Geocaching with sox06

This page was originally intended to provide a glossary of caching terms. In starting to do the research and put it together we realize that the geocaching website has already done an excellent job at this. I think I speak for both of us here…….if it’s not broken don’t fix it! The site is comprehensive and easy to navigate. We highly recommend that you visit geocaching.com….try the easy route and click the link on our home page.

Once you reach the geocaching home page go to the ‘Resource Page’ link or go to ‘Getting Started’ and from there the ‘Want to Learn More?’ link. You’ll find all kinds of great information on geocaching, including an extensive glossary. There’s been some recent updates and the site is better than ever!

What will be included here will include some often-heard terms that aren’t in the glossary, as well as some frequently used acronyms. There are also a few ‘unofficial’ terms that just seem to ‘fit’ when you’re out there on the trails. If we’ve forgotten any please feel free to contact us through the blog.

Acronyms:

• BYOP – Bring Your Own Pen (or Pencil)
• CITO – Cache In, Trash Out
• FTF – First To Find
• GZ – Ground Zero
• P&G - Park and Grab
• STF – Second To Find
• TFTC – Thanks For The Cache
• TFTH – Thanks For The Hunt
• TNLN – Took Nothing, Left Nothing
• SL – Signed Log

Terms:

• Bushwacking – hiking off the beaten path through shrubs and underbrush in search of a cache hidden out in the woods.
• The ‘Force’ – that intangible ability we all have (some more than others) to easily find a tricky or difficult hide.
• Geo-meet – Or ‘geo-event’ – a gathering of cachers for a day of geocaching, socializing, trading stories, swapping trackables….just enjoying this pastime.
• Geo-rubble – usually a pile of twigs, sticks, branches, stones in a place you might not really expect them. They might be at the base of a tree or beside a rock and will cover the cache. They look sort of ‘natural’ but if you’ve cached enough you recognize them for what they are.
• Geo-trail - a path leading off the main trail. It may look like a deer path and is usually not very obvious or heavily traveled but, again, if you’ve cached enough it looks like it might lead right to the cache (and often does).
• Geo-_______ - This prefix can be used for so many things. You’ll often see terms in a log entry referring to a geo-pet, geo-munchkins, geo-mobile, geo-thinking…..the possibilities are probably endless.
• Log – the actual entry at the geocaching website telling your experiences of your visit to the cache. It can be as detailed or as simple as you want to make it.
• Logbook – Usually a small notebook that will fit easily in the cache. It could also be just a folded sheet of paper to sign or if it’s a nano cache you might find a long narrow strip of paper rolled up tightly to fit in the container (which is magnetic and about the size of the nail on your little finger).
• Stealth – What we all strive to achieve during the hunt, in case of nearby muggles
• Red Herring – like the dictionary says – an object used to divert or distract you from the relevant problem – in this case the actual cache.
• Trackables – Travel bugs and geocoins
• Winter Friendly – A cache that can be found in winter here in snow country…..it shouldn’t be buried under the white stuff.