I ran across a nice website named Kimbo's Geocache Page while doing a Google search and thought I would share a link. Since I like geocaches that are found at the end of a nice hike in the woods, I really liked the geocaching tips on this webpage.
Here is one of Kimbo's tips that I can say I have definitely learned to follow from experience:
Route choice is still an important part of the hunt. Resist the urge to follow the GPS arrow slavishly. Stay on trails as long as you can. Walk along the trail a ways to see if it will turn in the direction you want to head. Remember that it is unlikely the cache hider took a hard way into the cache location! Another reason to stay on trails as long as you can is to reduce the amount of impact Geocaching will have on the area near the cache.
There have been so many times when I first started geocaching that I would pay too much attention to the arrow on the GPS and leave a trail to go bushwhacking to the cache to later find out that I could have walked to within a few feet of the cache had I just stayed on the trail.
Another of Kimbo's tips that fits right in with the first one I mentioned and goes along great with the wilderness type geocaches that require hiking in the backcountry is:
Figure out where you are going before you get there. Check out MapQuest and then look at some topographic maps. Aerial photography (TerraServer or MapQuest) can give you some good information too (like potential approach routes or nearest parking areas). Many park and recreation areas offer some kind of area map. Get one! Your GPS will get you to the cache, but not always by the best (or fastest) route. Plan your hike and get as close as you can (ideally within 1/4 of a mile) before letting the GPS guide you in over the final approach.
Happy Caching,
posted by Brandon
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