I tried something this past weekend that I have wanted to try for a long time, Geocaching. If you are not familiar with it, it is big Easter Egg hunt using million dollar Government satellites to find hidden ammo boxes and Tupperware hidden in public places.
What? I lost you?
All around you, totally unknown to you, strangers have hidden containers know as caches. They are out there just waiting for you to join in the fun andtry to find them. It is called geocaching.
Geocaching is a game, well maybe it’s better to say an activity, where you search for hidden ‘caches’ using a GPS unit or a smart phone with a GPS app. You are given the coordinates for where the container is hidden and sometimes a clue. Using this information you go on the hunt to find the hidden cache. The containers range from very small, with just a small scroll of paper for you to log your name and when you found it, to larger boxes with a log book and trade pieces inside.
Ammo boxes and Tupperware of probably the most common containers used. As I said, larger caches will have a log book and some trade items inside it. Most of time the swag is inexpensive items not something of any real value. Much of it is would appeal to children. You can get you kids interested and once they find the cache they can trade for something in there.
There are certain items such as tokens that some cachers collect. There are travel bugs, that when you find it, if you can, you take it and move it another cache. The travel bugs locations are logged and their travels tracked. When you find a cache, if you take something you are supposed to leave something in its place. That way there is always swag in there for the next person to find.
You can learn all about geocaching and sign up for free at www.geocaching.com. From there you can find a map with the information you need to start hunting caches in your area.
When I got interested, looking at the maps I realized there were several caches hidden around the lake and some that are only accessible by boat. Since we paddle so much, some of the areas have become kind of routine we know it so well. We are always looking for something different and this sounded like fun to me.
Searching the map I found four caches in the general area around the Dam. I discovered there were two catches hidden on Goat Island. It is a rock island that is probably close to 3 acres in size and the only access is by water. So I planned my paddle around these four caches.
Dan, who took these photos, came along with me and we started on Goat Island. We found a place to get out, not an easy task since much of the island is bluff. Using the GPS I narrowed down the search to a rocky area with lots of places to hide something. We both searched for a few minutes looking in all the nooks and crannies before we found the first cache. Once opened I signed the log book, looked over the ‘swag’ and since I didn’t bring anything, I didn’t take anything other than some photos.
The 2nd cache was across the island so we head out. It’s a warm day for December and I can promise you hiking up hill and over rocks is no fun in a dry suit! It would have been well worth the effort to have removed it and put it back on when I got back to the boat.
Eventually we got to the location on the highest point on the Island with a beautiful view of the water. It took both of us looking to find this cache. I was thinking we were not going to find it when I finally spotted it after a lot of searching. It was another ammo box with goodies inside. I signed the log book, checked out the Swag and put it back in place for the next person to find. At this point I was hooked. This was a lot of fun, like a treasure hunt!
There were two more caches hidden further down the lake and I found one but the other one eluded me. Reading on the web site when I logged in my finds and the did not find on this one, I discovered some others had problems finding it too. For some reason the GPS signal isn’t that good in this area and it was jumping all over the place. Seems other had the same problem. I am hooked and I will go back and find that one later on this winter!
If you haven’t tried geocaching look into it. If you’re near water there is a good chance you can find some caches that you can paddle too. If you are taking a trip you can look up caches hidden in the area you are going to be. It is something that kids can participate in and is a good way to get them outside and away from the TV.
Keep in mind some caches are hidden really well and are very difficult to find. Each one is rated as to how hard they are to find and also how rugged the terrain is. That ways can look for caches that are easier for the kids or if you prefer more challenging
ones
If you try it let me know what you think. This was my first time but I loved it!