As children most have participated in a scavenger hunt at one time or another. The thrill of the hunt kept them coming back for more. That is exactly what geocaching is doing to young and old alike.
What the Heck is Geocaching?
Geocaching is a hobby/sport that is creating an enthusiastic following. A car is traveling down the highway, when suddenly it pulls off the road and everyone bails out with small gadgets in their hands. The driver notices the group all looking at the gadgets.
It seems as though their eyes are fixated as they seem to form a trail. Finally they arrive at a small tree, everyone stops. They begin to scour the tree, peering under the branches. This continues for a few minutes, then a shrill yelp echoes, as he holds the trophy.
Actually what was just witnessed is a group of geocachers. The gadgets are GPS units. As they follow the cache ( hidden container) coordinates, they zero in. Once they have arrived at the destination, this is where they turn on the wit.
Geocachers are trying to find the cache which was hidden by a fellow cacher who is the owner and publisher of the cache. They must use their hiding sense to try to figure out where the cache is hidden. Once they have located the cache they must take out the log book, sign and date it, then put it back in the cache while being very stealthy.
The cache must be placed exactly as it was found. The thrill of the hunt and ultimate retrieval of the cache is weirdly therapeutic. That is what keeps cachers coming back for more.
Size Does Matter.
Caches can come in various sizes starting as small as a pencil eraser tip to fifty gallon containers. The ideal premise is to camouflage the container so the cacher has to really use their wits in order to find it.
The cache could be magnetic, then it may not. many times the surroundings are a hint in themselves. When all else fails and the cacher is stumped, they are permitted to look at the hint given by the owner.
Some of the larger caches have trade items in them. Many cachers have signature items that they like to leave in the caches. As cachers find more and more caches they begin to recognize styles of hides and also hone in on the style of the cache owner. Some caches are very easy to find , while others may have them scratching their head and mumbling.
Getting Out and About.
All in all geocaching is a fun hobby which gets folks out of the house and moving. This is the sport for those who are not the "regular sports" nuts. Many caches take people to unique places or to places to see unique things. To learn more about geocaching just login to www.geocaching.com.
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