Geocaching

What is geocaching and why do we like it?

Well, it's sort of a combination of scavenger hunting and orienteering, using GPS technology to locate a "cache" of pretty-much worthless trinkets usually waaaay out in the woods somewhere. It is the thrill of the hunt that keeps us, and thousands of others, searching.

Information about caches can be found at www.geocaching.com where you can search for caches by zip code, latitude and longitude coordinates, or by city. Download the coordinates into your hand held GPS and off you go. But don't be fooled! The GPS will show you how to get there in a straight line, but that is NEVER EVER the way you get there. Things like lakes, rivers, heavy woods, no roads, mountains, etc. stand in your way and you have to find your way around or through these obstacles.

Once in the general vicinity of the cache, you head off on foot watching the GPS and hoping like heck there's a trail. Often you'll start on a trail, but end up in a thicket . . . or a cornfield . . . or a cemetery (especially popular in Indiana) . . . or down a very steep embankment . . . or a swamp.

The cache is usually pretty well hidden, often in or under a tree, and can be a small plastic container, an ammo box, a plastic photo film cannister, or even smaller! We once found one on the end of a pully way up in a tree. The container was smaller than an inkpen and the pully was nearly invisible fishing line. Inside you will generally find several trinkets and sometimes a "Travel Bug" which you can take to leave at another cache destination. You can even add something of your own, if you want. We've moved Travel Bugs and other trinkets from one state to the next, left small pebbles we found on the shores of Lake Huron and little seashells from the coast of Maine.


Besides your hand held GPS, you'll need a few other supplies for geocaching: a hiking stick is good for poking around to make sure there are no critters around the cache. I like garden gloves for sticking your hands into those places where the critters might be. And anytime you are geocaching with EB, water and a snack will sustain you through those long hours of stumbling around the woods!

You can learn more about geocaching at www.geocaching.com. It's fun, challenging, adventurous and sometimes tests the strength of your relationship! No, really . . . . it is lots of fun!