Candidate Question: New Members

[GypsyseekerParticipant]

Glad all of you are running for BOD,,,,

I see in WGA has a lot of members with many years of experience and have vast knowledge

of geocaching,,there are some of us that are still new it.

My question is

What will you do to encoureage us and include us new people into geocaching?

[jodibeeModerator]

When I first started geocaching, I was up a bit North in Minnesota with my family for a Christmas week.  I went out caching one day, and met 2 guys hiking along a snowmobile trail, one with a shovel and one with a broom.  I said, “you’re either geocachers, or have a body to bury”.  They laughed and asked if I’d found the one at the nearby Welcome sign.  I hadn’t (no broom, no shovel), so we worked together to find it.  As we chatted, they told me that they were working on getting the one guy to 1000 finds.  I said that I only had 12 finds so far, and they pointed out to me that everyone starts out with their first find!  Then they showed me a Chirp, gave me my first trackable, and explained what to do with it.  So, I’ve always tried to be mindful of everyone’s unique journey.  I have friends who started caching before me and have fewer finds.  Others who have been caching far fewer years, but circumstances have allowed them to find thousands more.  It’s different for everyone.

The best/most fun option I’ve found is having Geocaching 101 events.  It’s great to be able to explain the basics to people, families and kids!  I would love to be able to sponsor or somehow support more events in Wisconsin that give newbie cachers, or even veterans, more skills and ideas.  I live near the WI/MN border, so I attend some MN events.  A while back, someone hosted an event that covered some of the technical topics, like using GSAK (yeah, I had no idea what that was at the time!), geocachingtoolbox.com, and some of the other websites out there.  It’s always amazing to me when I’m chatting to someone, and I find out new ways to explore geocaching.  That’s what I want to continue promoting.

jodibee

Views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA Board of Directors.

[MavWittParticipant]

Hi Gypsyseeker,

We are all new at some point. There are portions of Geocaching that I have not explored yet. Like you, I love learning new aspects of the game.

I created a Geocaching 101 class just before COVID hit. I only got to present it once. I would love to dust it off and collaborate with others to create a series of 101 classes that any experienced Geocacher could use. I imagine someone has already done this. It may just take a little research to find it.

We could also create online classes and possibly start a podcast – something like Thursday nights with the BOD where folks can ask the BOD questions and possibly have guest panelists.

Great question. It got my imagination going.

Happy caching,

MavWitt

[jmj-wiModerator]

Hi Gypsyseeker,

I have participated in a WGA Geocaching 101 recently at Cache Bash 2021, and have and continue to help those that need to install apps on their phone and how to use them.  I even created an event before I was on the BOD to help introduce Geocaching and the WGA in Western Wisconsin,

I am always running into newer cachers or those that don’t know about Geocaching and encourage them to try or continue and offer guidance if needed.

[jks1033Moderator]

Geocaching is different for everyone, but we all started somewhere for that first find.  As I noted in my profile, our first geocache experience including meeting an experienced geocacher, who showed up during our first search.  We actually found the cache first – mainly because we had no preconceived expectations of where it could be, and it was not in the “normal” spot for that type of hide.  He chatted with us about geocaching and gave us a trackable and explained what a trackable was.  That lead to a very positive first experience that hooked us on geocaching.  Much of our geocaching is part of trips we take because that is what works for us.  That is not the case for everyone.  Your first experience can be positive like ours or negative with the frustration of not finding the cache (or not realizing you actually found it but did not recognize as a cache).

My advice the new cachers, is to try to set yourself up for a positive experience.  We have done this with several people new to geocaching by taking them out for those first finds.  If you know a geocacher, see if you can do an outing with them.  If you don’t, start by attending some events, including a Geocaching 101 event and take the time to learn about geocaching etiquette.  The more geocachers you meet and talk to, the more tips, tricks and hints you can learn.  The more you learn the more, the more you get a feel for what geocaching means to you (that will change over time), and how you want to interact with the game.  Events like the WGA events often have several new caches for people to find.  That is the perfect time to join a group to find those caches and a great way to learn more about geocaching and meet other cachers.  Do be afraid to ask to join the group, it the best way to get to know others and learn.

Geocaching continues to grow and evolve with different ways to participate.  We have not hosted any geocaching 101 events, but the events we have hosted, always include questions (including our own questions) and discussions around certain caches, various apps for caching, and learning about the cool caches in the area (that’s how we learned about The Doctor Is In – GC6YDR6).  We do our best to make sure new cachers feel welcome at our events.  We will continue to look for opportunities to host events in our area to bring old and new cachers together.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

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