Modern World Exploration — Beginner | modernworldexploration.com
The four container sizes, the 161 m separation rule and the short kit list for a first hunt.
Geocaching is a treasure hunt with published coordinates: someone hides a container, lists its position, and you find it with a GPS or phone. Two numbers matter before anything else — the size classes and the separation distance.
Containers come in four official classes by length. Micro is under 10 cm and usually holds only a rolled log sheet. Small spans 10-20 cm, enough for a logbook and pencil. Regular covers 20-40 cm, the lunchbox class with room for trade items. Large is anything over 40 cm — rare in cities, glorious in forests.
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The size class is printed on every cache listing, and reading it saves real time: hunting a micro means scanning bolts, caps and fence posts, while a regular means checking hollow logs and rock piles. Match your eyes to the class before you start looking.
When you hide your own cache, the separation rule applies: published geocaches must sit at least 161 m (0.10 mile) apart. Measure the distance to every neighbouring cache on the map before committing to a spot — a beautiful location 140 m from an existing cache is simply a rejected listing.
Kit for a first hunt is deliberately light: a GPS or phone, a pen for micro logs, water at 0.5 L per walking hour, and the ten essentials in a 20-30 L daypack if the walk is long. For anything beyond a marked trail, the skills on the Map and GPS Basics page apply, and any cache hidden in a derelict structure falls under the rules on the Urban Exploration Safety page.
Further reading