ADVENTURES IN GEOCACHING

The Growing Sport Turns A Walk in the Park Into a Treasure Hunt

Do you see it? Are we close?”

My children looked feverishly around as my husband held out the GPS app on his phone while stepping over branches and tree stumps. The leaves crunched under our feet as we walked through the St. Columban Retreat Center’s grounds to find a hidden treasure.

No, we weren’t seeking lost gold or looking for my keys.

We were geocaching, an activity in which participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

The sport has grown quickly along with the technology—the increasingly affordable technology—that has made it possible. According to Geocaching.com, the most-popular website dedicated to the activity, there are 2,584,841 active geocaches and more than six million geocachers throughout the world.

Gone are the analog days in which you had to navigate your way with compass and maps. Now, with apps specifically for geocaching and GPS management, families can pick the level of difficulty and type of terrain they want to explore.

For our first adventure, we picked tasks that rated a measly 1.5 on the 10.0 scale. We thought finding the canisters would be a breeze. And two out of the four times, it was. But even after 20 minutes of searching, we found that we struggled to find the others. We followed the directions, even read the clues included, but quickly realized that some things take a bit more time and experience.

We are hooked. We already have a plan to go back out to the caches we missed and are determined to find them on our next day off.

And we aren’t alone.

Omaha has its own group dedicated to geocaching in Nebraska. Nebraskache has more than 500 members of all ages throughout the state. Their Yahoo and Facebook groups are  members-only, though all are welcome to join. They post their favorite caches, organize group outings, and even share clues and tips to finding the “treasure.”

Brady Holmes, 37, an experienced cacher who works as a change-control technician for Dell in Lincoln, started caching in 2011. “For me, it was a way to start exercising. I cached every other weekend and then I became extremely addicted and ended up caching every day for over 450 days. My first year I found over 2,000 caches.”

Although that number is on the high end, many people are hooked right from the start.

Kia Itsen, 38, an insurance industry staffer, says it’s an adventure her whole family has loved since they first started in 2014. Her 10-year-old daughter is now finding the caches herself and loving every minute of it. It’s not the amount of finds that attracts her but rather where the journey takes them. “There are many caches in Nebraska and geocaching takes me to so many places I would have never gone to otherwise.”

The activity has gotten so popular in Nebraska that the state recently won the bid for the 2015 Geocoinfest, which will be held at Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland on Oct. 3. This traveling event will offer sessions on geocaching while also having an expo for products and supplies, as well as a kids’ area to introduce children to the activity.

So whether you go as a family, with friends, or out on your own, geocaching is giving people an opportunity to experience new places while challenging them and leaving them wanting more.

GEOCACHE CONTAINERS - THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTAINERS FOR GEOCACHING

Geocache containers come in just about every shape and size. Some were made specially for Geocaching, some were made for the military and adopted by the sport and others are just everyday containers like Tupperware.

It would be nearly impossible to list every single Geocache container possibility, but I will list those that you are likely to find more often than others.

1. Film Canisters & Medicine bottles - These are definitely two of the most common types of Geocache containers. I've come across these so many times I almost get sick of them. However, they do make an excellent cache container because they are small enough to be hidden in public, but large enough to fit a log and even a small item or two.

2. Magnetic Key holders - These are also very common. You'll find these primarily under light post skirts and on guardrails, but anywhere there is metal these can be attached.

3. Ammunition Cans - Basic, Military ammunition cans are used very frequently in wooded area and anywhere that one can get away with hiding a large cache. Just about any time you find an ammo can, you can be pretty sure that it will be full of small toys and trinkets and in many cases coins and trackables.

4. Nanos - A nano is a very small container, about the size of a pencil eraser, made specifically for Geocaching. These are always fun to find and since they have a small magnet in them, they can be attached to anything with metal.

5. Lock & Lock - A lock & lock is basically a Tupperware container that has a locking device on each of its four sides. These are fairly common as well and and great for many cache locations.

6. Decon Container - A decon container is a green container that is made for the military, but adopted by Geocachers because of it's rugged material and tight seal that can withstand just about any weather condition. These have a "hook" attached to them, which is actually there to connect to Soldier's flack vests.

7. Bison Capsules - These are your standard bison tubes. These are excellent to hang inside of a fence post or on the limb of a tree. They aren't extremely fun to many though, as only a log can normally fit inside.

So there you have it. As I mentioned before, Geocache containers come in all shapes and sizes, but what I've listed above are the most common container types that you will come across in your Geocaching adventures!

4 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT GEOCACHING

Geocaching is quickly gaining popularity among outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and fitness levels. But what exactly is geocaching and what do you need to take part in this exciting outdoor pursuit? Here are the answers to 4 of the most commonly asked questions about geocaching:

What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is often described as a game of high-tech hide and seek or treasure hunting where you explore the outdoors using a handheld GPS in search of hidden "treasure" and adventure. The "treasure" takes the form of "geocaches" or "caches".

