Geocaching is a high-tech outdoor sports activity that is comparable to a game of treasure hunting played all over the world by those who love adventures. These seekers are provided with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver comparable to a Garmin GPSMap 76 Handheld GPS Navigator or other navigational systems to hide and look for containers or “geocaches” everywhere in the world. The term Geocaching is actually derived from two words: “Geo” means geography and “caching” is the term applied to the place used to conceal and preserve provisions during hiking or camping.
Geocaching is essentially a high-tech game of hide-and-seek and shares several features with trigpointing, treasure-hunting, benchmarking, letterboxing, waymarking and orienteering. A standard cache is a waterproof small container that contains a logbook where a geocacher logs in the date he located it. Large plastic containers (ammo boxes) can contain objects for exchange. These objects may be trinkets or toys with little value.
You can find games of geocaches taking place all around the world, in over one hundred countries in fact, including in Antarctica. The internet will display more than 1.2 million geocaches on various websites dedicated solely to this pastime.
As stated above the game involves a GPS device. This enables the geocacher to determine not only their own location but that of the cache with fantastic accuracy at any time they choose. With an accuracy range of between 3 and 16 feet it certainly is an indispensable part of the game. In order to find their way from one place to another people will use one of these devices. The Garmin GPSMap 76 Handheld GPS Navigator and other units that are like it, are enabled to be able to provide the user with images and maps on demand and with surprising speed. But that is not all, they are also equipped with voice navigation and not all units can offer these features. The unit does not transmit the user’s location to another device because it is a receiver. This means that it is constantly receiving signals from the satellites that are in space. The more signals that it receives the more accurate the reading will be as it makes use of a process called trilateration.
Before you purchase a GPS unit for a geocaching expedition it is necessary to determine if the game will be played in a city or somewhere in the world. If the game is to be played within the confines of a city the unit would have to be able to receive a signal no matter where the geocacher may be at that moment, even if they are standing between two twenty-story buildings. Likewise, if they are on a very busy street the unit would have to still be able to operate effectively.
If targeting caches hidden off-shore, a GPS receiver with marine capabilities is advisable for use. For those who prefer trekking to find caches in rivers, bushes and woods, a more durable and waterproof unit is recommended. Casual geocachers are relatively happy with an inexpensive but durable unit. However, hardcore geocachers are more comfortable using a more sophisticated GPS receiver like the Garmin GPSMap 76 Handheld GPS Navigator or other navigational system. But whatever the choice would be, there are still basic features that need to be considered if one joins a game of geocaching.
Besides being lightweight the GPS unit you select for your game needs to be well made and waterproof while also offering you reliability and durability. The screen should have a clear display, there needs to be a good signal and the device must offer the best battery life possible. It does not matter what type of geocacher you are as long as your GPS unit is reliable.
)
