The Essential Guide to Geocaching: Tracking Treasure with Your GPS (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Caches or stashes of provisions, hidden along a route were a common occurrence in Lewis and Clark’s day when foot travel was really the only mode of long distance transportation. Today, caches of another sort are hidden throughout the United States and the world for that matter. With the introduction of the personal GPS unit, people everywhere have been learning to use these new devices and participating in what can only be called a high-tech treasure hunt. By logging on to a geocaching website, anyone can locate coordinates to a hidden cache, plan their route, and be on their way with map, compass, and GPS receiver. The hidden cache contains a logbook and a number of trinkets that can be traded by fortunate seekers.

*Participation in geocaching has exploded in the last four years to over 190 countries and hundreds of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts.
*A fun way to learn basic land navigation skills
*Provides outdoor ethics and safety information, including resources and product guides

From the Publisher

PRESS RELEASE

The Best Introduction to this Popular New Sport

"During my many years working in the outdoor industry, I’ve seen only a few new activities emerge and truly gain a popular following: mountain biking, snowboarding, and now geocaching," says Mike Dyer, geographer, innovator in computerized mapmaking, outdoor industry expert, and author of the new guidebook THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO GEOCACHING: TRACKING TREASURE WITH YOUR GPS. Geocaching is a fun new sport, growing quickly in popularity, in which people use a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver to find hidden "treasures" called geocaches. Participants are provided with the coordinates to the cache, usually from an online source, and then use their GPSs, maps and compasses, and tracking skills to find them. The caches contain a logbook and treasures of nominal value, usually trinkets.

"Geocaching is for everybody. It is simple and doesn’t require any special athletic ability," says Dyer. "At about $100 for a GPS, it’s relatively inexpensive to get involved. I’ve found that geocaching can easily be made part of many fun outdoor sports, from hiking to mountain biking. And it’s especially appealing for families looking to come together with a fun activity."

Mike Dyer provides a unique perspective to geocaching that only an expert and enthusiast can. He earned a dual degree from San Francisco State University with a B.S. in geography and digital cartography and a B.A. in business and product design. During college he helped start a small company that created the first-of-its-kind, digital-topographic mapping software. After college he devised outreach programs on the excitement, safety, and benefits of using GPS technology, compasses, and high-quality maps together. He later designed and developed a map-on-demand kiosk program used in many outdoor stores today.

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO GEOCACHING is designed to provide a broad overview of the sport, tailored to the novice but also designed to educate the expert. It includes essential information on how to get started, in-depth detail about the various types of cache activities, how to find and create your first caches, and a section on land navigation.

The book also features easy step-by-step checklists, a glossary of terms, and a resource listing of GPS manufacturers and geocache organizations.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing (August 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555915221
• ISBN-13: 978-1555915223
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #417,965 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not really essential at all., April 11, 2005

By	FOX (USA) - See all my reviews

Since the way to get the Geocache locations is to go to the website and get them online, which also tells you everything else you need to know about the game, you don't really need this book at all.

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UPDATE:

I have just read THE COMPLETE IDIOTS GUIDE TO GEOCACHING (The ORANGE book, NOT the yellow book) and it is EXCELLENT!!

If you want a good book on Geocaching, get that one!

(The yellow "for dummies" book, which I also read, is not very good)

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on Geocaching, September 21, 2004

By	gearguru (SLC, UT) - See all my reviews

Having read other books on Geocaching, this is by far the best one. It is concise and writen in such a fashion as to be easy reading for anyone who is interested in Geocaching. I would highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for Brand New Geocacher, November 3, 2006

By	Reader0111 "29erSavoy" (Anaheim, California) - See all my reviews

This is a pretty basic book. If you are thinking about geocaching or are brand new. If you have found a couple of caches using a GPS or if you have been in the military, you will probably not find anything of interest here.