As the end of summer's record-breaking temperatures signals relief for outdoor enthusiasts, valley residents might find themselves making time for geocaching, a growing hobby among groups and individuals throughout the country. And because our relatively mild fall, winter and spring seasons are perfect for local geocachers, I recently looked into GPS receivers, which are widely available at nautical and sporting goods stores, and are the basis of the hobby.
Geocaching is relatively simple. A geocacher takes a container, which is usually filled with small items to trade, and hides it, then posts GPS coordinates online.
Other geocachers are able to find the cache with their GPS receivers based on those coordinates and are encouraged to take an item as a souvenir of their find, while leaving an item for the next finder.
Garmin, Magellan and Lowrance receivers seem to be the most popular among geocachers, and come in a range of prices depending on the number of bells and whistles they're tricked out with, but most geocachers agree that even simple sets will do for beginner and experienced geocachers alike.
However, it's a good idea to go for a unit that is at least water resistant, and for easy use, getting a unit with a rocker keypad and a large viewing screen also is suggested.
REI (www.rei.com), Sports Chalet (www.sportschalet.com) and Dick's Sporting Goods (www.dickssportinggoods.com) carry a range of Garmin units including the eTrex GPS ($100), which will mark 50 way points and comes with the TracBack feature for finding the way back from a point to the GPSMAP 76CS ($550), built for both marine and terrestrial use.
It might seem steep for a beginner, but the 76CS also comes with 115 MB of memory for map downloading and trip planning, as well as a built-in electronic compass and barometric altimeter, which will keep you going in the right direction, as well as keeping you up with altitude and atmospheric pressure trends, current altitude readings and ascent and descent rates.
At the other end of the price scale, Lowrance makes the iFinder GO GPS ($79), which comes pre-loaded with 32 MB of US maps. Then there's the Lowrance iFinder Map and Music Plus ($349), available at REI, which comes loaded with both maps and an MP3 player, and accepts memory cards to expand its mapping and music storage capabilities.
Sport Chalet and Dick's Sporting Goods also carry receiver units by Pharos, Navman and Cobra, and a number of accessories, including instructional DVDs, chargers and mounting brackets for car or bicycle.
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