FAQ’s

Geocaching is the hobby of using GPS coordinates to find a container hidden by another geocacher. The person signs their name to the log and placed the container back like they found it.

Geocaches can be found on Geocaching.com.

To geocache you need a device with GPS reciever. All smartphones have this feature and have applications available to help find geocaches.

The only reward is the excitment of finding a cache and swapping swag.

Sometimes you will find coins or foreign money as swag but no real cash is invovled in finding geocaches.

Sometimes the cache page will tell what the container type is but not always. All caches do have a size listing which can help tell you if you are looking for a small micro or a large container.

When you find a geocache you sign your name to the physical log, swap swag, and then you can log the find on Geocaching.com.

A trackable or travel bug is an item that you move from cache to cache and dont get to keep like regular swag. Trackables have a tracking number that gets registered on Geocaching.com. Trackables track miles between caches as you visit and drop them in caches.

Discovering means you saw the trackable at an event or in a cache but left it there for someone else to move. Grabbing means you found it but not in the cache it was listed to be in. Dropping means you left a trackable in a cache. Visiting means the trackable was with you at the cache but you didn't leave it. Retrieving means that you picked up the trackable to move to a different cache.

Trackables can be purchased at a number of stores. Check out our helpful links page to show a list of geocaching stores.

A proxy is a replica trackable. Proxy can be made because people don't want to send out their original trackable or it has been lost so they create a proxy to start on the journey again.

When you find a geocache that you really like and are a premium member you can add a favorite point to a cache. Other cachers can see favorite point and know that others liked that cache. A geocache with a lot of favorite point can help attract people to it because they know its something special.

Favorite point are automatically awarded to you for every 10 caches you find. Once you have earned a favorite point credit you can give it out to any cache, excluding events, that you find special.

Difficult ratings go from 1.0 to 5.0 in .5 increments. The higher the difficulty the hard the cache will be to find.

Terrain ratings go from 1.0 to 5.0 in .5 increments. A terrain 1.0 cache should be handicap accessible. The higher the terrain rating the harder it is to reach ground zero and get to the cache.

Some caches are premium member only because the cache owner wants to help protect caches from being muggled or hurt by new cachers. Travelbug hotels and special caches are normally premium member only caches to help protect the travelbugs from being stolen or missing.

Premium membership cost $30. You can upgrade to a premium members on Geocaching.com.

There are no rules around when you can hide your first cache but we would recommend finding a few first. Finding 25 to 50 would be a good way to see how people hide caches and give you an idea how to hide your first cache.

To hide a cache is has to be .1 miles from the next closest cache or stage of a multi or mystery cache. After you find a location you pick a container that would be suitable for the location. You place the cache and take a coordinates reading for the location. Then on Geocaching.com you can create a page for your Geocache and it gets submitted to a local reviewer that will check out the location and listing. If all's good, they will publish the geocache.

No, glass containers are not allowed. You want a plastic or wooden container that will hold up well in the harsh Nebraska weather.

You have to phsyically sign the log. You do not have to log finds online.

A logbook can be anything from a sheet of paper to a notebook. They can be store bought or homemade. In our helpful links section we have links to where you can buy them and links to where you can print your own.

If you did not find a cache you should log a did not find log. Those help other cachers know the cache might be missing but also lets the cache owner know it could be missing. If there are a bunch of did not find logs a needs maintenance log should be done so the cache owner will go check on the cache to make sure its still there.

Kids toys from fast food resturants work really well for swag. If you don't have any kids, Goodwill sells bags of toys and items that work well for swag.

If the cache has a bunch of did not find logs would be a good time to log a needs maintenance log. Also, if the log is full or wet you should log a needs maintenance. Also if the cache container is broken or needs the cache owner to do maintenance you should do a needs maintenance log so the cache owner will be notified and go check on it.

Needs archived logs are acceptible if the cache has a needs maintenance log and the cache owner has not checked on it in a month or two. Needs archived logs are also acceptible if a cache is in a location it shouldn't be or a land/business owner ask you to take the cache with you and move it.

When creating a cache page on Geocaching.com you can add attributes. Attributes are items used to help cachers know what they need to prepare for while finding the cache. Attributes are anything for restrooms close by to greater 10KM hike.

A benchmark is a survey marker used by the government to survey the land. Geocachers will find them while out geocaching. You can log benchmarks but they don't count as a smiley (found cache) on your stats page.

A pocket query is something that a premium member has access to run on the Geocaching.com webpage. Pocket queries allow you to do a custom search based on a set of criteria that you choose. You can search for thing like specific cache types, specific difficulty and terrain ratings, and specific locations. An example would be, I want to find all multi caches in Nebraska of size large and higher than a 3 terrain rating. This pocket query would return all caches that meet that criteria. Pocket Queries can be saved and ran manually or scheduled to run at specific times during the week.

A power trail is a large group of caches in a condenced area that are normally easy to find. Power trails are often found in geoart, where people use caches to spell words on a map or create an image. Power trails allow you to have a high number of finds in a single day.

A reviewer helps check geocache pages and placements to make sure everything meets the guidelines of Geocaching.com. Reviewers are a good resource for when you have questions about geocaching.

On all geocache pages and trackable pages is a button on the right side to watch a cache or trackable. When you watch a geocache or trackable you will get an email anytime someone logs that cache or discovers, grabs, or drops the trackable.

Should your coordinates be a little off you are able to update the coordinates to make sure they are correct. If a cache needs moved a few feet you can do that but if the move is to large, the cache will need to be reviewed again by a reviewer.