WHAT IS GEOCACHING?
Members of the Geocaching Web Site have containers of various sorts very well hidden in sometimes very remote locales or even right in the city.  Coordinates and a few clues are provided and it's up to the seeker to use a GPS to locate the caches.    Basically, what I enjoy about Geocaching is I get to play with my GPS, play with maps, and drive & hike to some of the most beautiful places that the State of Wisconsin and the USA has to offer.  Many of these places aren't well known and only Geocachers know and appreciate the tranquility.    There's no real "treasure" to be found but there are trinkets and other neat things to exchange when you find the cache.  It's not the prize, but the fun of the hunt that makes it fun.  I have seen so many lakes, trails, rivers, campgrounds & waterfalls that I never would have seen without the Geocaching influence.   It is an Outdoors Lover's dream!  Before I babble any further, here's an FAQ from the source.  That will answer a ton of questions.

   My Geocaching.com Profile
   ---  This will link you to my profile and statistics at the web site.  I also have a Cache of my own hidden in the beautiful Wisconsin Northwoods.  I'm going to start a Multi-Cache in Spring of 2005 that will give you a tour of the beautiful historic City of Sheboygan Falls, WI, the city I was born and raised in.

   The Groundspeak Forums
    ---  This link will take you the Groundspeak Forum which is a Geocaching message posting forum.  Tons of details and information to be found here.  

   Wisconsin Geocaching Association
    ---  Club devoted to Wisconsin Geocachers.

MY GEOCACHING WAREZ:
I use a Garmin eTrex Vista powered by Garmin MapSource Software.  I prefer using the Roads & Recreation Map version for my travels into more rural & wooded areas because of the Outdoor details like trails, campgrounds, water bodies etc.  Only down side to that software is the road data is mid 1980's circa.  For City & Highway travel, I use Metroguide V5.  It has very up to date Road & Highway data but lacks water and recreational features of Roads & Rec. so you have to choose by your needs.   Contact me by E-mail for more info on this software.  The eTrex Vista has enough Memory to store the Entire state of Wisconsin in both software formats.  You can find out much more about the GPS, software, and radio interfacing in my APRS Radio Section.  I chose the Garmin models based on a recommendation by my good friend Jon KC9AXZ and also consumer reports of better mapping & battery life as compared to competitors.

These are some screen shots of my Garmin eTrex Vista taken using a Garmin GPS software called xImage.  The GPS has far too many features for me to show here but these are some common views.  Maps can be zoomed to any level and panned using the joystick on the GPS face.  You can also search for just about anything using the GPS.  The key is having good map data loaded which is why I recommend using both Roads & Recreation and MetroGuide to get the most from each.  There are several other Garmin Mapping Software Titles with details available at the Garmin Mapsource Page.