Garmin GEOCACHING introduction

introduction to

GEOCACHING

© 2001 GARMIN Corporation

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September 2001 Part Number 190-00252-00 Rev. A Printed in U.S.A.

Introduction

Did you know that there are hidden treasures waiting to be found
tucked away in the mountains, forests, waterways, deserts, cities or parks
near you? How would you like to have a treasure map that tells you where
they are buried? Do you have a place that you would like to share with
others, but just need to give them an incentive to get there? The answer for
adventure is a new and growing outdoor activity called geocaching. “Geo”
for global and “caching” as in fi nding a hidden treasure.

What is geocaching?

It has been called everything from high-tech hide-and-seek, global
scavenger or stash hunting to a modern version of the
classic Easter egg hunt. Geocaching is an entertain­ing adventure game for GPS (Global Position­ing System) users. (For more information on
what GPS is, download our “GPS Guide
for Beginners” from the GARMIN manu­als web site.) All you need to get started
is a GPS unit and an Internet connec­tion. Participating in a cache hunt is a
good way to take advantage of the won­derful features and capability of a GPS unit
and to get outdoors to see new places. The
basic idea is that individuals and organizations
set up caches all over the world and share the
locations of these caches on the Internet. GPS users can
then use the location coordinates to fi nd the caches. Once found, a cache
may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. If the visitor takes
something from the cache they are asked to leave something for the cache.
For some, the biggest reward is the thrill of the search and the discovery of
a place that they have never been.

So what’s in a cache?

A cache can come in many forms, but the fi rst item should always be
the logbook. In its simplest form a cache can be just a logbook and nothing
else. The logbook contains information from the founder of the cache and
notes from the cache’s visitors. A logbook might contain information about
nearby attractions, coordinates to other unpublished caches, and even jokes
written by visitors. If you get some information from a logbook you should
give some back. At the very least you should leave the date and time you
visited the cache.

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