Geocaching is so much more than just a plastic box! (or any other type of container)
To us, geocaching is a lot more than just plastic boxes, PET-preforms and logs. We would like to encourage you all to lift your eyes from the box, and participate at a larger scale.
Hide your own caches
Hiding your own caches isn’t just a fantastic way to contribute to the community, but it’s also a perfect way to showcase your creativity!
Without cache hiders, there really wouldn’t be much caches to find. So thank you to all cache hiders! 🙂
Write great logs
Writing great logs can enrich our activity in a lot of different ways. And you should also remember to log your DNFs!
If you look at your logs as a log of what you’ve been doing, and not just a string of smileys, you will see that the logs suddenly have a higher meaning than they used to. If you add a couple pictures as well, you will end up having a great caching-diary, showing all your activity. Very nice to look back at on rainy days, or when a friend ask you for hint on a cache you found years ago. Having logs, and pictures to look at, will make it a lot easier to remember that cache, and give the hint you want to give 🙂
In addition to that, writing good logs are a nice way of saying thank you to the cache hider. And logs could be a great source of information for other geocachers as well. It’s a simple, yet important way of contributing to the geocaching community.
Read logs
Reading logs on your own hides are something every cache owner should do, but reading other logs could also be nice. It’s a nice way to see what’s going on in the community.
Stay updated on the latest news, guidelines changes etc.
Staying up to date on the latest changes, changes to the guidelines, app updated etc., is something I recommend that everyone do. Use those rainy days to test changes and new functionality on your device or app, so you don’t have to struggle when out in the woods or somewhere with limited reception. You will thank yourself if you are prepared when something happens.
Dreaming of far away places, plan your trips and look at exotic caches
Planning has become a very important part of geocaching for us. It adds a lot to this activity, and it allows us to focus on the caches when we’re out caching.
Dreaming of far away places and reading about exotic places and caches can add a lot. Especially when you get tempted enough to just go ahead and book those tickets! I recommend following the official blog, and keeping an eye out for the Geocache of the Week.
Participate in discussions
When it’s raining (like all the time in Western Norway), and you don’t want to go outside to look for plastic in the woods, participating in (or just reading) discussions can be a nice way to stay active. There are a lot of forums and discussion groups around, like the official forum.
Host and attend events
Events are a great way to meet people, and get to know the community. It’s also a nice opportunity to get some hints to those tricky hides you just can’t find.
We also enjoy both hosting and attending events when out traveling, and would recommend that to everyone wanting to meet the local geocaching communities when far away from home.
Play with statistics
You can play around with Project-GC for hours, or days. There are statistics for everything, and with the correct filter, just about anyone can find themselves at the top of a list.
Read blogs
There are a lot of geocaching related blogs, including this one 😉 Reading about other peoples caching trips, their tips & tricks etc, could be a nice source of inspiration. Maybe someone has written about the area you’re planning to visit?
You will find a lot of blogs listed at washknight.wordpress.com.
Start your own blog
Sharing your own stories, tips & tricks, opinions etc. can be just as rewarding as finding caches. So I’m challenging you – try it! Start your own geocaching blog.
You can start your own blog for free, at WordPress.com.
Listen to podcasts
There are a lot of geocaching related podcasts (in many different languages) that you can listen to. I started listening to The Geocaching Podcast, but now I’m mostly listening to PodCacher.
I will also highly recommend supporting the content creators, for example by becoming a PodCacher Club Member.
Watch YouTube
There’s a plethora of geocaching videos on YouTube (we even have some). You can watch for hours, days, weeks.
I recommend that you follow The Geocaching Vlogger and WVTim sin gadgetcaches, and any other geovlogger you find.
Please also consider supporting the content creators, for example by becoming a patron of The Geocaching Vlogger on Patreon.
Subscribe to and read geocaching magazines
There are several geocaching magazines you can subscribe to, we currently subscribe to these:
If you decide to subscribe to FTF Geocacher Magazine (which I think you should), I hope that you will consider writing me as your referral 🙂
Join and participate in local, regional and national geocaching associations
A lot of countries have their own geocaching association. In Norway, we have Geocaching i Norge.
Mix with other hobbies
Geocaching can involve a lot of other hobbies, like photography, traveling, hiking, electronics/programming and a lot more. Mixing other elements into geocaching doesn’t only enrich your geocaching experiences, it also helps you get more out of your other hobbies (in my opinion).
Be positive, have fun!
In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of geocaching is: have fun!
