Geocaching

Ok, so I had three different people ask me about geocaching today.  I didn't have time to explain at church, and it would take too much space on facebook, so here's the basics...

Geocaching started in 2000 when the military released satellites for private use.  A former military man set up caches for his friends on his land.  They had so much fun, that they began hiding the caches all over the state of Washington.  It didn't take long for the idea to spread, and now there are caches in every state of the US and in most countries around the world.

Caches are little "treasures" hidden in the world all around you.  You've probably walked by several of them without knowing they are there.  You use a hand held GPS system (not the kind that you use to drive around in your car) to find the caches based on their coordinates.  The coordinates can be found at geocaching.com - the most popular site for geocachers.  The coordinates are the latitude and longitude for the exact position of the cache.

Caches come in all shapes and sizes.  Nanos are very small - often just big enough to roll up a small piece of paper.  Micros are a bit bigger - often a 35 mm film canister or something similar in size.  Smalls are peanutbutter jar sized.  Regular is often an ammo can, but can also be as large as you wish.

Caches must contain a log book for cachers to sign.  By the cacher code, you cannot claim finding a cache unless you have signed the log book for that cache.  Caches that are large enough often contain a writing utensil and small toys.  Dollar store toys, Happy Meal toys, bouncy balls, whistles, decks of cards, hot wheels, baseball cards, wet wipes, mosquito repellant, hand sanitizer and maps are the most common items found in caches, which makes caching great for kids!  In larger caches, stuffed animals, coloring books, and educational materials are often found as well.  The cacher code states that you may take an item from the cache, but you must leave something of equal or greater value.

Caches also contain "travel bugs" (sometimes).  Travel bugs are tags that are attached to an item with a special code so that you can track the item as it passes from cache to cache.  Many travel bugs have specific goals such as traveling to all 50 states or returning home from a distant land.  I've even seen grandchildren pass school pictures to the grandparents 5 states away via caches!

If you're interested in experiencing goecaching, I'd be happy to introduce you!