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If you’re in the mood to take a nature break this weekend, I have a suggestion for you. Check out something called “geocaching.” You can get more information at the geocaching website.

What is geocaching? It’s like a treasure hunt. At the geocaching website, you can locate specific treasures (called “geocaches”) in your area. These geocaches can be superimposed on Google Maps, so they’re easy to find. Information on each geocache is provided, including latitude, longitude, some hints on how to approach the area of the geocache and where to park your car.

To find a geocache, you’ll need a hand-held GPS device that gives you latitude and longitude. I’m not sure if the car navigation systems provide this information, but if so, then feel free to use them, provided you can actually remove them from the car and walk around with them. Personally, I use a hand-held device from Garmin that gives me latitude, longitude, altitude, distance and direction, among other things.

So what exactly is a geocache? Each geocache usually consists of a sealed canister that protects its contents from the elements. When you find one of these canisters, you must obey the proper etiquette: that is, carefully open the canister, remove its contents, enter your geocaching name and date in the enclosed logbook, seal up the canister and put it back where you found it so that the next geocacher can find it.

The challenge lies in traveling to the latitude and longitude advertised for each site. Sometimes it can be an easy stroll through a park, but it can also be an arduous hike up a steep mountainside, complete with coyote droppings and a rattlesnake or two. Generally, you’ll be able to gauge the difficulty of the hike by reading about the cache online before you head outdoors to look for it.

Another challenge lies in finding the geocache itself. Most GPS devices get you within about ten feet of the geocache, but you’re on your own from that point forward. The geocache may be hidden in a camouflaged canister that may be buried under some leaves, wedged under a rock, or hanging from a tree branch above your head. In many cases, my wife and I have failed to find the actual geocache; however, that doesn’t count as a failure in our opinion. We enjoy the hikes and the scenery, so if we don’t find a particular geocache after ten minutes or so, we call it a success anyway and continue to the next one.

One of the major advantages I’ve found in geocaching is that it gets me into places I never knew existed. I’ve seen waterfalls buried in deep ravines, beautiful sandstone formations jutting out from the high desert and scenic vistas for excellent photos. Last week, my wife and I found one such vista on a high outcropping of volcanic rock, and we stopped to have lunch up there. It didn’t matter that we didn’t find the cache; the scenery was well worth the work.

If you have children, you can make the pursuit a group effort. My son doesn’t like the hiking too much, but once we home in on a site where a geocache is located, he turns into a hound dog and will not quit until he finds the treasure. We often bring along one of his friends so they can compete in finding the geocaches.

One final note: Check out the Google Earth program before going on a geocache hunt. Google Earth provides latitude and longitude mapped on an areal view of the territory. You can use Google Earth to pinpoint other points of interest while on your geocache hunt. For example, I always note the location of the parking area and program it into my GPS before leaving the house. It not only helps me locate the parking area when driving to the site, but it can help me get back to the car in the event that I get lost.

Have fun, and bring extra batteries!

Dan

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