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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2 comments:
It is apparently difficult to just sign your name with some cachers. It's all about the numbers. If they have to stop and actually sign their name, they lose "valuable" time that could be using traveling to the next cache.
@Webfoot...Thanks for the comment. I have used the preprinted labels before myself. I have never used them on limited space logs. I wonder if cachers that utilize this practice ever maintain geocaches? As you could see by the picture, I blurred out the names. I am not trying to shame any individuals, but, I did need to show an example. A "true" geocacher will consider this when finding and logging the geocache. It is easy to distinguish the ones who are out for themselves and those who are for the good of the sport. The main reason for my blog post was to help new geocachers know the proper way to do things. We learn by watching. I hope this will help them develop good habits.
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