first aid kit, a couple of bottles of water, bug spray, sun-tan lotion, the cell phone, our digital camera, and the print out for the cache we are seeking (we are not paperless).

[Tahoe Skier5000]

Water, GPS, 2 replacement sets of batteries, DCamera, Water

This post has been edited by vw_ev: Jul 5 2004, 06:33 PM

[Team WRK&FSH]

I'd add a fishing pole to most lists!

[Spencersb]

Another thing I usually take, especially if I'll be hunting multiple caches in an area without returning to my truck in between, is the printout of the cache page inside a plastic sheet protector, the kind used to put them in a 3 ring binder. Then I attach a small carabiner clip to a belt loop, so I can hook the sheet protectors to it, keeping both hands free.

[MedTexPlacer]

Some other things to consider Extra Dry Socks, extra shoes or boots, umbrella, cell phone, pocket mirror, Treking Stick, trigger type grabber (very useful for caches in high places and to keep from being bitten by snakes and other varmits), cache pages, pens, pencils, trade goods, extra log paper for micros. Extra log books. Plastic bags for logs.

[Worf's Pack]

Having a list is great but the thing you need that day is what you forgot.. I keep a vest
with pockets stuffed with things. My car is filled with supplies. A walking stick is great,
batteries, compass. I always forget the cell phone. I have a pocket filled with ziplock bags because I had to cross a river and didn't want the electronics to get wet. Been there for a year never used them again. It all depends is how much junk you want to be draggging through the woods.

[4x4van]

In addition to my aluminum hiking staff, I have a small/medium sized "hydro-pack" style backpack that I use on most caches. It's about 6" deep by 7" wide x 18" tall, with multiple pockets, and it's amazing what I can carry in there. Here's the current list:

GPSr (on shoulder strap)
Cell Phone
2-way Radio (on other shoulder strap)
Camera
Tripod
Water bladder (2-liters)
Compasses (2) (one small one clipped to shoulder strap)
ID/Emergency #s
Knife
Whistle
Flashlight
Can Opener
Screwdriver/Pliers
Nylon Cord
Strap Hardware
Matches
Signal Mirror
Cable Saw
Logbook/Pen
Maps, cache printouts/etc.
Calculator
Spare Batteries
Washrag
Soap
Rain Poncho
Sunscreen
Bug Repellant
Handwarmers (2)
3/8” Nylon Rope (20’)
First Aid Kit:
-Band-Aids
-Butterfly Closures
-Ace Bandage
-Adhesive Tape
-Cotton Balls/Swabs
-Antiseptic Cream
-Iodine Swabs
-Bug bite Swabs
-Gloves
-Instant Ice Pack
-Eye Wash (2)
-Chapstick
-Muleskin
-CPR Mask
-Snake Bite Kit
Solar Blanket
Toilet Paper
Fire Starter Sticks (2)
Cyalume Light Sticks (2)
Trash Bag
Ziploc Bags
Pedometer
Flashing Red Taillight
Swag (of course)

Sounds like alot, but it only weighs about 8 pounds, including water. It's amazing what you can pack if you do it judiciously <sp?> using compact, backpacker-type items. It stays packed all the time, so I can just grab it and go.

For the shorter jaunts, I toss the swag into a fanny pack along with my GPS, cell phone, camera, logbook, and a smaller first aid kit. The fanny pack also has a couple of water bottles attached.

[Tahoe Skier5000]

^^^

[lilbluyze]

The only thing I could add, and I do so from experience, is a shovel, sand in a bucket or cat litter. WHY? After getting stuck 3 times in one day, I wished I had something to help give me traction. If I had some sand or cat litter I could have put it under the tires for better traction. Obviously I got out or I wouldn’t be sitting here sending this reply.

Oh yes, news paper to cover the floor of the vehicle to keep mud out of the carpet.

Lilbluyze

[4x4van]

[Zoptrop]

If you wear contact lens - bring along a spare set. I get disposable contacts (a box of each) and I keep a pair in my desk, car, backpack, bike pack, canoe pack.

Nothing really bites more than being 100 miles from home and losing a contact out in the woods or at a state park.

[Hozho]

Check out this site for all types of outdoor protection from the Sun and the Cold Weather.
The Cold Weather Stuff is out of site, i have used it a lot being an Iron Worker, it is really Top notch for your face and hands in winter time.

Have not checked out the Sun Stuff, been inside three months, with only Sunday off so far.
If anybody trys the Sun Screen Stuff lets us no how it Works.

dermatone.com

Hozho.

[Couparangus]

That list of tackle is unbelievable! I don't think the armed forces equips their commandos with all that gear.

When I go caching I usually include the following:

- mountain bike (with toolkit)
- helmet
- GPS on handlebars
- water (lots!)

I've yet to encounter a contingency that called for anything over and above this.

