What is Geocaching you ask?  As defined by Wikipedia – “Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, first played in May 2000, in which the participants use a GPS 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 where the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value.”

This time of year is a great time to get out and enjoy the outdoors, and geocaching is one way I do that on my own, with friends or with my family.  Geocaching is an easy thing for anyone with an iPhone, Android or Windows phone to get into.  Groundspeaks’s Geocaching app costs $10 to download but it is well worth the money for the fun and adventures it can provide. It is among my favorite ‘fun’ apps.

The app is pretty straight forward.  You will need a basic user account to get access to the data that can be found at geocaching.com.  With the app you can find caches that are nearby, pull up cache descriptions, logs from recent visitors to the cache and even leave your own entry online to let people know you found the cache.

Our oldest girl  loves to go ‘treasure hunting’ with Daddy.  I’ll admit, it can be a bit challenging to go geocaching with little kids.  Sometimes the caches are amazingly well hidden and take time to find or aren’t found at all.  The constant stream of “I sure wish we could find the treasure” get a bit tiring sometimes 🙂  Giving up on a cache can be frustrating for Daddy and daughter, but there is always another hunt.

Let me walk you through a typical hunt.  I start by firing up the app and seeing what is nearby.  Here’s a view of the cache locations near the church building:

From there I click on one of the locations, read a bit about it and start the hunt.  For this post I went and quickly found a cache that is just a few hundred yards down the road from our church building.  Can you see where it is?

A bit of digging through the briars allowed me to find this cache that has been in location since 2012.  Here’s a look at the bottle that has been camo taped.

What’s inside you ask?  This is a small cache so it is a little log sheet to write your username on and a few small trinkets.  Some caches are large and can have quite a collection of trinkets.

The general rule of thumb is not to take anything if you aren’t going to leave something.  The only time I mess with the trinkets is when I have our daughter out with me.  The fun for me is in the hunt.  Geocaching is a great excuse to get out and explore new areas.  New caches are constantly popping up and old ones fade away.

The beauty of the smartphone app is hunting wherever you are with the latest info.  I have gone on geocache hunts when out with the teens on a youth outing, while on trips in various parts of the world, and all over my side of town.  I think some of the best hunting I have done is up in Missouri when visiting family.  We found a cache in a really old cemetery that my relatives didn’t even know existed.  We also found a historic site and a cool park.  The people that hide caches are pretty clever people.

Obviously there are a few safety issues to consider.  Some of these caches are hidden in remote areas so it is a good idea to have a buddy with you.  Some of the locations are in thickets with lots of briars so jeans can be a good idea.  And of course anytime you venture into the woods it is a good idea to keep an eye out for snakes, poison ivy and stinging creatures of all sizes.

Geocaching also has its own vernacular.  Muggles are non-geocachers who might be suspicious of your activities or who might come disturb the cache after you have left.  FTF is short for first to find, or the first person to locate a new cache.  There is actually a full glossary of terms on the geocaching.com website that can be very helpful.

There are also a variety of hunts that you can go on.  There is the standard cache that can vary in degree of difficulty.  One of my favorites is the multi-cache hunt.  There used to be a great one near the church building.  A user hid a set of coordinates on an old pedestrian bridge that goes over the freeway.  After the user found the well camouflaged coordinates they used those digits to find the location of the cache.  Turns out it was in an old tree stump under a section of the stump that could be removed.  There are also events and other types of hunts.

With about 1.75 million caches stashed around the world, there is plenty of adventure awaiting you.  Don’t expect to find every cache.  My usual success rate is about 50%.  I’m actually in the process of scouting and putting together my first cache to hide.  I have found the location I just need to get the OK from the landowners and make sure my cache will stay in place.  I’ll update this post when I get my cache together and placed.  Maybe you will be the FTF!

Want to find out more about geocaching? Everything you need to know can be found on the official site – http://www.geocaching.com/  This hobby has gotten much more polished since I first started hunting years ago.  The site is now very professional and the caches are constantly monitored with old ones being removed.  Let me know in the comments below if you already go out hunting or if you decide to give it a try.

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