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Re: Greeting and Introductions

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:56 pm
by DisneyScout
Hmm, is it okay to resurrect an old thread?

I've been DisneyScout since 2005 when I was day camp director for my local Girl Scout council's summer camps. I love Disney stuff and I love scouting (at the time it was primarily Girl Scouting, but I am also now active in Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting as well).

My profile at geocaching.com says I joined in January 2008. I don't think I even saw a geocache for the first time until summer 2012 when I participated in a Geocaching program in Savannah, Georgia at Girl Scouts' First Headquarters. They helped us find 2 caches. Did the same program again with a different set of Girl Scouts the summer of 2013. We found one of the caches from the previous year and tried to find another one without luck (introducing the z axis in geocaching). I've thought about getting a GPS unit for quite a while so I could go geocaching. I have a friend that has been geocaching for years and we never managed to hook up to go together. I joined the Maryland Geocaching Society Daily Digest in January, took a geocaching class at University of Scouting in March, and met someone at a recent event that was talking about geocaching and pathtags. Went to REI to finally buy a GPS unit and the guy ended up talking me out of buying one and convinced me I could just use my phone. It wasn't until I was actually in Savannah again this summer with yet another group of Girl Scouts that I decided to actually try to find a geocache. My first cache was found July 14, 2014.

Now I'm addicted. I'm planning to become a merit badge counselor for the Geocaching Merit Badge. I am a Den Leader and Cub Master and can't wait to introduce the Cubs to geocaching. I'm also running a badge workshop next June for Girl Scouts to earn either the Letterboxer badge or the Geocaching badge (depending on their age). I saw the message about the Diversified Cacher Contest on the Maryland Geocaching Society's Daily Digest and decided I wanted to participate, so I've spent the past few days learning about all the different sites in preparation for the contest. I'm still kind of confused on some of the sites and it looks like some of the things I can't do unless I have an actual GPS unit, but I am planning to get at least 100 points. :D

Kim
Hanover, MD

Re: Greeting and Introductions

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:52 pm
by DudleyGrunt
No problem. Welcome aboard! Glad to have another MGS member aboard. I'm also involved in scouting, as an ASM and MB counsellor for Troop 424, National Pike District, BAC.

Good luck with the contest. You shouldn't need an actual GPS, as long as you can enter and mark coords with your phone. Some folks are very concerned about people placing caches with smartphones, but if you do take extra caution to make sure they are good.

Re: Greeting and Introductions

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:32 pm
by TermiteHunter
You should be able to compete with a smart phone. It just might take a little extra effort to do some things and less effort on others. In fact some can only be done with a phone.

Re: Greeting and Introductions

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:44 pm
by DisneyScout
Will I be able to do things at GPSgames.org?

Re: Greeting and Introductions

Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 11:52 am
by Mr.Yuck
DisneyScout wrote:Will I be able to do things at GPSgames.org?
Absolutely. I visited a dashpoint last night (6 hours before the game was over for the month).

That game and Geovexilla are pretty similar to Monster Cache. Shutterspot is somewhat similar to Sighter, actually. Not as similar as Monster cache is to Geovexilla, but pretty similar. :mrgreen:

Re: Greeting and Introductions

Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 1:21 pm
by DisneyScout
I guess I'm off to a good start then. I'll have to read more on how some of these things work. Had a whole bunch of DNF this morning trying to use c:geo, but I did capture a few Monster Cache Monsters and Munzees as well as two Sighters. There is an area near me that is just about covered in Munzees once I knew what to look for.

Re: Greeting and Introductions

Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 6:50 pm
by Mr.Yuck
DisneyScout wrote:I guess I'm off to a good start then. I'll have to read more on how some of these things work. Had a whole bunch of DNF this morning trying to use c:geo, but I did capture a few Monster Cache Monsters and Munzees as well as two Sighters. There is an area near me that is just about covered in Munzees once I knew what to look for.
Oh crap, I totally misread that as you had a GPS but not a smartphone. That applies to SFCChaz, for example. :D I'd imagine it's the other way around for more people.

I did NOT need a GPS to find that dashpoint. It even says in the instructions most dashpoints can be visited with "good map reading skills". But then again (all on the honor system), you're supposed to report the distance you were from the actual dashpoint. But there are all sorts of "this is my location" apps for smartphones.