The majority of geocachers have learned the ropes of this sport by the old Nike motto: they just did it. They may have gone out on hunts with a few more experienced cachers and picked up some pointers from them. They might have sat around campfires at event caches and traded tips. They also might have spent hours perusing the forums and weighing the advice given there against several large grains of salt, but the journey of a thousand caches always begins with the step of simply finding that first cache. No one has ever picked up a manual and read their way into geocaching. It just isn't done.However, all of us would have to admit there are aspects of this pastime that baffle us. We may come prepared with an extensive knowledge of the outdoors but lack the technical savvy to know exactly how to finesse a GPS. We might come to the game as a gadget geek but admit to getting lost in our own backyards. It would take a lot of searching through web pages and libraries of outdoor guides-not to mention trial and error-to assemble information on the various aspects of this game. Thankfully, there's a much better source.
Eric Sherman's Geocaching: Hike and Seek with Your GPS is a book that brings the fun of geocaching and the thrill of the hunt together with much needed information about how to stay alive in the woods. Sherman has wisely approached this topic with the realization that geocaching itself isn't all that complicated. Instead he has provided us with a guide to all the little incidentals that can make "finding a box in the woods" complicated.
Most of the time I didn't feel like I was so much reading a book about geocaching, as I was reading a book about the outdoors from a geocacher's perspective. From map reading to shooting a baring with a compass to picking out the perfect hiking boots, Geocaching: Hike and Seek with Your GPS fills us in on all the other stuff that wouldn't have been in our GPS manuals, even if we had bothered to read them.
When it does come to information directly related to placing and finding caches, Sherman writes with the savvy of someone who's been there. Many of his points are punctuated with personal stories that almost any cacher can relate to and laugh about. Photos from the wild and websites are plentiful and give even the newest of newbies enough background to understand exactly what this game is all about.
Aside from being an active geocacher himself, Sherman could not have chosen a better technical editor than Kelly Markwell, a man who's name is synonymous with knowledge about geocaching. This is truly a book about geocaching by geocachers.
Geocaching: Hike and Seek with Your GPS will make a welcome addition to your collection of field guides and outdoor literature. Finally having all this information in one resource makes it well worth its very affordable price.
My sister-in-law ordered this for me for Xmas 2003 but it just shipped in April. I haven't read the book but it seems to be a very good overall review of the hobby. The chapters include the following:
1 - Starting Off (A quick overview of the sport and its history)
2 - Cache On (Various web sites, cache types & TBs)
3 - The Technology (GPS, compasses and maps)
4 - Lost in Style (Map reading, using the GPSr,
5 - A Good Walk (Being appropriately dressed, food & water)
6 - On the Hunt (Loading the waypoints and finding the caches)
7 - In Hiding (Hiding a cache)
8 - Geovariations (Variations on the sport)
Appendix A - Resources
Appendix B - Outdoor Safety
Many have joined the hobby, as I have, not as hikers enhancing their hiking, but those with a GPS and intrigued by finding caches most people don't know are all around them. If you fall into this category, you're likely not familiar with what would be common knowledge for those already consumed with the sport of hiking and the info provided in this book can help get you more aware of that portion of the hobby.
For those that are wondering what Geocaching is all about, it's probably easier to pick up the book and get a good overall feel without having to spend time searching various sites.
The book isn't expensive and I'm looking forward to reading it and hopefully getting out of it some information that will make Geocaching even more enjoyable.
