Geocaching
Geocaching GPS
If you want a nice outdoor thing to do with friends or kids, you might want to try this. Geocaches are treasures hidden somewhere in a public place, usually containing a log to record your visit, something of interest about the place, and maybe some little trade items – hotwheels, tiny plastic frogs, “challenge” or “memorial” coins, refrigerator magnets, etc. Once you find the cache, you enter your “handle” and date on the log, note the contents, maybe exchange a hotwheels for a coin, and rehide the cache in exactly the same place.
All this is orchestrated through the web site Geocaching.com. When folks make a cache and hide it, they use a GPS to get the geographic coordinates, and then register the cache with its name,coordinates, and a little something about it to make it interesting at geocaching.com. There are many caches within ten miles of your home, and you can always add more.It’s your job to find the cache – getting within twenty feet or so using the GPS, and using your eyes and intellect to actually locate the cache. (Some are really tricky to find. The listing gives a difficulty rating) Once you have the satisfaction of finding the cache, then you log your find, and if it is large enough, exchange some “trade goods”. There are also serial numbered “tracking bugs” that move from cache to cache similar to “flat Stanley”. Each tracking bug has a history on geocache.com of where it has been – some in hundreds of caches.
After your day in the woods, park, forest or fields is complete, you then log your day’s exploits at the geocaching.com website to add to your totals. You also add a little “thanks for the hide” note to the person who “owns” the cache. That way they know that it is still out there giving pleasure to those who find it.
This hobby requires a decent handheld GPS, sturdy shoes, and depending on how hard-core you are sunscreen and/or tick repellent. Many caches are not difficult to access in your work clothes, but a few require ropes and crampons. Most are just for fun, but some memorialize the history of the site.
Another important aspect of geocaching is the philosophy of “Cache in Trash out”. Most geocachers will bring a trash bag and pick up any trash they come upon on the search. Many geocache events are focused upon a meetup (usually at a restaurant) and a combination hunt and trash cleanup.
Overall this is a great way to get some fresh air, exercise and use some observation skills that you might not have used since you were a kid.
