Geocaching: Treasures are Closer than you Think
As the weather gets colder, I have less of an inclination to jump in the car to find a new place to explore, and more reasons to look for things to do nearby. Here is a way to make exploring your own city feel like a new adventure: go geocaching! How do you catch a geo and will it bite, you ask? Geocaching doesn’t hurt a bit, but you may get bitten by the bug once you start and decide to continue geocaching even when you are traveling.
Here’s the basic idea - in just about every city imaginable (not to mention beyond city limits) tiny treasures have been hidden by other geocache enthusiasts and clues to find them have been recorded. They just await your discovery!
How do I find them? First go to www.geocaching.com. Create an account. You can choose a free account or pay $30 for a premier membership account. The free account will still give you access to a huge database of geocaches. Once your account is set up, you can find a list of caches by using the “Hide and Seek a Cache” button and entering a zip code or street address. Your search can limited to be within any amount of miles you designate. Most of the caches have catchy names; click on one that sounds like fun. At the top of that page will be a difficulty rating for both finding the cache for how difficult the terrain is to get to the cache area. Also at the top are the GPS coordinates for the cache. You can download them into a hand-held GPS system or punch them up into your iPhone. Some of the cache pages offer visual clues as well. (Ex: From the posted coordinates go to the parking lot at the water tower. Now head east three blocks and look for the weeping willow tree…) Once you are at your location, hunt around for a hidden treasure.
Contents from a summer cache
What does a geocache look like? It is usually a small, waterproof plastic box with knick knacks inside and often a small notebook (and a writing utensil if you’re lucky). One or more “treasures” have been placed inside by the creator of the cache. If you wish to keep one of your newly discovered treasures you may, just as long as you replace it with a knick knack of your own. Keychain trinkets are popular items, as are bouncy balls or small toys. Think something you might find in a Cracker Jacks box. Decide on a name for those of you who scouted it out and sign the notebook with the date you discovered the cache. Also list the item you removed and the item you added if there is room enough to do so in the notebook.
What do I need to get started? This is an activity centered around GPS coordinates, so you need some way to translate the coordinates into a location. Typically a hand-held GPS is used. These range in cost from around $100 to over $500. For geocaching, you really don’t need anything fancy, just something basic to plug the coordinates into. Paul Gillin of Joy of Geocaching.com told me about the Geomate Jr. which has tons of caches preloaded into its system, making it less technically complicated for kids. This is around $70. Neither Paul nor I have tried it, but it sounds like a nice way to start out. There are reviews of GPS systems from a geocacher’s standpoint to give you an idea of what to look for.
Geocaching on the iPhone
Or, like Heather at Rookie Moms, you can download an iPhone application into your phone, which also works just as well. Software applications include Groundspeak’s Geocaching iPhone Application or Geocache Navigator (for other smart phones). Some pros and cons when considering a phone application vs. a GPS device: the basic GPS devices download just the coordinates. If you want to keep the clues or directions that come with that cache handy, you’ll need to write or print those out separately and take them with you. (Higher-end GPS models have the capability of downloading the clues too.) Most smart phones can store the cache description and clues on the device, and since an iPhone can give you a network connection, you can easily browse a list of nearby caches while on the go. You may have to be wary of the battery power of your phone, however, whereas the battery power of most GPS devices will easily last a long time. Also, a GPS device might get you a bit closer to the exact coordinates of a cache (within 10 feet or so), whereas your phone might only be able to estimate your location to within fifteen to twenty feet (approximately). When you are looking for a very small cache, narrowing the field can save a lot of looking time. Bob Titley pointed me to another site that also has some very helpful geocaching information.
Eureka! Now what? Once you’ve found the cache, signed the notebook, and added something personal of your own (if you’d wish), be sure to return the cache in the exact spot it was found. You can log back onto www.geocaching.com and record the one you found into your account for your own record keeping. (With a smart phone, you can log your find right from the phone!)
This is a great activity for kids of all ages, and something that everyone can enjoy together. For older kids you can bring a map and compass and use this as a way to learn navigational skills. Though this is an activity I often think about during the winter as I look for local trip ideas, we also have download geocaches that look good around vacation spots as either an activity to break up a long car trip or something to fall back on if a vacation day is not going as planned. One of the many great things about geocaches is that they exist practically everywhere, and often end up taking you somewhere beautiful that you might not have otherwise found.
Happy Hunting!
We do geocaching here in Germany, it makes the kids walk or hike for hours.Sometimes it is not easy to find the treasure. One time we were looking for half an hour to find it. It said the treasure is hidden in an old stump(in a forest). At the end we found it. There was an old tram ticket in the treasure chest. I thought, oh well therefore all this hunting? Yes, it made my son uncredibly happy!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by rookiemoms, Mara Gorman. Mara Gorman said: I've been wanting to start geocaching – happy I found this guide! http://bit.ly/1JnyEa [...]
Lora-You’re right about geocaching giving you a fun reason to plan a day trip around home, and it’s a great activity you can do as a team with your family.
We also like geocaching when we travel because it will often point you to something interesting you’d never find on your own. As I mentioned in my email, we particularly like caches hidden near historic sites or old cemeteries–great way to learn about the history of a place.
Thanks for allowing me to mention the stories I have about geocaching at Midwest Guest http://www.midwestguest.com/geocaching/
The most how-to oriented ones include this one about what supplies we like to take along with us in our cache bag http://www.midwestguest.com/2009/02/cache-and-carry.html and this one, which is more of an intro article http://www.midwestguest.com/2008/10/sleuthing-with-nancy-drew.html
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