Geocaching Confession: What's in Your Geo-bag?

Without Wayfarer by my side, I'd never find a single geocache! On top of that, I'd still be out in the woods - lost. That's because she carries the geo-bag; and the geo-bag is our magic carpet to geocaches, travel bugs, geocoins, and all the other wonders of the hobby. Here's what's in her geo-bag.

1. Garmin GPS Unit: But she lets me carry it while we are on the hunt. Ours is a Garmin Map 12. (We like the challenge of geocaching with antiques.)
2. Silva Compass: Comes in handy when zeroing in on those difficult caches. Resorting to lat/lon readings, requires that you know which way is north.
3. PDA: For paperless caching. Ours is a Handspring Visor. (More antiques.)
4. Spare Batteries: Many a geo-trip cut short due to low batteries.
5. Mini LED Flashlight: I stick my hand in no dark places without looking to see what's in there first.
6. SWAG: Always trade up. For very cool but inexpensive do it yourself SWAG, check out Renzos Custom Cache Blog.
7. Trackables: Always put Geocoins and Travel Bugs in the same place! That way they don't get lost.
8. Pen & Pencil: Mr Obvious. She takes few extras to drop in a cache that may not have one.
9. Swiss Army Knife: No, not GSAK! A real knife. It has tweezers, screwdriver, scissors, can opener, cork screw. (Don't ask me, but it's in there.)
10. Note book: Sometimes the PDA can be cumbersome for logging trackables or jotting down other notes.
11. Mini First Aid Kit: Band Aids, mole skin, ect.
12. Sunscreen: Although we haven't needed it here in Minnesota, PJ!
13. Bug spray: That either!
14. Zip Lock Bags: For replacing soggy or damaged log bags.
15. Duct Tape: For repairing cracked or broken caches. You can carry quite a bit of the stuff by re-wrapping it in a 6-inch loop.
16. Camera: Our's is a Olympus C4000. (Yet more antiques.) Because memories don't last a lifetime, but digital photos can. (Is that a commercial?)
17. Snacks & Water: I usually carry that in a fanny or backpack. (I've got her pretty loaded down at this point.)
18. Plastic Garbage Bag: When muggels are about, this is our CITO stealth. We start picking up trash.

Wow that's quite the list! So, what's in your geo-bag? What did I miss?

Now for the Shameless

Self Promotion

Get your geo-bag from CafePress. Click on the pics for more info.

One front adjustable clasp closure.

Main compartment has inside slip pocket.

Front panel has zipper compartment.

Adjustable 2" shoulder strap.

600 Denier Polyester

Size: 14 1/2" x 12" x 5"

Technorati Tags: geocaching,geocache,geocoins,garmin gps unit,cafepress

Springtime Geocaching?

Maybe we can shake off this cabin fever and get outside to do some geocaching. It looks like the big thaw is starting here.

I can actually see green in the back yard!

Here's what it looked like just a week ago!

Looks like a geocaching day to me! I can see geocoins, travel bugs, and lots of DNFs in my future. Tune in later to see how it went.

Geocoins

I ran across this entry on Selina Fenech's blog. She's getting geocoins made with her artwork imprinted on them. Geocoins, one of several facets of geocaching, are both trackable and collectible. Once a coin is registered or "activated", it has a mission to travel the globe from geocache to geocache. Coins that have not been activated, or do not include traveling instructions, can be collected and traded. Watch for them in a cache near you.

A Geocoin in a Cabin in the Woods

We found the cache A Cabin in the Woods today and retrieved a geocoin commemorating Minnesota's first geocache. A note with it requested the finder to take a picture of the cache site. This is the one that we couldn't find in the dark last night. We thought we would get a FTF there, but it already had been scooped. The coin was worth the wait.

Tomorrow I will be saying, TGIM. I need all the scratches and scrapes to heal. My legs are on fire!