Tips for Preparing for a geocaching trip

Are you getting ready for any spring or summer time trips? (or autumn / winter in the southern hemisphere?) You know there is a LOT that goes into the preparation. And if you plan to do some geocaching on your trip (and why wouldn’t you?!?), then there’s another whole layer to the planning. Here are some TIPS for preparing for a geocaching trip or any kind of vacation / trip that will involve geocaching.

• Prepare your pocket queries & bookmark lists – look for high favorites, or types of geocaches you like to find
• If you’ll be driving for a portion of your trip, do a Pocket query for geocaches along a route
• Prep the essentials – your signature items, trade items, cache repair kit, first aid kit, etc.
• Research what you need at the location – for ticks, poison ivy, snakes
• Don’t forget rechargeable batteries and charger for GPS and all the charging paraphernalia for your smart phone
• Work on solving puzzles ahead of time
• Research and evaluate earth caches ahead of time (you won’t be able to obtain all the needed information until you get there, but you can determine if you need to bring any special tools or equipment and decide which ones you’ll have time to tackle)
• If you will not be logging geocaches as you find them, decide on a method to keep track of your finds, and the answers to Virtuals and Earth caches – Evernote, field notes, notebook, a note taking app on your phone, etc.
• Ask your local geocaching friends if they have travel bugs that need to go in the direction you’re traveling
• Search for events at your destination within the time you will be there, or if you plan far enough ahead and plan your own event
• Add instant notifications for new caches (especially event caches) in the area you’ll be traveling to (and remember to delete the notifications when you return home)

• Contact other geocachers in the area if you want advice or want to meet up with anyone – find local forums or search for high favorite caches in the area and message the cache owner(s)
• If traveling with a non-geocaching friend or relative, research geocaches around tourist locations that they will want to go to
• If you have a Nuvi or similar device for the car, make sure the maps have been recently updated
• If you’re driving to your destination, use your GPSr or smartphone to make note of where the rest stops are and use them. Stop every hour or two to stretch the legs and find a cache. You’ll be in much better shape when you reach your destination.
• Drinks lots of water while you travel (by car, airplane or otherwise)
• If you haven’t listened to all of the past episodes of PodCacher, long road trips are a great time to catch up (or revisit!).
• When flying, check to see if there are any geocaches in or near the airports you’ll be traveling through. It might be a great opportunity to add a new state (or even a country!) to your “Cached In” maps.
• Don’t forget to save caches and lists offline through your geocaching app, in case you are in a location where you have no access to data
• If your destination has a Wikipedia page, look for the coordinates in the top right hand corner. Click on the link. It will take you to a related wiki page called Geohack. Scroll down and you’ll come across a section labeled other information. There at the top of the list you’ll see a link to a cache search based on the coords of the page as well as a link to the geocaching.com map centered on the same coords.
• Some Final Words:
  Before you go… Plan ahead. Scout caches. Research.
  When you arrive… Expect delays. Be flexible. Improvise.

Thanks to Electric Water Boy, Shaishoo and ifaref for adding their TIP suggestions.

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