What is a Geocache or cache?
Typical geocaches consist of a small waterproof container containing a logbook where the explorer or geocacher enters the date they found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers or ammo boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Bear in mind that if you take something from a geocache that you should leave something of similar or greater value for the next explorer to find (please remember to place the items in a clear zipped plastic bag to protect them from the elements).

What do I need in order to try Geocaching?
You will need a handheld GPS navigator. Examples of these navigators include the Garmin 60CSx Hiking GPS, Garmin Oregon 550 Waterproof Hiking GPS, Magellan eXplorist GC Geocaching Handheld GPS or any one of the Garmin eTrex Handheld GPS Navigators. You will also need pen and paper to take notes. Many of the latest handheld hiking GPS units allow for paperless geocaching.

How does Geocaching work?
In order to take part in this exciting game you will need to register on a website such as http://www.geocaching.com which provides information on about 1,270,000 geocaches around the world - a basic membership on this site will allow you to view coordinates and location information for geocaches as well as share your experiences online through stories and photos. Once you have registered click "Hide & Seek a Cache" on the top left menu bar. Search for geocaches in your area using the forms available on the page. Once you have selected a geocache enter the coordinates of the cache into your GPS device and use it to help you in finding the "treasure". Once you have found the geocache sign the logbook and return it to its original location so that future treasure hunters can find it. Log onto http://www.geocaching.com and share your geocaching adventure with other geocachers.

Geocaching has been around for about 10 years and there are over 1.2 million active geocaches published online. There are currently Geocaches placed in over 100 countries on all seven continents so now is the perfect time to get your feet wet and give this exciting new sport a try!

MEANS OF GEOCACHING

As we knowing a new games called GEOCACHING

Geocaching  is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System(GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.

A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook (with a pen or pencil). The geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little financial value, although sometimes they are sentimental. Geocaching shares many aspects with benchmarking, trig pointing, orienteering, treasure-hunting, letter boxing, and way marking.

Geocaching was originally similar to the 160-year-old game letter boxing, which uses clues and references to land markse mbedded in stories. Geocaching was conceived shortly after the removal of Selective Availability from the Global Positioning System on May 2, 2000, because the improved accuracy of the system allowed for a small container to be specifically placed and located. The first documented placement of a GPS-located cache took place on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer of Beavercreek, Oregon. The location was posted on the Usenet newsgroup sci.geo.satellite-nav as45°17.460′N 122°24.800′W. By May 6, 2000, it had been found twice and logged once (by Mike Teague of Vancouver,Washington). According to Dave Ulmer's message, this cache was a black plastic bucket that was partially buried and contained software, videos, books, food, money, and a slingshot. A geocache and plaque called the Original Stash Tribute Plaque now sit at the site.

The activity was originally referred to as GPS stash hunt or gpsstashing. This was changed shortly after the original hide when it was suggested in the gpsstash eGroup that "stash" could have negative connotations and the term geocaching was adopted.

Over time, a variety of different hide-and-seek-type activities have been created or abandoned, so that "geocaching" now may refer to hiding and seeking containers, or locations or information without containers.

An independent accounting of the early history documents several controversial actions taken by Irish and Grounded, Inc., a predecessor to Groundspeak, to increase "commercialization and monopolistic control over the hobby." More recently, other similar hobbies such as Munzee have attracted some geocachers by rapidly adopting smart-phone technology, which has caused "some resistance from geocaching organizers about placing caches along with munzees.

A classic geocache -- trade items in a military ammunition box

For the traditional geocache, a geocacher will place a waterproof container containing a log book (with pen or pencil) and trade items then record the cache's coordinates. These coordinates, along with other details of the location, are posted on alisting site (see list of some sites below). Other geocachers obtain the coordinates from that listing site and seek out the cache using their GPS handheld receivers. The finding geocachers record their exploits in the logbook and online, but then must return the cache to the same coordinates so that other geocachers may find it. Geocachers are free to take objects (except the logbook, pencil, or stamp) from the cache in exchange for leaving something of similar or higher value.

A Smokey Bear Geocoin.

Typical cache "treasures" are not high in monetary value but may hold personal value to the finder. Aside from the logbook, common cache contents are unusualcoins or currency, small toys, ornamental buttons, CDs, or books. Also common are objects that are moved from cache to cache called "hitchhikers", such as Travel Bugsor Geocoins, whose travels may be logged and followed online. Cachers who initially place a Travel Bug or Geocoins often assign specific goals for their trackable items. Examples of goals are to be placed in a certain cache a long distance from home, or to travel to a certain country, or to travel faster and farther than other hitchhikers in a race. Higher-value items are occasionally included in geocaches as a reward for the First to Find (called "FTF"), or in locations which are harder to reach. Dangerous or illegal items, weapons, food and drugs are NOT allowed and are specifically against the rules of most geocache listing sites.

A Travel Bug from Hong Kongattached to a Common Stored Value Ticket.

If a geocache has been vandalized or stolen, it is said to have been "muggled". The former term plays off the fact that those not familiar with geocaching are called muggles, a term borrowed from the Harry Potter series of books which was rising in popularity at the same time geocaching got its start.