Geocaching

Geocaching is a fairly new up and coming treasure hunting activity that uses GPS coordinates to locate hidden "treasure" caches. Anyone who has a hand held GPS system and go to http://www.geocaching.com/ and search for caches near their zip code. There is a wide number of caches all over the world with varying difficulties to find them.

Ever since the first geocache was placed on May 1, 2000, the game has take off like a wild fire. There are geocaches on all seven continents and over 900,000 caches active in over one hundred countries. Not only is geocacheing good family fun, but it is also a chance to help the environment. Cache In Trash Out is a environmental movement that encourages geocachers to pick up any trash they find while out cache hunting.

Before going on a cache hunt, one should always be prepared. If the hunt is going to be more difficult and take most of the day, be sure to bring food and water and any other supplies necessary for a day of hunting. However, if the hunt is fairly easy, don't take take too much or one might be weighed down by useless equipment.

When asked about why he likes to go geocaching, Kyle Vandagriff, pictured below, simply replied, "The action is the juice." Kyle has been geocaching for just a few months, but is already hooked. "It's the adventure and mystery of what's going to be in the caches that really gets me," he said. Kyle and his friends try to go cache hunting when ever they can. "It's just nice to get outside and have a goal," he said.

Not only can geocachers search for caches, they are able to hide their own and post the coordinates and information on http://www.geocaching.com/. Geocaching is a fun outdoor activity that challenges people to be active and help clean up the environment and find their own buried treasure.

Photo by Kacy Lewis