Cheers!
C-A

[4x4van]

Yeah, my list even surprises me when I actually look at it! Thing is, I started with just a few items and have added a bit here and there, eventually ending up with that. Again, my hydro pack is relatively small, but has a good number of pockets, so it's all organized and easy to access, weighs very little, and still has room for a pretty good amount of swag items and some snacks. And while I will admit I've never had the need for 95% of what I carry, it's comforting to know it's there on the offhand chance that something happens and I do need it.

My son (11 years old) and I are heading for Mt San Jacinto Peak in 1 1/2 weeks, approximately 12 miles total, starting from 8500ft (top of the Palm Springs Tramway), climbing to 10,800ft (the Peak), and then descending to 6000ft (Pine Cove area). I'm comfortable knowing that I'm prepared for nearly any contingency that might arise. When hiking that distance with your kids, you definitely want to be "over-prepared", not "under". One unforseen incident can turn an otherwise nice day hike into an emergency overnight situation, or worse.

While alot of the short jaunts/caches require only my fanny pack with just a few items, I find that my hydro pack is small/light enough that it's almost as convienient and easy, so it's practically a toss-up, unless I'm going after an urban-micro or a cache-n-dash.

[saltyfish]

[trail hound]

Now we know why you travel in a VAN

[fly46]

[okpondlady/N5PNE]

We have a medium sized file box from Wal Mart that contains:

GPS and Camera in one kit
pens/pencils
paper
cache sheets pre printed off in notebooks for regional areas where we live (Tulsa, Downtown, Midtown, North, Wagoner, Tahlequah, ECT)
Backpack
Flashlight
Swag Bag
Walking sticks (not in box)
DEET/Bugspray
Duck Tape (it has 1000 uses you know)
Flares
Light sticks
2 way radios
First Aid Kit

We don't go to far yet from the Cachemobile soooo don't need much. We don't necessarily carry all this stuff with us when we leave the van though. Now N5PNE says we need a snake bite kit too...in Oklahoma maybe he is right...dunno.

Karen aka okpondlady

[1setter]

Something everyone should take.

A collection of plastic Walmart or grocery bags for hauling out garbage. They weigh nothing on the way in. CITO !

[4x4van]

[jrcache]

Your many replies have lots of fine suggestions, I would only add: Carry a grease cutting soap like Dawn, small bottle of Isoproply Alcohol, bottle of water to keep in the trunk of your car. In your GPS pack include some Isopropyl Alcohol hand wipes.
As you can see I am a believer in being prepared for an encounter with Poison Oak or Poison Ivy. Prevention is better than a cure. I also carry an old mop handle as a walking staff/bush prodder. Those plastic and metal cache container sound off nicely when prodded (lightly) with the walking staff, it is also nice for shoving brush and branches out of the way so you don't have to do it by hand.

[guttergrrl]

4x4van, my partner and I wish we had your pack with us on Monday night! We started caching way late in the evening thinking it would be a quick find, got way off the trail, the gps died, and it got very dark very quickly. All we had was the GPS, the printout, and a half bottle of diet coke between us. After wandering around in the woods for an hour in total darkness, we finally called it quits and settled down for the night. And of course we had a huge thunderstorm around midnight that lasted just about forever! It was wet and scary, but we managed to get out okay once the sun started coming up.

Needless to say, our geocaching gear list just expanded exponentially.

[inventorjg]

CITO Container and bunches of H2O, travel bugs too.

[kayaker22589]

Man you guys all that stuff. All I bring is:
GPSr
Knife
And Swag

And it all fits in my pockets

[Thot]

I’m not sure why I’m posting this as it mostly repeats what others have said, but it’s from the perspective of an old guy who only recently began geocaching, and to some extent this is a game better suited to younger more agile people. I had to give up on one cache that would have required a mild form of acrobatics to reach it and get back.

I use a denim carry bag to keep things together/collected to take to the car when I start out, but I don't take it out of the car on the hunt. My stick stays in the trunk between hunts.

1) GPSr & extra batteries
2) Printed copies of the first page of the cache descriptions, & a zoomed map linked from the description page. Copy of current working cache folded in pocket, the rest are Note 1
3) OFF/Deet - in Houston this is essential -- jillions of mosquitoes and West Nile Virus Note 1
4) Digital Camera. extra batteries are Note 1
5) Compass - which I rarely use because it never seems to help. Recently this is Note 1
6) Right hand glove - for sticking hand into/under worrisome places. In pocket.

I think the following ones are more important to us old codgers who can't climb, stoop, bend, squat and kneel like younger folks. And, irregular ground is more of a problem - it threatens a fall and things break easier. And, I don’t bring wading boots.

