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Geocaching: A Modern Treasure Hunt Would you like to add an element of surprise and discovery to your travels? Go geocaching!
Geocaching is a treasure-hunting activity with a high-tech twist. All that's needed is a handheld GPS unit and a sense of adventure.
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How does geocaching work? It's quite simple. A cache is hidden by a geocacher and its GPS coordinates are posted at www.geocaching.com. Fellow geocachers look up the coordinates and try to find the cache.
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A cache hidden at
the base of a tree.
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A cache can be just about any size, but the container needs to be weatherproof and watertight.
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This pill container is the smallest cache we've found
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and this 5 gallon cooler
is the largest.
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Inside the cache is a logbook where geocachers record when they find it. Depending on the size of the cache, it may also contain small items for trade such as souvenir trinkets, small toys, keychains and buttons. If you take an item out, you put another item in - that's trade etiquette.
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Does it sound like fun? If you give it at try, I bet you'll be hooked.
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Part of the fun is the search.
Many caches are hidden in places of scenic beauty. A geocache may take you down trails you've never explored. Or to a busy urban area down a street you wouldn't have noticed.
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Either way, it'll be a place where someone else has been and thought you should go.
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And you may find new friends along the way...
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Finding a cache is always rewarding - a goal accomplished.
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But caches are not necessarily obvious to find. A GPS unit can get you only as close as the unit's navigational accuracy. Within a certain radius (maybe 10 feet, maybe 25 feet or more, depending on conditions) GPS can't help any further. Then you must rely on clues in the geocache description and your own sense of observation. This becomes more challenging when non-geocaching people are around (known as "muggles"). You don't want to bring muggles' attention to the cache and risk the cache being damaged.
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Some geocaches contain special items known as travelbugs. A travelbug is a trackable item that moves from cache to cache. Each travelbug has a unique tracking number and geocachers post a message to the travelbug's online log when they move the travelbug. Some travelbugs have a theme with specific requests about where they go, others move along wherever geocachers take them.
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Blinky's mission is to
visit other lighthouses.
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Geocash's goal is to be photographed in front of all twelve Federal Reserve Banks
and all four US Mints.
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Princess Jenna wants to see
the world and then travel back
home to Nova Scotia in 2010.
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Before your next trip, check if there are any geocaches along the way for a refreshing and novel diversion from your travel routine. You may discover someplace new and even pick up an interesting souvenir at the same time.
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