Today

So, today. This is what I did.
I needed a good, hard geocaching day. Just woods caches, hard ones, basically physical exertion. I wanted to do some hardcore stuff.
So I did!
I did go 10 for 10, none of them urban, none of them easy.
I will share my caching day with you, hopefully, you can get something out of it for your own caching experiences.

I started off the day with my gps. I always go onto Geocaching.com and find where I'd like to go. I decided to continue with West Seneca, as myself and Keri (aka Distantsun) went there last week and left many on our list unfound. Now, typically, what I do is go onto the website, go to the zipcode I want and click on the first cache at the top. From there I can get to the google map right before the logs on the page. I go off of the google map to get the caches I am going to find, not the list. The list shows closest by radius, which if you notice, can actually make you spiral your caches, missing ones that were close to where you were. Can be really frustrating. Going off the Google map, you can choose exactly where you want to go caching for the day. Makes things soooo much easier. :)
So next, I take my notebook, which is always kept with my caching stuff, and I write down each cache, gc number (because I have the cord to download the caches directly to my gps and it downloads the numbers as the gc number). I write down the gc number, name of the cache, and any description helpful, such as cache size, type, or even hints. Sometimes there will be hints on the caches, trailheads, parking coordinates, or even people posting in the logs things that might be useful.
When I get everything written down, I usually write down about 45 caches, so I can have fallbacks. Then I make sure I have everything necessary. Depending on the trip, you need to pack things. The further away, the more you need. The types of caches, the different supplies. Bug spray and Sunblock are ALWAYS a must. You should always carry them with you. Regardless of type of cache trip.
If you are only going urban caching, you probably don't need much. Writing utensils, replacement caches, baggies, and logbooks. Sometimes even pliers, tweezers, or gloves might help.
If you are going woods caching, you want to carry a bunch more things. A strap bag for items. First aid kit, toys, trackables, tradeitems, purse, keys, sunblock, bottle of water, camera, notebook, pencils, pens, phone, extra batteries. I don't know if I can stress the importance of some of these. Extra batteries because if your gps goes down in the woods, you're in trouble. Phone is definitely important. If you are going caching, you need to have a phone. Even a trackphone. You need it in case of injury or emergency. This is not an option. DO NOT GO OUT WITHOUT ONE.
Don't forget to dress appropriately. I know that sounds silly, but it's really true. Bring extra jackets, shoes. Sandals for creek caching, sneakers for most woods caching, tank top if it's summer and can get warm. Don't think that you are immune to the heat. It can get very hot, and you can get very hot and you can overheat and get heat stroke. Hence, also, keeping a bottle of water on you.
So, after I made sure I had everything ready to go, I got in the car and headed down to West Seneca. Now, I knew I was going to be in for a hard day, so I bust out, and just started going. I went hiking for the first two.
Now, when geocaching, you need to have a geosense. When you are walking towards a woodsy area, or even just in general, the more you cache, the more you'll be able to see where the cache "should" be. Like, "giant tree, dead ahead". You'll know your distances as well. You'll start getting to know how far .1 is and where it will be. This definitely helps when you are in the woods. If you can get to a clearing or even a hill, you can usually pinpoint where you are trying to get to. Like I did. I found a huge downed log and climbed on top of it and searched with a clear signal to estimate my distance. From where I was, I could see a giant stump a couple dozen feet tall about 300 feet away through the overgrowth.

Argh. I'm getting tired. I'll finish this post in the morning. I didn't realize it's midnight. >.<

Welcome to the Wide World of Caching

Hi all, this is the first post for my Geocaching Blog. I will be using this to share stories, memories, photos, and of course, SAFETY TIPS.
While caching alone today, and realizing that I was lucky in the countless things that could have killed me, I need to share this data and information with the growing batch of friends that I have that are getting into caching on their own.
So, sit back, relax, and learn. I will be updating as much as possible, probably two or three times a week. :)
So learn, love, and adventure!