What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is a treasure hunting game that uses GPS technology to hide and locate geocaches. It can be a casual pastime, or highly competitive. It can be as easy as a walk in the park, or as hard as climbing a mountain. It can be a solitary experience, or very social. Geocaching can be done by the very young or the aged, the very fit or people with disabilities. Geocaching is an activity that you can modify to suit YOU.
What is a geocache?
A traditional geocache (or just a “cache”) is a container of some sort. The size and form of this container is only limited by your imagination. The only requirements on a cache container is that is must hold a log book of some sort and it must not be dangerous.
How do I geocache?
There are two essential parts to geocaching: finding a cache and hiding a cache.
Finding a geocache
To find a cache you need to know where it is. The location is usually provided to you as a set of coordinates that you can enter into a GPS receiver (GPSr). There are a number of web sites that can provide this information, and the most popular is www.geocaching.com. The cache information page may also provide details on the size of the cache, the terrain difficulty, the finding difficulty, and additional hints.
With the cache information, now you usually enter the coordinates into your GPSr and follow the directions to the area where the cache is hidden. The GPS typically gets you within 3-8 metres (10-25 ft) of the cache.
Once you find the cache, you sign the log, exchange any trade items you want, and log your find on the appropriate web site when you get home.
Hiding a geocache
Hiding a geocache involves careful planning to determine where to place the cache, what kind of container to use as the cache, obtaining permission to place the cache, and then submitting the cache for listing on the appropriate web site.
Geocaching is different for everyone. You may choose not to hide any caches, or you may chose to hide many caches. How you play the game is up to you!
What do I need to geocache?
Geocaching does not require much. At the least, you need internet access to find out where the caches are hidden. You do not necessarily need a GPSr (you can often use Google Maps or the like to find urban geocaches) but it definitely is handy. You don’t need a sport GPSr — newer cell phones with GPS capabilites are suitable for geocaching too. Automotive GPSrs are less suitable for geocaching. The last thing you need is a little bit of time. Caution: geocaching can be addictive and may consume more than “a little bit of time”.
Geocaching etiquette
Geocaching has evolved from a tradition of respecting the environment. It is important to minimize your (and others’) impact on the environment. Geocaches are never buried. Geocaches should be only placed (and found) respecting property rights. Geocaches should not disrupt or cause public alarm.
Always sign logs of caches you find. Leave polite and helpful logs when you log your finds on the web. Always “trade up”: if you take a trade item, leave an item of equal or better value. Always move travel bugs or geocoins within two weeks of picking them up. Never leave food-related items in caches.
Geocache types
Traditional caches are containers with logs. However, there are also “multicaches” which may require you to visit several locations and find several caches before finding the “final” cache. There are puzzle caches (aka mystery caches) which may require you to solve difficult (or easy) puzzles before finding the physical caches. There are “virtual” caches (no longer accepted at geocaching.com) where there is no container at all!
Geocaching events
Geocaching can be a very social activity too! Meetups of geocachers happen regularly, and these events can registered on the geocaching web pages too! Events can be geocaching 101 events, rallies, poker events, anything where a group of cachers get together for an event that is NOT primarily finding caches. Some events may have thousands of attendees!
Travel bugs, geocoins, and signature items
Part of the tradition of geocaching is leaving trinkets in the caches for others to find. These trinkets may range from small toys to keychains to CDs, or anything! Some items are trackable on geocaching web sites: they have tracking numbers on them that let their owners (and others) see the journey that they have been on. Travel bugs are any items with a “travel bug” dog-tag attached to them. Geocoins are coins with tracking numbers stamped right into them. Geocoins are *sometimes* left in geocaches, and some people just collect the coins outright!
Some geocachers have created items that they leave in every cache they visit, “signature items”. These items may be wooden nickels, buttons, or some other small trinket that have the geocacher’s name on them.
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