Welcome to CarolinaCacher


Welcome to my CarolinaCacher site. I'm Randy Hefner. My caching screen name on GPSgames, Geocaching, and TerraCaching, is RanHefner. I have been caching since June 24, 2005.

You may be asking, "What is caching?" You would probably know it as Geocaching. Geocaching is the combination of technology, outdoor activities, and treasure hunting. You use a GPSr (Global Positioning System receiver) to locate hidden containers of different sizes and shapes. All cache containers will contain a log (piece of paper, notepad, or notebook) to document your finding of the cache. Some containers are large enough to contain trinkets for trading. The rule is that you take somthing and leave something.

There are many handheld GPS receivers on the market ranging from around $75 to over $400! All of them will get you started with geocaching. The more expensive ones are good for geocaching and road navigation. The two most popular companies offering GPS receivers are Garmin and Magellan.

Garmin offers a GPS Guide For Beginners. It is a little "technical", but does offer a lot of great information about how the Global Positioning System works.

The online "How To" manual, wikiHow, offers a very good guide to geocaching. This is a good article for beginners. This article takes you step-by-step from selecting a GPS receiver and how to log your find.

A good place to start is to join a local caching club. There are several in the Carolinas. If you live in North Carolina, you should join the North Carolina Geocachers Organization. This "club" is for everyone in North Carolina or anyone interested in caching in NC.

If you live in the foothills area of North Carolina, there is a group for you! The NC Foothills Geocachers is affiliated with the NCGO above, but is targeted towards the members living in the foothills.

If you live in the Asheville area of North Carolina there is a Yahoo! Group called Western NC Geocaching.

If you live in the upstate of South Carolina, there is an organization for you. The Upstate South Carolina Geocachers Association covers the 10 counties in the northwest portion of South Carolina.

There are two South Carolina state-wide geocaching organizations. South Carolina Geocachers Association and South Carolina Society of Geocaching.

Join the organization that best fits your needs and participate in their events. You will get more out of geocaching by making new geocaching friends!
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Saturday, November 15, 2008

I got my first Pathtag today!

I got my new Pathtag in the mail today. I am very happy with the results.

I decided to show my interest in GPSgames.org with this Pathtag. If you are not sure what Pathtags are, they are similiar to a geocoin, but smaller and far less expensive. They are the size of a United States quarter.

They differ from geocoins in that they are not trackable on Groundspeak. There is a serial number on the back. This lets you log it at Pathtags.com and add it to your collection.

There is a large group of Pathtag traders. You can offer any Pathtag you have for trade. If accepted, you both will send each other the Pathtags traded.

The cost of a new Pathtag is $99. This includes the making of the stamping die and 50 Pathtags. You can select an number of colors you want. Since the Pathtags are small, you can't get too detailed with the design, but with a little creativity, you can design a very nice Pathtag.

If you are interested in creating a Pathtag, I offer my help in designing it. Just send me a message and I will get all the details and start designing.

Take a tour of Pathtag by watching this YouTube video.

Posted by CarolinaCacher
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1 comment:

P.J. said...

I've often looked at pathtags, but in the end I just stick to the wooden coins as my sig item. That being said, I have collected a few and down the road when I have some spare $$$ I might very well go for it!

A 'lil HooHaa

November 17, 2008 at 12:20 AM

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