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Hiking With a Purpose: Geocaching!

By on June 27, 2015

Are you an outdoor lover with a bit of computer geek hidden somewhere deep within the recesses of your soul? Then geocaching may be just the thing for you. Over the past 15 years, geocaching has turned into arguably the fastest growing outdoor activity in the world, and it was invented right here in the USA. Back before 2000, the government-controlled global positioning system was intended mainly for military use, so readily-available GPS receiver units for civilian use were pretty inaccurate. But in 2000, then-president Clinton authorized the “publicizing” of the system, so that civilians could use GPS devices that enabled accuracy to within a few feet. This made the sport of geocaching possible, and a new hide-and-seek game was born.

For those not familiar with how geocaching works, first imagine thousands of little containers, hidden in secret

The author after finding a storm drain cache.

The author after finding a storm drain cache.

places, all over the countryside. They are out there, but unless you have the geocaching “magic,” you won’t know where! They’ve been hidden by geocachers, awaiting discovery by other geocachers. But in order to find out where to look for them, you must first become a member on geocaching.com. Basic membership is free, and once you sign up, the website provides a description of the geocache, its specific theme (if there is one), and the latitude/longitude coordinates that you’ll need to enter into your GPS receiver device. When you sign up for the first time and create your online account, you’ll need to come up with your own unique “geonick,” a nickname that other geocachers will know you by. Some geonicks are very creative, and sometimes quite humorous.

The Gear

GPS receivers vary greatly in cost and features. The most basic unit will have everything you need for geocaching, and will cost slightly less than $100. Most are small handheld devices that are waterproof and fit in a pocket. The more expensive ones have extra features, such as mapping, higher-resolution touch screens, more data storage, etc.

If you have a modern smartphone, you already have a GPS receiver; you just need to download a geocaching app.

Using a smartphone app.

Using a smartphone app.

Some are free, while others have a small fee. The smartphone apps work great, but the downside is that the battery in a smartphone drains very rapidly, especially when used for GPS navigation. The batteries in dedicated GPS receivers can last all day.

You’ll also want to consider putting together a “caching bag.” This is a small bag you can carry with you that will accommodate your GPS receiver, and possibly some other items that I’d recommend, listed below

  • First Aid Kit
  • Trade Swag (see the explanation below)
  • Flashlight
  • Spare Batteries
  • Lighter or Waterproof Matches
  • Geocache Printouts (unless you’ve graduated to “paperless caching”)

What are we looking for?

So, once you’ve acquired a GPS device and you’ve signed up on geocaching.com, it’s time to pick out a geocache to find! The most common way to look them up is to search by zip code, either in your own immediate area or someplace you plan to visit. You’ll get a list of dozens of caches in that area, sorted with the nearest ones at the top of the list. Each one will have a detailed description and difficulty rating, along with a description of some sort regarding the type of container to look for. Bigger containers are usually easier to find, and for beginners, an easy rating for difficulty is recommended.

Typical cache container.

Descriptions will also often include GPS coordinates, or at least a description, of a recommended place to park and start your hike. From that point on, your handheld GPS will lead you to the hidden cache. Your GPS unit will continually show you your distance to the cache; when it gets below 50 feet, it’s time to put the unit away and start looking for what might be a logical hiding place. Earth disturbance, such as burying the container, marring the landscape, or damaging nature is not allowed, so most likely the container will be hidden above ground, yet cleverly disguised, so non-geocachers (known as muggles) can’t accidentally stumble on to it. Depending on the container size, what you’ll find in it will consist of a sign-in log book (to prove you were there), and some trinkets that serve as mementos of your experience. Each participant is encouraged to take a trinket, but only if they trade something of equal or greater value. Children love this aspect of geocaching; it’s like finding pirate’s treasure to them. Once you’ve signed the log book, close up the container and put it back where it was, for the next geocacher to find. The final step, once you’ve gotten back home, is to log back on to geocaching.com and log your find. Here, you can include any comments about your experience, good, bad, or educational. The owner of the geocache will be notified that their cache has been visited, and the website will add it to your running tally of finds.