7) A stick for walking on irregular ground, moving stuff aside and poking around in worrisome places (mine happens to be 2 cm square meter stick with a wrist strap on one end)
8) Inspection mirror -- a mirror with a telescoping handle. To peer into, above and under hard to reach places. (I'm considering taping on a penlight flashlight to shine on the mirror.)
9) Compact binoculars - for seeing places I don't want to have to climb, crawl, wade or walk a log to unless I know there's a payoff. Note 1

I have a couple of bottles of water and a cell phone in the car -- I rarely go more than a mile from the car.

I don’t carry swag because I don’t trade. I go for the places I see and the hunt. Occasionally I leave geoGeorges. I have never taken anything.

Note 1 – left in car until needed

This post has been edited by Thot: Jul 22 2004, 07:57 AM

[LukeH]

I refer you to my classic list. This is for 1/1 caches in urban parks. The list of items I take for difficult ones is too long to post (would crash the server):

[4x4van]

[Sputnik 57]

I may have missed it in the lists above, but I would add a Leatherman or other multitool

[Thot]

[4x4van]

[gabegarwick]

[Niss Feiner]

In my pack I carry:

First Aid Kit Including:
First Aid Guide
10 Adhesive Bandages 3/8" X 1 1/2"
3 Adhesive bandages 3/4" X 3"
1 Knuckle Bandage
2 4" Adhesive Strips
1 Guaze Pad 2" X 2"
1 Alcohol Pad
1 Antiseptic Pad
1 Moleskin 1"*3"
1 Travel Towel
1 2 3/8" Steel Needle

SAS Survival handbook
Flashlight
Headlamp
Swiss Army Knife
Camera
GPSr
Spare Batteries
FMP
Swag to trade
Zippo
3L Water Bladder
Snacks
PDA
FRS Radio
Nylon Rope
Permanent Marker
Spare Ziplock Bags

This post has been edited by Niss Feiner: Aug 11 2004, 08:34 PM

[NightPilot]

You can get lots of models of hydration packs at WalMart, Target, sporting goods stores, etc. Just look around and see what you like.

What I carry depends on the cache. In my truck, I have lots of stuff, but there is no need for most of it for most caches. A micro in a shopping center parking lot, or in a bush in a busy park really doesn't call for 40 pounds of gear in a pack, and you really draw attention to yourself if you dress up like that. I can dig out whatever I need, and what I need varies a LOT.

This post has been edited by NightPilot: Aug 12 2004, 04:55 PM

[kone]

I am fairly new to geocaching but on a recent hunt I had the batteries die on my GPS... and I didn't think to bring extras. So, luckily I wasn't so far in the bush that I couldn't here nearby highway traffic, I just followed the sounds out. I didn't get the cache, and I almost got completely lost. Teaches me to always BRING EXTRA BATTERIES!

Oh, and don't forget to stock up on those little pencils the next you're in IKEA. (yes, I put IKEA pencils in caches if they are missing a writing device)



This post has been edited by kone: Aug 13 2004, 08:54 PM

[The Puzzler]

[Charles Iverson]

As you might know us Geo-Cachers Are out just about Anywhere
some times with nothing more that our Gps,Map and Compass,and a water bottle
in the boy scout's they have something called
QUOTE
The Ten Essentials kit or TE-K for short. Pronounced (tee-kay)


In the TE-K We have

1. A Pocketknife
2. A First aid kit
3. Extra Clothing (as in layers of clothing. Pack for the Weather!!!)
4. Light Rain gear or Poncho ( can be used as Extra Clothing
5. A Water bottle
6. A Flash Light (With fresh batteries!!!)
7. Trail Food * (Look below for a List)
8. Matches and Fire Starters (Try soaking cotton balls in petroleum jelly
you can pick some up a local drug store!! put store them in a old film canster
They burn for about 8-10 mins As is!!!!
9. Sun Protection ( sun screen or a hat )
10. A MAP and Compass ( don't foget this!! this is in Case your gps Breaks Down!!! So you can find your way out!!!

if you pack it right its about a 1/2 to 1 lb

Trail Food List

( Before you go eat a good Hearty Breakfast!!)

Stuff that works well as trail food are
1. Trail Mix ( with m&ms mixed in is ok)
2. dried fruit
3. mixed or UN mixed nuts
4. raisins Crackers with Peanut butter OR Cheese (the packaged ones!! Spray Cheese does not work well!! And might make a mess)
5. Energy Bars ( Cliff bars, Power bars, Balance Bars
6. Beef Jerkey (drink lots of water with this)

NO CANDY!!!! If you are hiking its all most pure Sugar it will give you a
Quick boost but no energy!! It will slow you down!!!

AND NOW YOU HAVE A FULL TE-K IN CASE YOU GET STUCK SOMEWHERE!!!

HAPPY GEOCACHING!!!

Researched
BY Charles J Iverson Eagle Scout