Trail Hound

Trailblazing from the left side of the brain: Geocaching gadgets for geeks

Of the several outdoor navigation games, geocaching has got to be the geekiest.  Letterboxing, its literary predecessor that uses verbal clues and unique ink stamps for logging finds, is for poets and artists.  Orienteering, a sport that combines cross-country running with navigation by topographic maps and compass, is for serious athletes and geography majors.  But give a techie a handheld GPS unit, and he or she will soon devise ancillary gadgets that spawn entirely new ways to analyze cache information, maximize caching efficiency, and develop new directions for the geocaching game.

 But fear not, humanities majors.  You too can geocache with as little or as much geeky equipment as you'd like.   Here's a guide to what tools you absolutely need and what cool gadgets you can play with to enhance your caching experience.

Internet access - The geocaching mother ship is geocaching.com  That's where you find cache coordinates and descriptions, and that's where you log your finds.  It's also the hub of the geocaching world's social community.  Yes, geocachers can be a social bunch, with events from local Cache In, Trash Out clean-ups to international gatherings like the one this past weekend in Quebec.  A hardcore cacher will have a laptop to take on the road (see photos), but it's not necessary.

 GPS receiver - First, you don't actually need to use GPS to find a cache.  We started out just studying the cache Web pages, examining clues from other people's logs and photos, and bringing along the referenced topo map and a compass.  This approach works well enough for easy caches in a fairly limited space; but it falls apart when the cache is in the middle of, say, Nickerson State Park.

 So for most geocaching, you need a handheld GPS unit.  I still use the entry-level Garmin eTrex Legend (above), which cost a little over $100.  But the units that serious cachers eat up are ones like the Garmin GPSMap 60CSx, with color mapping screens, high-sensitivity receivers, micro SD card slots for loading more software, and features for marine and aviation use.  Garmin's top-of-the-line Colorado series, in the $500-$600 range, even comes with topo maps preloaded and wireless technology for sharing information. 

 Paperless geocaching - You can go to geoaching.com, click on the pages for the caches you'd like to find,  print them out before you input the coordinates manually into your GPS, and then carry the sheets of descriptive information with you on your hunt.  Or, you can download the coordinates (called waypoints) and descriptive information, and transfer them directly to your GPS.  Software such as Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK) allows you to maintain a database on your computer and send it to your GPS or other device.  With PDA software, like CacheMate, which works with Palm OS products, you can carry all the downloaded cache information and even record your logged finds electronically.

 Trail tools - In addition to common-sense trail tools like sunscreen, bug spray, good hiking shoes, and water, geocachers going off the road a ways should pack a mechanical compass in case their fancy high-tech GPS fails, extra batteries for the fancy high-tech GPS, and perhaps a walking stick or ski pole.  The pole can come in handy on steep slopes, as well as for poking into hollow logs when trying to find the cache, or for fending off snakes.

Tripod gizmo - Many geocachers take pictures around the cache site; some caches even require a picture to be posted as evidence of the find.  You can make do with a blurry cell phone picture, or you can go for photographic art.  But those close-up, requisite self-portraits can be frightful when you're trying to hold your camera at farthest arm's length.  Thankfully, the gadget world has come up with lightweight mini-tripods with flexible legs and clamps that can support even a DSLR with zoom lens, positioned on a tree.  One such product is called Gorillapod, by Joby.

 Night caching - Looking for something different to impress your date?  Try night caching!  But be sure to don your headlamp (available at camping stores) before you get too far away from the lights of civilization.  And if your date doesn't mind the look, you know you've got a keeper.

The high-tech gadget market is endless.  Just don't forget to use your natural gadgets - your eyes and brain - when heading for the trails.

Photos, from top:

• The Garmin eTrex Legend series is an inexpensive way to start navigating with GPS.
• Wandering4cache's mobile Internet cafe - Thanks to local geocachers Joanne and Scott  (W4Cache) for providing photos from their geocaching trip through California and Nevada.  They outfitted the rental car with Garmin 60-series GPS, connected to laptop (loaded with hundreds of downloaded caches and route software) plugged into the power converter, and a wireless router and Sprint satellite card placed on the back shelf.
• Moose-R-Us (Melanie and family) used her laptop in Lake Tahoe to connect to Wandering4cache's mobile Internet and log their find.