Find Your Geocache
August 3rd, 2010 | 
Author: Must-Have Geocaching Tool Kit
Most cachers have a geocaching “kit” that they take with them on the hunt. It was born of the “I really could have used a _________ on this find” reasoning that always seems to strike.
My “kit” not only includes my writing stick of choice (blue ball-point pen) and my trusty camera but also a few choice items that make retrieving caches much more user-friendly.
- Walking stick. This is a must for Arizona where all manner of creatures (usually that bite, sting, are poisonous or all three!) like to live around caches. So a walking stick is perfect for jamming into a likely crevasse or flipping over rocks.
- Gloves. My garden gloves do double duty in my caching kit. This is nice when I’ve got my fingernails painted a la filming for The Outdoor Princess Productions. Or when locating the cache requires me to move plants with thorns.
- Small mirror. I finally got tired of sticking my head under cattle guards looking for micros! Now, I just angle the mirror under so I can see BEFORE I stick my head into anything!
- Needle nose pliers. For when you can SEE the cache, but you can’t get your fingers in there! Pliers are tough and portable!
- Forceps. Yep, I carry BOTH. Sometimes the pliers are too big to extract the log sheet from a nano. And the forceps can be too delicate for leveraging a good-sized cache container out of the hiding spot.
- Flashlight. Sometimes shining a light into a likely spot will show the cache reflecting back at you. And sometimes it shows the eyes of whatever critter is living in the hole!
None of these tools are heavy or too large so it’s not a problem carting them on geocaching hikes. And you know when you leave an item at the car is when you REALLY want it at the cache!
Readers Weigh In:
- What must-have tools are in your caching kit?
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I’ve been meaning to get a mirror in my bag but haven’t gotten around to it, thanks for reminding me! I don’t really keep many “tools” but I have the standard first aid kit. I love it because it ‘s got mini packets of things you really need in AZ and hate when you forget (lip stuff, sunscreen) 😉
I went out and bought one that was kind of expensive. Then, in June, I saw little folding compact mirrors 2 for $1 at Target! I stocked up!
I carry a shoulder messenger bag where ever I go. Handy for all kinds of things. Inside I have a pencil box with little tools packed in cigar tubes. Plus a good pocket multi tool a fancy combination flashlight with regular LED’s, black light LED’s and a powerful laser pointer. I also have a small pocket comb and mirror set. For GPS I use and old Tom Tom linked via bluetooth to m Nokia 770 running Maemo Mapper for my vehicle. For walking around I use a Telenav connected via bluetooth to my Palm Tungsten running Navegador. Also in my bag is a digital camera. Seeing how I walk with a cane I have a ready available hooked walking stick. A fair amount of kit but always ready to go.
I carry a small shoulder bag stocked with cache essentials. It holds a bottle of water/beverage of some sort, a granola bar or some trail mix, a extra stock of pens, a few pieces of paper and ziplocs to replace in a cache if needed, a mini-maglite, leatherman multi-tool, tweezers, bug spray, after-bite bug itch stick, mini first aid kit, lip balm, and few COOL swag items and a whatever trackables I have at the time.
1. A pen! (For signing the logs in all those blasted micros that are too small to house a pen of their own.)
2. A paperclip (You can unbend one end, and use it as a tool to dig that little wound-up logsheet from the nano caches.)
3. Random swag (For making that trade, or course.)
These are “must-haves”, but they’re nice-to-haves for the altruistic…
1. A little pencil sharpener. (The little pencil folks leave in their cache can get dull over time. I see one that’s dull, I sharpen it for the next guy.)
2. A ziplock bag, pen, and blank logsheets. (If I come across a cache that’s been muggled, or the cache log is in dire need of maintenance, I breathe some life back into it by doing some in-field maintenance with these simple items.)
3. CITO bag. (Someplace to stuff the trash you find while you’re caching in.)
4. Anti-graffiti solvent and rag. (When looking for urban hides and searching around public playgrounds, I try to wipe away any tags I come across.)