Can i geocache with my iphone

Also the Oregon's interface just plain makes sense to me, it's easy to select a cache and go. But I'd carry the good old GPSr, too. The iPhone 5 is in no way waterproof, nor shockproof, and if placed in a case, it will overheat. That's not the case with the Oregon, which I can leave on all day without concern that it will go dead when I'm not looking. Or that I may be walking into a dead zone with no phone signal.

Plus for some weird reason, I always use my phone as a phone. Go figure. If you have no issues, you don't even need to change what you're doing. When choosing between handhelds and phones, there are trade-offs, so if you can afford phones and GPSrs and data subscriptions, plus have the time and gumption to learn and operate both, you get the best of both worlds.

If you require thorough discussions of phones vs. There are many, many threads that start with the questions that you asked. And the discussions never end. Here are just a few of the GPSr vs Smartphone threads. Some of the threads specifically refer to the iPhone, while others are a general phone vs GPSr discussion. IPhone vs hand held GPS.

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To change or withdraw your consent choices for Lifewire. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. With 1. Though we haven't personally had a chance, we have friends caching in Australia and China, and our geocoins traveling to Hawaii, Canada, Scotland and Germany Which brings up another new term: trackables.

Geocoins and Travel Bugs TB are trackable items that are sometimes hidden in a cache. Each trackable item has a unique ID number so you can track it on Geocaching. Once reported, you then move the trackable to another cache, perhaps taking a picture to post or perhaps moving it closer to its goal, whatever it says on Geocaching.

We've started trackable items here that have wandered to Hawaii, Canada, Ireland, Germany and more. And we've moved other people's trackable items, that have traveled all over the world! It's fun, and a great lesson in geography, to follow the path of geocoins and travel bugs around the world. You will need to learn a few new acronyms for Geocaching.

The first thing you need to do is create a free account at Geocaching. Pick a caching name and a password, and create your account. You'll need to give a valid e-mail address, but fear not.

Validate your account by clicking on the e-mail you receive, and you're ready to go. Once you're logged in on the Geocaching. You can seek a cache by address, zip code, state or country, or by keyword, GC code, or the username of the geocacher who hid or found the cache. I like using the address feature if I know where I'm going, either using the exact street address, or just the city and state I'm searching. When you click "Go" you'll receive a list of caches in the vicinity, with the closest caches listed first.

The compass shows the direction from the location you entered to the cache. There's a check mark if you've already found the cache. Icons show what kind of cache it is, as well as any trackables currently reported in the cache. If you click the Google Maps link here, you'll get a map of north Seattle, the original home of Geocaching. But when you click on those words on your cache list, you will see all the caches on the list overlaid on a Google map of your area.

When you're looking at the map, you can click on a cache icon to learn a few details about it. Look for a cache with low difficulty and terrain ratings; 1 or 1.

At the same time, look at the cache size. Caches come in size micro, small, medium, large, or unidentified. Unidentified can mean it is a any size from nano to large, or the cache may be small but the container camo may be large, or for some reason the Cache Owner CO doesn't want you to know the size; unidentified regular caches tend to be tricky.

Micro-sized caches can be tricky to find, too, especially if they're actually "nano" size; you might want to start with a small or medium cache. When you're looking at the detail, you can click on the Name of the cache to bring up a page of details.

There you'll get all the clues the CO provided, plus a list of all the logs already recorded for that cache. Make sure the most recent logs are not frowning faces or Did Not Find DNF , or you may be looking for a missing or extremely hard-to-find cache. If you find yourself struggling in your search, click on the link to read ALL the logs for hints.

Even though each geocacher may think they haven't given anything away, the combination of comments often gives extra hints beyond what the CO originally posted. In that detailed description, you will find the latitude and longitude of the location of the cache. You'll need to enter these into your GPS, or paste them into Google Maps to find the location of the cache.

Google Maps is a great way to get started and to find caches located in the city, near the edges of parks, and other locations that are open to the sky. But you won't be able to find a cache in the woods without a GPS device. Don't give up if you don't have a handheld GPS; many portable automobile GPS devices have a way to enter coordinates, and a battery so you can take the GPS with you into the woods.

When you get to Ground Zero GZ , the coordinates of the cache location, you'll need to use the hints found in the name and description of the cache to locate the actual cache container. For another perspective, check out the video from Geocaching.

Selecting and Finding Your First Geocache! Sometimes caches are hard to find; sometimes they are missing. The first thing to do when you can't find a cache is to go back and check the cache description page. Have the last 5 loggers found the cache? Was the last one recent?

If not, the cache may or may not be missing. If the cache was last found, reread the description. What hints are in the description? Be aware that GPS devices tend to be a bit skittish in the woods, under power lines, or in between tall city buildings.

The best thing to do is find a vaguely clear spot and put the device down for a few minutes - literally. Then check your location again.

Once your GPS settles down, we find we weren't where we thought we were, and it's much easier to find the cache when we go where we thought we were before Sometimes the GPS doesn't want to settle down and give a solid reading. In these cases, a good old-fashioned compass and triangulation are your best tools. Walk away from the place you suspect, and get about feet away. Then take a reading on your GPS, and use your compass to locate the line that goes in the direction specified.

You'll need to make a note of where that line goes; we often do this by having our caching partner stand in a line with several obvious trees or landmarks.

Walk around a ways, and take a second reading, and see where those two lines cross. The app features a quick and easy way to get to geocaching websites, but it is not an elegant solution. The cache page includes about this cache, parking, clues, waypoints, cache location, notes, and connectivity. The app does feature a built in compass with how far away you are from the cache.

In most situations looking at a map is extremely helpful. The app feels incomplete and is a decent app, but not one of the first to pick up. Geocache Viewer is the most bare bones geocaching app.

The app features no way to actually find and install new caches without transferring them from another computer. The lack of ability to install new caches on your device is a real limiting factor. The app features no way to actually navigate to your caches which is a real let down. The cache page displays the coordinates, difficulty, terrain, size, date hidden, description, logs, and a hint. You are also able to indicate if you it is found, not found, or DNF did not find.

The cache page also lets you add your own personal field notes. The lack of navigating to caches from this app make it a show stopper for most geocachers. Night Mode. Font Size. For proper use of this site, you need to enable javascript in your browser!

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