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Geocaching - real world treasure hunting

Started by Barry Admin, April 19, 2019, 08:44:51 AM

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Barry Admin

Anyone do this, or done it in the past? I was discussing it with one of my Ingress pals - basically it's a treasure hunt where you get clues to go and find stuff, but I didn't realise that you then leave the treasure there for others to find, and mark it down in a log book, so the owner can verify it. Something along those lines. Little magnetic boxes stuck in odd places and such, hidden in plain sight at times. Seemingly for years...!

I just got the app, and the example one it gave me was clearly a reference to a bible quote. Looked it up and the passage mentions a sheep gate, and a reference to the old plate which seems to be near this thing.

I'm really excited and basically love it already, and I've not left the flat yet :-D I'm obviously a huge fan of games that use the real world as a play space, so yeah, time to get out and check out my first geocache :-D

Sin Agog

First found one of those tupperware geocache boxes seven, eight years ago in my favourite spot in the South Downs.  Had bog all idea what it was, but inside were a bunch of random objects, a notebook, and a scribbled note saying, 'Take something and put something back.' So I took a tiny plastic water pistol, put in my little torch, and copied a nature poem from the book I was reading (something by some Tang poet, I think) that must have befuddled the fuck out of whoever read it, as all they wanted was some coordinates or some such thing from a GPS.  Didn't find out what the hell that box was until years later.

Endicott

Yeah, tried it once about two years ago. Searched for about 5 different ones which were all in the local country park. Found two I think, or maybe three, which was a bit of a thrill. The quality of the instructions varies! They often use old photo film canisters to secure the little notes. It was fun.

touchingcloth

I remember a friend's dad trying to get us into this in the very early 2000s, but being about 14 with no independent sources of cash or means of transport it wasn't a hobby which immediately appealed at the time. Now that I'm older and that apps are a thing, though...is there a particular one you'd recommend?

Barry Admin

I don't know if there are different apps, or just the official one, but that's what I'm using now. I'd be interested to hear of alternatives myself.

Just about to head out now to find my first one!

BlodwynPig

Oh, there's a geocaching treasure trove in Coote's Paradise where i hike. Maybe do this on saturday. I wonder if there is pot on Rat Island!!

Barry Admin

I'm waiting for some lounging cunts to get off a bench so I can have a feel around the metal road divider thing I'm sat on. I've a feeling there's a magnetic container or something stuck on the underside of it.

Dex Sawash


I had a look about for one about 1998-99ish. GPS accuracy was dialed down pretty low then due to the threat from the commies and I never found it. Had to look up lat/lons on a bb and enter them manually into the GPS unit. My GPS had no built in map, just a dot for your position and dots for any points you had entered or saved. Nice walk spoiled. Wife loves the idea of the little hidden box of treasures (steady)

Sin Agog

Quote from: Barry Admin on April 19, 2019, 12:40:22 PM
I'm waiting for some lounging cunts to get off a bench so I can have a feel around the metal road divider thing I'm sat on. I've a feeling there's a magnetic container or something stuck on the underside of it.

I hope you waited until they were out of sight.  Might have looked a little like you were going in for a sniff.

olliebean

Me and my housemate got briefly interested in it a couple of years back when - without looking for it - we happened across a small tupperware box containing some odd little trinkets and a visitors' book under a tree branch in a local park. Got the app and went for a few walks to find the other ones in the local area, but we couldn't be arsed to spend money looking for them, so once all the ones within walking distance were found we lost interest. TBH I reckon we'd have got bored with them soon after anyway. Only that first one had anything interesting in it - the rest were just little magnetic metal cylinders with rolled up bits of paper to write your name on when you found it.

Twed

I briefly got into this around 2010. Turned out there was a cache just outside my window, under a bench. Reached under and grabbed it, along with a Boss-Level moth that wouldn't have surprised me if it spoke "So you seek that which is hidden, Quest-Child?". That was my last geocache.

Barry Admin

Yeah so, first couple were a disaster, didn't really know what I was looking for with the first one, but found a nice old dilapidated ancient building, need to go back, it must be in a hedge or similar, need gloves. Second one, the people on the bench refused to fuck off, no matter how long I loitered about for. 

