How to Start Your Geocache Search
1 – CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT on opencaching.us (OpenCaching North America). Simply provide your email address and create a username and password and you’re all good to go!
Generally, most geocaching services/websites offer basic information for free but users may have to pay for premium information or advanced searching capabilities. This is not the case with OpenCaching – all services are open to users at no cost and every geocache is listed and accessible to everyone for free.
2 – DOWNLOAD A GEOCACHING APP and a QR CODE READING APP to your phone. A free app for Android is c:geo. GeoCaches is a free app for iPhone. Me Caching Geo is a free app for Windows phones. All three apps offer full live support for OpenCaching North America. For a QR code reading app, I used i-nigma for my project, which is a free app available for both I-Phone and Android.
If you don't know what QR codes or QR code reading apps are, you can learn about them and find an app for your smartphone HERE.
3 – SEARCH FOR A GEOCACHE TO HUNT on opencaching.us by clicking “Seek a Cache” in the menu on the left. Search for my geocaches by using my username – Sandwich-MA-History – and a list of all 60 of my geocaches will appear.
4 – ENTER GPS COORDINATES of the geocache you want to find into the Geocaching app on your smart phone (see Step 2 above) and start searching!
I have used three different types of geocaches for my project:
5 – LOG YOUR FIND…when you find one of my geocaches, log back onto opencaching.us, search for the geocache you just found (see Step 3 above), click on “New Log Entry” at the top of the page and log the find.
Most of my geocaches require a password in order for you to log your find. Each geocache has its own page on my website and its own unique password. When you scan the QR code on a geocache plant stake, you will be brought to that geocache's page on my website and there you will find the password.
To log a virtual geocache, you don't need a password but you are required to upload a photo of yourself at the location.
Now, choose another geocache and keep hunting!
Generally, most geocaching services/websites offer basic information for free but users may have to pay for premium information or advanced searching capabilities. This is not the case with OpenCaching – all services are open to users at no cost and every geocache is listed and accessible to everyone for free.
2 – DOWNLOAD A GEOCACHING APP and a QR CODE READING APP to your phone. A free app for Android is c:geo. GeoCaches is a free app for iPhone. Me Caching Geo is a free app for Windows phones. All three apps offer full live support for OpenCaching North America. For a QR code reading app, I used i-nigma for my project, which is a free app available for both I-Phone and Android.
If you don't know what QR codes or QR code reading apps are, you can learn about them and find an app for your smartphone HERE.
3 – SEARCH FOR A GEOCACHE TO HUNT on opencaching.us by clicking “Seek a Cache” in the menu on the left. Search for my geocaches by using my username – Sandwich-MA-History – and a list of all 60 of my geocaches will appear.
4 – ENTER GPS COORDINATES of the geocache you want to find into the Geocaching app on your smart phone (see Step 2 above) and start searching!
I have used three different types of geocaches for my project:
- Plant Stake, whose waterproof plaque contains a QR code that you scan with your smart phone (see Step 2 above). The QR code will bring you to a website I’ve created with information about the location you’ve found;
- Traditional Geocache, a container with a QR code hidden at given GPS coordinates (scan the QR code as talked about above); and a
- Virtual Geocache, where you discover a location rather than a container because the location is not conducive to hiding a physical geocache.
5 – LOG YOUR FIND…when you find one of my geocaches, log back onto opencaching.us, search for the geocache you just found (see Step 3 above), click on “New Log Entry” at the top of the page and log the find.
Most of my geocaches require a password in order for you to log your find. Each geocache has its own page on my website and its own unique password. When you scan the QR code on a geocache plant stake, you will be brought to that geocache's page on my website and there you will find the password.
To log a virtual geocache, you don't need a password but you are required to upload a photo of yourself at the location.
Now, choose another geocache and keep hunting!