Looking for a way to spice up your hikes? Geocaching, a modern day treasure hunt, is the perfect way to take your hike to the next level. Not only is it a fun way to exercise your mind, it is an opportunity to explore new terrain and discover new destinations. It is also a great way to motivate children to come on a hike.
What Is Geocaching?
Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Treasure hunters navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and attempt to find the cache (treasure) hidden at that location. To geocache you simply need a GPS device or GPS-enabled phone to navigate to the cache.
Geocache Apps
There are a number of apps available for your phone that provide detailed instructions of how to get to the cache along with detailed reviews. My favorite is an app available for both iPhone and Android simply called “Geocaching” by Groundspeak Inc. This is the official geocaching.org app and is, in my opinion, the simplest, most user-friendly option. For beginners this app is ideal, allowing you to search, hunt, and log your finds. The only downfall to this app is the price point. Groundspeak’s app is one of the most expensive on the market, priced at $9.99. The fee ends up being a small price to pay to get directly plugged into the main geo-database. Regular updates of new geocache destinations also make this app a reasonable investment.
Are Geocaches Only Found On Hiking Trails?
Geocaches are located all over the world. It is common for geocachers to hide their treasures in locations that hold meaning to them, reflecting a special interest or skill of the cache owner. Locations vary from local parks, schools, at the end of a long hike, underwater, or on the side of a street.
What Do Geocaches Look Like?
Geocache prizes come in all shapes and sizes. I’ve seen toy cars, rubber bands, dog tags bracelets, stickers, and pins to name a few, Most caches are housed in a traditional container at the given coordinates. The size may vary, but all of these geocaches will have a logbook to leave your mark behind. Larger containers may have items for trade.
If you take an item from the cache make sure to leave something behind of equal or greater value. When you are finished put the cache back exactly as you found it for the next visitor.
Geocaching Best Practices
One of the most controversial topics in the geocaching community is what is appropriate and inappropriate to leave in a cache. Guidelines have since been developed to provide geocaching enthusiasts with proper etiquette ideals to follow.
- Don’t leave food in a cache. Not only will food attract animals, it will also make the container smell. Protect animals from attempting to gnaw through plastic containers and avoid leaving your food behind.
- Do not leave anything illegal, dangerous, or offensive in a cache. Keep in mind that many people involve their children in geocaching adventures, so be responsible when leaving treasures behind.
- Try to trade up if you choose to take something from a cache. Avoid leaving behind broken toys, dirty golf balls, cheap party favors, and anything else that would be considered junk. Trading up also makes the cache more appealing to find.
- Consider the next cache visitor. Would they find whatever item you leave behind interesting, useful, exciting, or fun? If you’ve answered no to any of the above, reconsider the item you leave behind.
- Make sure the cache container is sealed. Out of respect for the next cache visitors, make sure the container is properly sealed to avoid water leaking inside and ruining the contents.
- Cover your tracks when you leave the cache. Geocaching is a game after all, and it should be a challenge for the next visitor. Do your best to treat lightly out and don’t leave too many noticeable signs behind.
How Do I Review My Experience?
Logging your experience is one of the best things you can do for the geocaching community. Most geocachers share their experiences with others by reporting their find online at geocaching.com. This is optional and not required, as some people prefer to operate like ninjas — leaving no trace behind while keeping their discoveries and adventures to themselves.
How Do I Get Started?
Aside from downloading a geocaching app onto your cell phone, you can get started with geocaching by logging onto geocaching.com for access to nearly 2 million cache coordinates. Search for your next geocache site by difficulty level, location, and accessibility. A GPS unit is necessary for geocaching to track down the location. A map is also a good tool for geocaching.
What To Bring:
First and foremost bring a GPS receiver, compass, and topo map. To ensure a safe and successful search you should also bring the following:
- Flashlight: It is easy to lose track of time when you are having fun. Bring a flashlight and an extra set of batteries in case the sun sets sooner than expected.
- Water: As with any hike or adventure, water is crucial to bring to stay properly hydrated.
- First-aid kit: In the case that someone in your hiking group gets injured, a first-aid kit is a must. Exploring new terrain can sometimes bring unexpected twists and turns that result in injury. Be prepared for the worst, yet hope for the best.
- Cell phone: Your cell phone can also act as a GPS unit, albeit is not the recommended or sole choice for navigation. Keep this close to you at all times, especially if you will be hiking solo.
- Cache treasure: If you take a treasure, leave behind a treasure. Bring a cache treasure just in case you feel the urge to take something. Small, lightweight, environmentally friendly, non-degradable items, and inexpensive are the basic cache treasure guidelines.
Geocaching History
The first documented mention of a GPS-directed game of hide-and seek was 15 years ago on May 5, 2000. On that day, Oregonian Dave Ulmer posted an open email on a USENET science newsgroup calling for an activity to celebrate the United States government’s take down of satellite navigation’s Selective Availability (SA).
Up until then, the accuracy of GPS receivers was limited by these partially scrambled satellite signals. With the elimination of SA that spring, what was once a tracking system capable of zeroing in from space to an area of a football field became a locating system capable of pinpointing a spot within 2 or 3 meters.
On September 2, 2002, Jeremy Irish registered the domain name www.geocaching.com which started the geocaching revolution. Today, over 1 million web-logged geocache sites are available for venturing and the list keeps expanding each week.
Incorporating Geocaching Into Your Next Hike
The next time you hike a trail, consider adding an element of adventure and puzzle-solving by searching for a geocache nearby. Search online or via an application on your phone for local geocaching spots in your area. You may be surprised by what you discover.
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia, DeviantArt)