Went into town this evening and met a visiting German Ingress player, and mentioned it to him, and then thought it would be cool to do one with him. He knew all about them, and I thought it would be a memorable experience for us both. He did kind of take over though and plucked the cache right out before I could actually look for it myself, that was a shitter, but what can you do.
Thanks
It was a taped up camera roll container with magnets on it, stuck in an alcove on a busy Belfast city centre high street. We took out the log - luckily he had a pen with him - and it was pages and pages rolled up. Immediately we noticed today's date already on there. I marked it as "found" on the app, and could see 7 other people had visited it earlier on! I was amazed at how popular it was, and it was exciting to think of how long it had been there, how many people visited it, how many people had no idea it was there... I'll stick some photos up tomorrow.

Fun experience, will definitely do more. Regards apps he said "c:geo", apparently uses the same data and he was advised to use it by folks when he first started. Android only though, so no good to me and my knackered old 5s.

Barry Admin

#12
After a quick search I think I'm gonna get Cachly for a fiver. But the official app gets you started, and then you have to pay a subscription fee to access harder to find ones. Hopefully Cachly is a one off fee instead, I'll see.

Edit: nope, still requires a subscription with the official geocaching bods to access advanced caches. As they seem to be more puzzle-based and such, I can see me going for a subscription to check it out, can see me really getting into this.

Twed


Ian Drunken Smurf

There were a few within about 300m of my flat, which I found, although it was quite hard to do without looking like a weirdo.

kittens

downloaded the app thanks to this thread. me and my girlfriend are staying at my family home this weekend, and just had some good fun finding a cache. can i just hide a cache wherever i want? what if i use it to trap people?

Small Man Big Horse

Mrs SMBH loves doing this, and now I finally have a smartphone I'd like to join in, I didn't know you had to pay though, is it a one off fee or a recurring monthly thing?

hermitical

I was having a quick look and I think there is the official/original geocaching app which has basic then premium, and then there are other free apps, I d/l which seems chock full of info but some of the details on certain caches are for premium users of the official/original app.

Would be glad of a one paragraph breakdown from someone please!

Twed

Barry: That "Notre Dame Bridge" gift I always send you (because I live right there) on Pokemon Go is also a geocache. Gonna have to find it when it's light outside and there are no junkies sleeping there.

kittens

mm yes most of the caches around here i need to pay for clues for it seems. sherlock holmes wouldn't do that would he.

Pranet

Sure this wasn't a thing you had to pay money for back in the day, I found one of these things by accident a few years back, got home looked it up and there it was. Now it is all sign in get our app and that.

Dex Sawash


Barry Admin

Quote from: hermitical on April 21, 2019, 12:24:38 AM
I was having a quick look and I think there is the official/original geocaching app which has basic then premium, and then there are other free apps, I d/l which seems chock full of info but some of the details on certain caches are for premium users of the official/original app.

Would be glad of a one paragraph breakdown from someone please!

I've not had time to do anymore, but have read up, and it seems that you get free caches, and ones only available through subscription. The free package apparently also only lets you view three caches per day. It's 8 quid for 3 months, or 25 for a year.

More detailed list of features here: https://payments.geocaching.com/

So the ones available via subscription are also more challenging, and I would assume, more interesting.

I'll toodle along with the free ones and maybe get a years sub for my birthday. The whole idea seems awesome to me, and I really want to experience the more challenging puzzle-based ones with more difficult terrain.

bomb_dog

Must have done over a hundred of these but stopped about four or five years ago, for seemingly no reason at all. Last I looked the main geocaching app had become subscription-based which does seem a little naughty when the things you're finding are hidden and maintained by people with no financial recompense for their efforts. Wonder if 'open caching' - the rebellious 'we think it should be free' offshoot is still going...

It was a good site though - I remember printing out cache details and then transferring coordinates to my old 'rugged' Garmim yellow via an archaic serial cable, meaning it was sometimes easier to 'type' in the cache coordinates. Now I think the iPhone does everything for you but take the lid off the film canister.

Don't forget to take a walking stick to swish down nettles, a pen, and possibly sometimes a penknife to be able to get at some hard to reach ones.  And if you get any travel bugs, take them far away and don't forget to log their movements! Some of the coins we found were very pretty.

Perhaps I'll get back into this when my little girl is old enough to play. She'd possibly love it.

olliebean

The subscription model seems especially cheeky given that they have a nice sideline in selling the containers, things to put in them and all sorts of other tangentially related stuff.