Geocaching: High-Tech Hide-And-Seek

 

By Nancy K. Crevier

The Global Positioning System (GPS), a system of satellites and receivers that can determine a location on Earth within feet, was originally developed for military use by the Department of Defense. The navigation system has proved useful for fishermen, outdoors people, and ordinary people wishing to determine an exact location based on longitude and latitude. It has become an especially popular feature in automobiles and now the small, handheld GPS products are exchanging their serious attitude for one of fun and games. The game is called geocaching and it combines the love of technology with the love of the outdoors and adventure.

The word geocache comes from “geo” for earth and “cache,” meaning a hiding place. And that is precisely what the game is all about.

Geocaching came into being in May 2000 when the US government abolished the “selective availability” feature of GPS, allowing civilian users of GPS to more accurately pinpoint locations than was previously allowed. Wanting to test the new accuracy, an Internet enthusiast named Dave Ulmer hid a container in the woods, noted the coordinates on GPS, and posted them on the Internet. Geocaching was born.

For a while, geocaching was popular only with those experienced in using the complicated GPS products, but as products became more user friendly, the Internet game began to gain in popularity. Web developer Jeremy Irish launched a website, geocaching.com, to improve the cache hunting experience by organizing and streamlining cache information and making it accessible to Internet users. Through word of mouth, accidental cache finds, and the Internet, the sport of geocaching has spread worldwide.

Newtown resident John Isdale received one of the earlier generation GPS units as a gift, and has used it in the sport of geocaching. “The thing about my GPS is that it will give you the coordinates of where you are, but it is harder to get coordinates to where you’re going, unless you are good at it,” he said. Technical gadgets and topography are not a mystery to him, luckily. “I loved maps and cartography when I was growing up,” said Mr Isdale. Now he works for IBM installing servers and software, so geocaching fits into his love of technology, as well.

“I was introduced to geocaching this past summer by my brother, Jerry, and his sons Eddy and Brian, who were visiting us here in Newtown from Thousand Oaks, California. They are very active participants in California. Jerry travels a great deal for his job so on layovers or down time in a new location he will locate a cache from the geocaching website then go exploring to locate it. This provides him with a different method to tour a new location and see the sights and sometimes meet other local enthusiasts,” said Mr Isdale.

During his visit, Mr Isdale’s brother researched Newtown’s caches and found one nearby at the Newtown Forest Association’s Holcombe Hill facility. “This provided us with a high-tech scavenger hunt with the benefit of part of a day out in the woods,” Mr Isdale said. “We all had a great time holding the GPS receiver and leading the group to the coordinates, then searching for the hidden cache.” Mr Isdale and his daughter, Hayley, have found one other location in Newtown since his brother’s visit, and are looking forward to discovering more as the weather warms up, he said.

“It’s a great way for families to spend time together outdoors,” said Mr Isdale. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Geocachers set up caches all over the world and post coordinates online to find the hidden treasures. A cache can be made up of anything, valuable or not, but geocaching.com recommends that a logbook always be included. Cache visitors are encouraged, at the very least, to sign the date and time the cache was found.

Additionally, caches usually include small items such as pictures, toys, tickets, tools, games, and occasionally, cash, all safely stored in a waterproof container. “We found a matchbox car, several pens, some Legos, small toys, and a logbook to sign and leave impressions,” said Mr Isdale of the Holcombe Hill cache.

Simple Rules

The rules to geocaching are easy enough: take an item from the cache; put something in the cache; write in the logbook. Unless the cache instructs otherwise, it is never moved from its place. At times, one or two items in the cache may be tagged as “hitchhikers,” that is, items that should be moved from one cache to another. This involves a variation in the adventure, called multicaches.

The first cache gives coordinates to the next cache, or many caches give hints to find a final cache.

Cache finders can join blogs to discuss the hunt with other cachers and also to report missing caches at geocaching.com.

Anybody can set up a cache, so long as that person is willing to take responsibility for it. Geocaching.com offers suggestions for hiding the treasure, including to place the cache where there is more reward than the treasure itself. That might be a place that offers a great view, a good camping or picnic spot, or some similar compensation for the work of locating the cache. Archaeological and historical sites are not good places for a cache and while the cache should be well-hidden, it should not be discouragingly difficult to find. Even a GPS cannot find the exact location, and terrain difficulties like a river or cliff must be anticipated as part of the experience.

