First Time Geocaching

For the last year I've really wanted to buy a handheld GPS.  Like all things I want to purchase, I researched it to death for a year, decided to buy one and then decided against it.  Finally, I'd said, "I wish I had a GPS right now" for the last time.  I waited for the right deal and bought my Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx from Cabela's on sale.

I bought the GPS with the intention of using it mainly for hiking, biking, and kayaking.  It was not until I started researching GPS units that I became familiar with geocaching.  For those who don't know, geocaching is a high tech treasure hunt where people hide caches containing goodies or logs and others use the given GPS coordinates to find the cache.  Geocaching.com is an excellent resource for geocaching information along with listings of registered caches.

I used geocaching.com to find a supposedly easy to find cache in my area.  Information about the cache can be found here.  The cache I chose is a microcache so it is very small.  I plugged the GPS coordinate into my GPS and set off on my bike to find the cache.  I brought my backpack with me containing my Garmin, manual, water, pen, pencil, camera, batteries, phone, and keys.  It took me a little while to figure out how the unit worked, but once I go the hang of it I located the coordinate fairly easily.  Unfortunately, by the time I biked there, figured out the GPS and started looking, the sun had set and it was starting to get dark.  I think the cache is in a tree at the coordinate site, but I wasn't able to locate it there.  While I was searching I got a few sideways glances from the few passersby.  The mosquitoes were about to carry me away so I chose to leave before I found the cache.  On my way back home I biked right by a snake lying on the sidewalk!  I have a fear of snakes so it gave me chills even though I was safe on the bike.  It was a black snake about 2 feet long.  It slithered off the path toward the lake when it realized I was so close.

Even though I was unsuccessful, I learned a few lessons from my first geocaching experience.  First, always bring bug spray when geocaching at night in the Florida summer months!  At the end of the trip they were everywhere.  Second, next time I will bring a flashlight with me.  I could have spent more time searching with a flashlight.  Also, never bike with your mouth open during mosquito season!  I ate one before I learned that lesson.  I also need to be aware of my surroundings and the wildlife that I may encounter.  I don't need to be searching for a cache and stepping on an angry snake.

Overall, I enjoyed my first geocaching experience.  I plan to try again to find the cache in the next week or so.

Geocaching Track