All over the world, in every town, on every trail, in downtowns and along country road sides are treasures hidden by cachers. There are over 3 million caches in over 190 countries. Their locations are marked by geo-coordinates. All you need to participate in this global treasure hunt is a free account at geocaching.com and a GPS app. But putting together a little gear makes it more fun!
A sturdy pair of shoes that are okay for getting muddy are a must for any "off road" caches. Some repellant and sunscreen for exposure are handy, especially for caches located in the woods or across a field. Gloves are always a good idea! Some snacks and water... maybe even a picnic lunch are good to have. And where I'm from, the schizophrenic weather demands a jacket and umbrella in the trunk, just in case. Better to have them and not need them than need them and have to go home early because being cold and/or wet sucks. And, of course, you need a bag to carry it all in. A backpack is nice, but I use something more like a messenger bag.
SWAG is Stuff We All Get. All caches have a lot to sign when you find them. But some caches are big enough to hold trinkets. The trinkets are the swag. But if you're going to take something from a cache, you must put something back. And it's always better to trade up. Leaving something worth at least as much as the thing you took is just good etiquette. Value is subjective, but use your best judgement. SWAG can be tiny figurines, action figures, jewelry, marbles, patches, small first aid kits, pocket knives, fishing lures...anything really!
Many geocachers make items to put into caches. The items usually have the makers geocache ID on them. Some are for special occasions, some are just the cachers 'trade Mark's item. I've found a polymer clay pin, in the shape of three green beans from a mom-dad-son team called threebeans, an altered playing card from thejoker, and a carved wooden coin from a couple called flowerheadandtootall.
I keep a geocaching journal, and I look for stickers to put in it. I also look for patches and pins to put on my bag. I've been collecting beads from caches, and when I have several, I'll sting them together and hang them from my bag. I hang keychains I find on my bag also.
These domino magnets are something I drop in caches frequently. I laminated some "cards" I printed for caching trips to Wichita, KS. We cache there when we visit Adam's family. I like to make something special for road trip caching.
I also make tiny books and Morse code bracelets to put in caches.
A letterbox cache is one that has a stamp and ink pad in it, that you can use to stamp your journal. If you have your own stamp, you can use it to sign the log. It's always a good idea to carry an ink pad in your bag in case the one in the cache is missing or dried out. I couldn't find a practical way to make a stamp personalized for us. So what I came up with is this....an altered postage stamp. I laminated them and use double stick tape to put them in the log books.
Also in this picture are some thumbtacks that I painted with the geocaching logo.
