It's Two Out Of Two Geocache's On A Muddy Morning Walk...
If you've seen my first attempt at geocaching with my new etrex h, you'll know it wasn't successful, so today I went out determined not to fail! I chose 2 caches that were local to where I lived and had been visited and found in the last couple of days.
The etrex H (the H stands for High Sensitivity GPS Receiver - great for under trees) is a great entry-level hiking / geocaching GPS because it's cheap, easy to use and durable. As you can see from the video, the Etrex H is a non-mapping handheld Sat Nav. You enter the lat / long of where you want to go, start walking, then it works out the bearing you should be traveling on and takes you there in a straight line.
I think this adds to the "mini adventure" nature of Geocaching - the Sat Nav tells you which direction to go in, but you need to work out your route along paths, past streams, around houses, etc, to get to your goal, you don't want it to be like a car GPS, which tells you exactly what to do.
Why is Geocaching so much fun? It gets you and the family into the great outdoors, you get some fresh air and to see the wild-life, and when you've got to try and get to a cache with no "muggles" looking it can be a bit of an adrenaline rush. (Honest!)
If you really get into hiking or geocaching you could always spend the extra on a mapping GPS, but you have to budget in the extra cost of the maps, so you're looking at £300 upwards for a serious device instead of the £65 for an Etrex H.
So, here's the video, look out for the squirrel and my muddy shoes!
I really like the Garmin Etrex H, it's solid, does the job and doesn't cost the earth. You know that if you drop it in a stream it'll be ok, and already I'm getting quick at entering lat / longs from Geocache logs.
If you want to try out Geocaching, the Etrex H is my recommendation.
Buy a Garmin eTrex H From Amazon.co.uk - Free Delivery
Comments / Questions:
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I'm thinking of getting an Etrex H gps,I wish to log fishing marks on a beach without any co-ordinates being available, my question is: Is it possible to walk to the fishing mark and then enter the given co-ordinates?
After doing the above,could I then save the return journey for future directions to that mark? I assume that this would also work as a backup for use in my boat. I woild be really grateful to hear from you regarding these questions. Many thanks Gerry You're on the right lines, but it's easier than that. |
My previous (now dead) Garmin let me create a wp and do a 'Goto' in 1 step. I've just bought this one as a replacement and it seems i have to create the wp(mark), then goto Waypoints, find the new wp then do a Goto. Do you know if its possible to do it in 1 step ? I don't think you can. |
| I can't even find out how to use it to find my current location ... help!!! Steve. Go to the screen that says "menu" at the top, then select the "mark" option. That'll give you your lat / long. |
hELP.. HOW DO i SET IT UP . PUTTING STARTING GRID REFS IN TO ENABLE US TO RETURN FROM A CACHE TO OUR CAR VIA AN ALTERNATIVE WALK.
If you buy the optional lead, and download the Garmin software, you can enter caches, tracks and waypoints via your pc. Otherwise you've got to punch them in manually I'm afraid. To enter a cache ref, (or any type of waypoint), simply scroll through the options until you get to the main meni. Select "Mark" then scroll down and edit the lat / long and name. |
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