Well Well, Polwart is quite unwise about lots of things... (take the use of wind power to move a boat for instance!) I wouldn't trust anything he says about geocaching... since he's never tried it.
I have - and therefore everything I say is the law.
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Originally Posted by polwart
my brother does it. I just don't get it. if you want to wander about in the coutryside then on you go - but why spend your time hunting for a box of tat left by someone you don't know.
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The tat's not for the grown ups. Occasionally there is some decent tat that might be - but on the whole the tat is exactly that... but kids don't seem to object to swapping matchbox cars etc via a GC. For grown ups either set about moving on some geo tags (travel bugs or coins {I don't get coins by the way}) or just go with the mission of finding the thing and signing the log book...
Its about the find not the content. Polwart I seem to remember chasing you round a forrest in your younger days looking for red and white canvas shapes hung from trees with a hole punch attached... don't remember you saying "I don't get it... its just a hole punch" But that was in the days when you considered using wind to power a boat a reasonably sensible option...
There are good caches and bad - and unfortunately no particularly good way to find the difference. There is a UK site affiliated with geocaching.com (other caching sites do exist too) - the UK site has a ratings system but I don't think I rate my caches the same way as others...
To me a good cache would take you someplace you wouldn't usually go. That could be a hill top, a path or for you guys - an island! The place should be nice. I've been to some right s&&t holes caching! The cache should be well hidden. If there is a clue it should be cryptic (look under the third rock doesn't exactly make it hard to find). BUT it should be achievable... I've been to a few that are just impossible.
I haven't cached for about a year... but thats a time factor and a weather factor (if its good I'll be on boat with a big flappy white thing above it... where there are sadly no caches).
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Originally Posted by Polwart
Would adding to this help to entertain the kids?
www.opensourcemaps.com?
Seems more constructive than littering the countryside with tupperware! |
I'd say OSM is more of a teenager thing... than young kids. I may be wrong.
As for littering the countryside - two things apply here:
- it doesn't have to be a tupperware box... and if its well hidden you'll never know!
- GC.com have fairly strict rules on where caches can and can't be placed and on archiving etc to try and prevent geolitter.
I've always thought that caching and ribbing had great opportunity... Putting a cache on one of the islands on Loch Lommond makes it a fairly select cache... Just beware if you are going hunting while wearing your oilies etc you will stand out a mile away and as someone said before the idea is that muggles (non-cachers) don't find the cache as they have a nasty habit of trashing them....
Finally someone said its not social - there are social gatherings of these weird beings if you so desire... guess its like ribbing - you get together with like minded types if you want to...
.. but this doesnt involve a sail, the gear, the gas, and so on and so forth, does it ? 
) the chance to get out to do a bit of adventuring, and learn a bit about their surroundings in the process .. right now.. dragging my teenager son out from behind a laptop seems like a plan 
