Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just read through and reviewed two other Geocaching books, including the "for dummies" version, and none of those two books had any information that you can't figure out yourself just going out and doing geocaching.

I expected the same from this book, but the "Idiot's Guide" is excellent!

Everything from TIPS on how to get more accurate measurments from your GPS unit, to much more information on things you may not have used or done geocaching, everything you want to know about Latitude/Longitude and the many different formats you see them listed as, in addition to the history of how and why they came about.

Everyone may think they know how to use a compass, but this book covers things most may not know about using compasses, and how they can help with geocaching.

Even if you have been geocaching for a long time already, there are some helpfull hints in this book that can even teach the experienced geocacher a trick or two.

The history is interesting all on it's own, what a great bonus!

I am going to keep this, it is a great reference book!

If you've received a GPS unit, for Christmas, birthday, whatever, and you've been wondering what you can do with it, this book is for you.

The book is written by the people who run www.geocaching.com and it is to say the least, complete. It covers what geocaching is (sport, hobby, excuse to go outdoors and play with electronics), what you need to have, what you need to bring, and techniques for geocaching.

As far as I am concerned, this book should be required reading for anybody who wants to go outdoors and have fun. Geocaching is sort of a treasure hunt, orienteering, hike in the woods thing. The book takes you through the whole thing.

The section on how to use a compass along with your GPSr is worth the price of the book by itself.

I highly recommend the book.

If you go on the website, or come across a cache I've visited, just look for Scott9282, fearless leader of Team9282.

I'll be waiting.

Bring the book.

My wife wanted me to become more active and knowing my desire to buy another electronic gadget, she suggested we look at geocaching. I had never heard of this activity before but since it meant getting a GPS unit, I figured "what the heck". Before making my purchase, I needed to know what to look for so i needed more information on the sport of geocaching. This book was the most informative book I found and was easy to read and hard to put down. I found the information extremely useful. And, yes, we have gone geocaching and have found our first 3 caches. Without the knowledge gained from reading this tome, I would still be out in the woods looking for my way home.

Geocaching 101

Arrggh, I'm tired of dragging my butt out of bed at 5:30AM, rushing to a thankless job, and punching a time clock. I want to sleep in, have exotic fruit for breakfast and wash it all down with rum. After lounging in my hammock, I'll head out with my crew, capture a ship, and finish in time to enjoy one of those cool, tropical drinks with the little umbrella. What other job can you hang around a boat all day with guns and booze, and make tons of money? I mean, other than war profiteering, or politics. I want to be a modern day pirate.

There are those who scour the globe today in search of treasure, using only a compass as their guide, in a hunt where X no longer marks the spot, but it seems they prefer the term Geocacher. Geocaching is a modern day treasure hunt in which participants search for hidden caches using coordinates and a GPS device. The caches can range from small to large, and the treasure found inside isn't in the form of doubloons or pieces of eight, but small trinkets like baseball cards, Matchbox cars, or prizes like gift certificates, event tickets, or even cash.

Geocaching combines "geo" for geography and "cache," a term used for both hidden provisions and in a more modern sense, data stored on a computer. Combine them and you have one of the newest and hottest outdoor activities around. Hey, how do you legally tap into an outdoor game that has a government budget of more than half a billion dollars? No, what your uncle is doing with that cable box and a coat hanger to get WrestleMania(tm) isn't legal.

The goal of geocaching is to locate hidden treasure from latitude/longitude coordinates found on websites such as Geocaching.com or handed out in passbooks at geocaching events like the one upcoming in Wellsboro on May 16th, 17th, and18th. While most caches are a hidden watertight box, this event sponsored by the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce* is set up with "Virtual Caches." It's the destination, not the booty, that's of interest, bringing you to historic sites, beautiful vistas, and a wonderful view of nature. Nothing is traded except photos and the experience. Each of the caches can be driven to, with some requiring only a brief walk.

I talked to Charlie Messina, the driving force behind Wellsboro's new event. Charlie began geocaching in 2003 as part of a Boy Scout camp program. He developed and ran orienteering events** and felt that geocaching would allow a new program to be added with minimal expense. "The program was a huge success, and added a new level of enjoyment as we searched for hidden caches and found great outdoor locations we would never have found. In basic terms geocaching is a high-tech hide & seek. Anyone with a GPS unit and a basic understanding of how to use it can enjoy an outdoors adventure. It is great fun for the entire family"

If you've recently received a GPS unit, and you've been wondering what to do with it, check out The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching by Jack W. Peters. The book is comprehensive. It covers what geocaching is (sport, hobby, excuse to go outdoors and play with electronics), what you need to have, what you need to bring, and techniques for geocaching. It covers a good bit more than the basics with tips on how to get more accurate measurements from your GPS unit, search techniques like the cloverleaf and triangulation, and how to speak the lingo.

If you are looking for adventure, a fun family activity, or just another way to appreciate and explore Tioga County, grab your GPS, a compass, some trail mix, and remember not to spend too much time staring into the receiver's screen. You'll miss the beauty of the natural surroundings, and you might crash and spill your tropical drink...

*Information on the Geocaching event is available on the chamber's website www.wellsboropa.com . Registration is only $3 and takes place on the Green.

**Orienteering is a competitive form of land navigation. The object of orienteering is to locate control points by using a map and compass to navigate through the woods.
Kevin Coolidge works at From My Shelf Books on Main St. in Wellsboro. Check it out at www.wellsborobookstore.com

For the beginner geocacher. This book keeps it simple and easy to understand. I recommend this book for any beginner geocacher. I'd like to see an updated Idiot's pocket guide for geocaching with more on geoteaming. Groundspeak does it right. Geocaching is a great hobby for all ages. This book will help you get started...it sure helped me. golfpro

This book is just fabulous. I was expecting a no frills basics kind of book and this book really goes into all kinds of information. It is just packed with information about navigation, geocaching, map and computer stuff. And the price is so reasonable.

I liked this book. Was a real complement for the basic "GPS for Dummies" that I read before. I use GPS mostly for 4x4 trips and horse riding, so I just needed all the info about GPS the "easy" way, mostly on how to find my way in and out, mark all those "secret" places, and make my own maps. With this books, have learned the easy way tons of info about datum, compass, UTM, maps, lats and longs.

I'm going to get right to the point. This book is great. It does exactly what it claims, and nothing less. It's a perfect introductory guide to geocaching, but I'm sure experienced cachers can gain something from it also. It is informative, well written, and purposeful. I also would like to pmention that it is the official guide book of [...], the company that runs [...]. Lastly, I would like to point out that the only 2 bad reviews of this book that were posted at the time that I'm writing this are from someone that didn't receive the book in the mail and therefore is angry at amazon (why they take it out on THIS book, i have no idea), and some PhD in psych that cant even read a map (she admits this in her post)... go figure. In closing, I am very satisfied with this book and am glad that this is the guidebook I chose to help get me started with geocaching. Happy Hunting

Comprehensive and easy to understand. This book will make your initial foray into geocaching a lot easier or will provide interesting insights for those who are more experienced at the sport. But mostly for the novice.

Bottom line. Lots of good info but much of it is way out of date. It's past time for an rewrite.