Did you notice the treasure you passed today? I passed two on my way to the grocery store. One of them is mine. Over 70 people have found it so far. There are neither gold nor diamonds inside it. The treasure, the adventure, is in the hunt, the places visited and the history learned. I have thirteen more hidden around the area where I live. Over the last two years, I have discovered over 350 that others have hidden. What are these treasures? They are geocaches.
According to www.GeoCaching.com:
Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.
There are currently over 700,000 active caches in the world. This means that no matter where you are, there are sure to be some caches near you.
It is easy to begin geocaching. You can use a good map, but a GPSr certainly makes it easier. You don’t have to have the newest one available, any GPS will do.
- Register for a free account.
- Click “Hide & Seek a Cache”.
- Enter your postal code and click “Search”.
- Choose any geocache from the list and click on its name.
- Enter the coordinates of the geocache into your GPS unit.
- Use the GPS unit to assist you in finding the hidden geocachers.
- Sign the logbook and return the geocache to its original location.
- Share your geocaching stories and photos online.
Have you got the treasure-hunting bug yet? It’s easy to get out there and start searching. There are geocaches everywhere, just waiting for you to find them.
We too have hidden a number of treasures… and for us the joy of caching is the adventure… Get out of the house, take a walk, enjoy the scenery, and perhaps in the middle of the journey you will find a treasure hidden for those who know where to look.
Finding the cache is only a small part of the experience. We really enjoy the journey.
I agree that the cache is only a small part of the experience. There is not only the journey, but also what the cache can show you. My wife and I have lived in the same area for most of our lives. However, upon starting geocaching, we were led to some beautiful and interesting locations that we never knew existed.
While here in Ireland, studying abroad for a semester, we have been using geocaching to discover some interesting areas, and the history behind them, that we would have missed out on otherwise.