It is best to get permission to place a cache on private property, and it is a good idea to check with local agencies before hiding a cache on public land. Overall, use common sense and be respectful of the land and others when hiding a treasure.

In February, Groundspeak, owner of geocaching.com, broadcast an email reiterating the importance of wise selection when establishing a cache, due to a television show marketing campaign in Boston when items placed around the city by the marketing company instigated a mistaken threat of terrorism.

Caches are stashed all around the world by enthusiasts, but it is not necessary to travel too far, armed with a handheld GPS, to take part in one of these treasure hunts. Several caches exist in Connecticut, and the Newtown Forest Association lists six caches hidden on property managed by the association. At newtownforestassociation.org/NFAproperties.html geocaching information about playing the high-tech hide-n-seek game on NFA property is available.

Guy Peterson, treasurer and membership chairperson for the association, sees geocaching as a family activity to motivate kids to go hiking. Like a little carrot dangling in front of them, the aspect of finding a treasure along the way can make getting out into the great outdoors more appealing to young people, said Mr Peterson.

Growing Popularity

“It’s an enormously growing activity,” he said. “One of our earlier caretakers opened up the first geocache sometime in the late 90s on our Holcombe Wildlife Preserve, and that cache has had at least 75 registered visits.”

Groundspeak recommended Claire Delavigne of Bethel to NFA when NFA decided to involve the properties in geocaching. She is a huge fan of the activity, having uncovered more than 700 caches in 16 states since she first became involved in 2002. “I gave a nice talk and had a slide show [for NFA],” said Ms Delavigne. “The NFA chose the preserves and I chose the hiding places.” Where to hide a cache is dependent on personal taste, said Ms Delavigne. “Some people hate the roadside micro and love the long hike, while others are completely the opposite.”

The caches, located on NFA properties off of Taunton Hill Road, Castle Hill, Great Hill, Walnut Tree Hill, and near the Hattertown Pond preserve, are all visited fairly regularly. A minicache at Holcomb Hill contains just a tiny scroll for cachers to sign, while the other caches are troves made up of all kinds of objects.

“Some leave just money, saying they had nothing else to leave. There are personalized items, little army men, funny pens, and in one, I found a Thomas the Tank Engine,” Mr Peterson said. Mr Peterson has hunted down all of the caches himself, some more easily than others.

“Choosing what goes into a cache is as simple as browsing the dollar store, Wal-Mart, or your junk drawer,” said Ms Delavigne. “I only put things in caches that I might want to find.” She also recommends that anything with a scent be avoided so that wildlife are not tempted to rip apart the container. “Ammo cans and Lock and Lock containers are the best for keeping the caches waterproof,” said Ms Delavigne.

What Mr Peterson likes about geocaching on the association’s property is that it is a new way for people to become aware of the natural wonders of the town. “People go looking for caches and discover trails and open space that they didn’t know even existed. That’s exciting to me,” he said. “[Geocaching] gets people outside again, even if they do have a little electronic gadget with them,” said Mr Peterson.

The NFA does require cachers to get permission before placing a cache on its property. “We want to approve the area, make sure it is not ecologically sensitive, or something, and we ask that whoever is going to maintain the cache register with us. We have never turned anyone down, so far,” he said.

Nor, said Mr Peterson, have any of the caches been intentionally vandalized, to the best of his knowledge. The caches are moved periodically, as well, in order that unintended, new trails are not created by people going in search of a cache.

Mr Isdale is pleased with the Newtown Forest Association’s involvement in this activity. “Their participation should benefit both the association and fellow geocachers by increasing the membership of both organizations,” he said.

If new cachers are concerned that they might quickly run out of caches to discover, they need not worry. The enormous popularity in recent years is surprising, even to a cacher as devoted as Ms Delavigne, who said, “In April of 2002, there were about 400 caches in my 100-mile radius. Today, there are 11,536.”

And that adds up to a lot of finds and fun.