The Maritime Geocaching Association

If you are new to geocaching, here are some tips to get you going.

Q: How does a person find a geocache?

A: Part of the fun of geocaching is deciding how you get to a cache’s location. You may know its coordinates, but you have to look at a map and choose the best way to get there. Some caches are more obvious than others. Some can be pretty tricky.

Q: Just how tricky can they get?

A: Well, I’ve done lots of micro-caches and frankly, I hate the ones that use little thimble-size containers. There’s also a series of geocaches in the Bay Area called “terrain-challenge” caches. On a map you can see them clearly, but figuring out how to get there is a real tough navigation challenge. Maybe the best way to reach one is to use deer trails, and those can be hard to find. A lot of times a standard cache will be hidden among logs or in a pile of rocks. When I hide one and I try to think about the direction people will approach it so its location won’t be obvious. Some caches give away their location, like being buried under a pile of bark that would not occur that way naturally. I’ve found a geocache when I wasn’t looking just because I spotted a pile of suspicious-looking rocks and I decided to go take a look.

Q: What kinds of containers hold a cache?

A: For years people have preferred ammo boxes with geocache stickers. They are totally weatherproof, never degrade and are a good size. But with geocaching being a somewhat clandestine activity, the trouble with ammo boxes is that non-geocachers in parks can be easily alarmed by such things—particularly by military ammo boxes.

Q: Are any alternatives available?

A: A company called Groundspeak has come up with plastic containers with geocache stickers. They even have a fake rock that acts as a container. People get pretty creative when making their own caches. Hollow plastic fruit has been popular in the past. People making homemade caches just need to be careful. I’ve heard of people using metal cylinders wrapped in camouflage tape with wires dangling from them. That’s going to be questioned by non-geocachers, no doubt. I heard of one person who wanted to create a geocache that made a pun on technology, so he took an ammo box and decorated it with old circuit boards. Then he hid it under a bridge. Someone saw it, reported it and the road was closed so the box could be examined. It was done innocently, but he just didn’t think through all the possibilities. Most geocachers know not to create a cache that could be mistaken for a bomb.

Q: Do most geocachers know how to play the game?

A: There are some rules and basic etiquette that most people follow:

• Hide a cache just off a trail so non-geocachers won’t notice it or be bothered by people looking for it.
• Hide it in a way that won’t disturb the environment; place it so people can look for it without doing any harm to the surrounding terrain. If a site is being damaged, the cache is pulled.
• Camouflage it to blend in with its surroundings so it is less likely to alarm non-geocachers.
• When you find a cache, take it away from the hiding spot to avoid exposing its location to others.
• Hide it the same way you found it; don’t make it harder for the next person to find.
• Replace anything you take with some other trinket you bring.
• Sign the log. Do the same online.

Q: Any geocaching tips you can share?

A: A GPS is used constantly in geocaching, but all a GPS needs to do is get you to the area where a cache is located. If it tells me I’m within 10 to 20 feet of a cache, that’s all I need, because maybe the person who placed the cache used a GPS that was accurate only to 50 feet.

Once you get to the area, you’ve got to go back to using your brain. Take your eyes off the GPS and start looking around. Ask yourself, “What’s in this area that might be a good hiding place?” A normal geocache is about the size of a lunch box or food container. So think about a log or hollow tree stump—some place that’s not too sensitive.