Geocaching is an excellent activity for families. I have known some folks who have actually planned vacations around it. It is one of those activities that can be done in any kind of weather, except when the snow cover makes it difficult Happy Cachers!to find containers at ground level. And geocaches exist in all sorts of places, including urban areas. The geocaching virtual community has grown in leaps & bounds over the past few years; there are now regional clubs, meet & greets, competitive events, even an annual “mega-event” known as Geowoodstock, which relocates to a different part of the U.S. each year. Geocachers practice a form of “leave no trace” philosophy, called CITO, which stands for “Cache In, Trash Out.” CITO simply means that you come in caching, and you take any trash you find out with you and dispose of it. There are even official CITO events that are held, with the goal of cleaning up an area that may be in need of some attention.

Geotrails

Among the many other aspects of geocaching is something called a “geotrail.” A geotrail is a pre-designated number of geocaches that follow a theme, promote a particular area, or are otherwise tied together in some way. Tourist promotion agencies have really latched on to the idea of geotrails to draw folks to their area. Perhaps the most successful, longest running, and largest such geotrail is the Allegheny GeoTrail, here in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Travel Bugs

For those who want something more than just “hide & seek,” there are things called “trackables.” The trackable aspect of geocaching, also known as “travel bugs,” now covers an entire spectrum of variations that can add lots of fun to the sport. In its simplest form, a travel bug is a small item that carries its own unique serial number. The owner of the bug leaves it in a geocache, to be found by fellow cachers. The adopter takes it from the cache, logs it on the geocaching website, and then moves it along to another geocache, usually following the wishes of its owner with a destination in mind. As each adopter moves the travel bug, the bug’s owner can follow its journey via the log entries during the process.

Geocoins

One of the earliest versions of the trackable travel bug is the geocoin. Geocoins come in all shapes and sizes, and can represent anything from a cacher’s “geonick” to a favorite location or hobby. While geocoins originally started out as travel bugs, they have become so collectible among the geocaching community, that they often go missing in action before getting very far “in the wild.” Now they can be “discovered” by other geocachers, simply by making a note of their tracking number and then later logging them on the geocaching website. Sources for new geocoins abound, and almost any geocaching event you’ll attend will include an opportunity to either buy or trade geocoins. Some programs, such as the Allegheny Geotrail, even reward participants with free geocoins.

Other Trackables

The whole trackable/travel bug concept has really expanded over the past few years; now you can put a sticker on your car (known as a cachemobile) and give others the opportunity to “discover it.” Clothing, and even pets can become trackable. Dogs, ferrets, even pigs have attended events as discoverable travel bugs.

Now that you know how to get started, get out there and find some geocaches!

About Michael Henderson

Born and bred in Franklin, Pennsylvania, Mike learned about adventure from an early age. Even before he learned to walk, Mike made trips to the Outer Banks with his family, where he slept under his dad’s cot in a canvas tent along the beach. The adventures continued, to the mountains, the Great Lakes, the Pacific Coast, and everywhere in between. Those trips included backpacking into the Grand Canyon and up Mount Rainier, camping in the Rockies in the snow, and skiing right out the front door at home on old alpine skis with cable bindings. Other family activities including canoeing, water skiing, ice skating, bouldering, body surfing, and fishing. By the 1980s, Mike’s interests expanded to include windsurfing, inline skating, photography, and eventually mountain biking, geocaching, and kayaking. He currently teaches photography at the Venango College of Clarion University, as well as windsurfing, geocaching, camping skills, and cross-country skiing at various local outdoor workshops. He collaborated and managed what has been considered the world’s largest, longest-running, and most successful geotrail, the Allegheny Geotrail. Some of his paddling exploits include two Ocracoke-to-Portsmouth Island crossings; St. Ignace, Michigan-to-Mackinac Island; and multiple excursions along the entire Pennsylvania shoreline of Lake Erie.

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