ADVENTURE GEOCACHING – TODAY’S TREASURE HUNTING

Growing numbers of adventure seekers are embracing the unique combination of treasure hunting and outdoor traveling – geocaching. Learn the basics and discover the addictive nature of hiking with a GPS device in your hand.

A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing

GEOCACHING? WHAT'S THAT? G

eocaching is enjoyed by all ages from all walks of life, but what is it? Ask a muggle, the name for non-geocachers, and the most received response is, “It’s a waste of time.” Ask a geocacher and you may hear it’s a game, a sport, a hobby, or an online treasure hunt. In reality, most cachers can relate to all of these descriptions. To clarify, geocaching is not totally an online interest – the internet is merely the starting and ending points. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt where cachers retrieve geographical coordinates for hidden geocaches off an Internet website which offers its members a variety of features to accomplish their caching goals. Once the cache coordinates are retrieved, the fun begins. The coordinates are either downloaded or manually entered into a GPS device, the cacher then using the GPS begins the hunt. A traditional cache, at a minimum, contains a log book that cachers can sign and date to record their find, often caches contain geoswag – small inexpensive items or travel bugs – which are traded at that time. Travel bugs are registered with geocaching websites and are owned by cachers and usually have a travel goal assigned to each. When found a geocacher may move the bug to another cache helping with the bug’s assigned travel goal. Once found, log signed and any trades made the cache container must be put back in its original hiding spot. Afterwards, the cacher will record the finds and share their caching experiences online. Febr u a r y, 2 0 1 0

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The time it takes to find a cache depends on a cacher’s experience, equipment, weather, perseverance, and luck. For the beginning cacher, finding a cache can be very rewarding or an ordeal. In either case, once the caching bug has bitten, beginners rarely stop caching. Geocaches come in many varieties: traditional, multi, mystery or puzzle, letterbox, event, megaevent, CITO, and earth. Traditional or multi caches are the most common. The cache can be a jar, Tupperware container, or the popular ammo can. Mystery or puzzles caches require, as their names indicate a puzzle or mystery must be solved before credit for finding the cache can be claimed. Probably the most educational of all cache types is the earth cache. Earth caches introduce cachers to all forms of natural wonders such as water falls, national parks, volcanoes, seascapes and a vast range of wildlife. The appreciation for nature has spawned a trend of green caching – often CITO [cache in trash out] caches are attended by groups of independent cachers or sponsored by caching clubs to clean up areas or local parks of discarded trash. Another caching trend is to attend an event or mega-event cache, the difference, event caches are usually local to a community and the mega-event is on a grander scale with attendees from one or more countries – gatherings of these types are open to all geocachers and are organized by geocachers and must follow the guidelines of the online caching websites. Both types of event caches are meant to promote caching through social networking which offers cachers an opportunity to make new friends, exchange caching stories face to face, trade swag, or purchase caching related items. Geocaching is a great opportunity to get off the couch, turn off the television, push away from the computer, and get some outdoor exercise. After all,

A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing walking is the most natural of exercises. Combined with the thrill of the hunt, the distance traveled while caching just fades away. New skills such as orienteering, hiking, and outdoor safety are learned. Caching is also a great family activity, as cache teams plan hunts then traveling to and from cache sites, whether across town, across the state, or further. Once cachers have exhausted the available cache finds close to home, they can search beyond their local coordinates for new caching experiences. For many families, geocaching has become the dominant criterion in making travel plans. Instead of visiting the usual tourist spots, cachers find themselves in places they never would have gone, and quite often they go places that regular tourists would never see. By Peter & Susan Lavin Peter and Susan got involved in geocaching back in August of 2008 since it fit very nicely with their love of hiking. Early in 2009 they started GeoCache-Excursions.com and their goal is to encourage group travel with fellow cachers by working with professional travel agents in creating organized, preplanned, affordable and close as possible to all inclusive vacations that combine Geo Caching with that of discovering the history, the culture, the beauty and mystery of other lands. http://www.geocache-excursions.com/

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A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing

GEOCACHING: HIGH TECH TREASURE HUNT

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users of the Global Positioning System (GPS) the sudden announcement on May 2, 2000 by the White House that the intentional degradation of GPS signals available to the public would be ended was a cause for celebration. It meant that civilian users of GPS were able to pinFebr u a r y, 2 0 1 0

point locations up to 10 times more accurately than they had before. The next day David Ulmer, a computer consultant, tested the accuracy of the technology by hiding a container in the woods near Beaver Creek, OR, noting its coordinates with a GPS unit, posting

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the coordinates on an Internet GPS users' group and hoping it would be found. The finder had to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. What he hid was a black bucket with a logbook and pencil as well as various prize items (videos, books, software and a slingshot). "Take some stuff, leave some stuff" was the message he left. Within three days after Ulmer posted the coordinates for the find, two readers with their own GPS units found the container and posted their results on the website. Ulmer's hidden container became the catalyst for others and soon the concept spread worldwide. "GPS Stash Hunt" was born with the name "geocaching" eventually substituted to refer to "the earth, technology and something hidden." Geocaching.com was created by Jeremy Irish, a Seattle web developer who became excited over the treasure hunting game. Pierce City residents (Missouri) Kenna Peters and her daughter Mattie, 10, are two of its local followers. We discovered them with GPS in hand at a historical Joplin location. Kenna said she was there to locate the little black box or game piece that contained the names of all of the geocachers who recorded that they had discovered its location. She assumed the responsibility for replacing that particular list because it had become soggy from exposure to the weather. The magnetic key containers that some people use are not weatherproof, Kenna explained, but are popular for the small cache that contains the fill-in

A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing

log. Several, she says, are hidden in various locations within a 30-mile radius of Joplin. "I have found caches hidden in a pen, a duck decoy and even one large Rubbermaid container," Kenna said. The large containers are filled with items, or "swag," that can be traded. "The rule for 'swag' is that if you take something you must leave something of equal or greater value," Kenna warned. She especially recalls the cache named "Book Crossing Trade" found in Rogers, AR. Books are hidden in a "Rubbermaid container in the woods," she revealed. Another item found in caches is a "trackable." Kenna describes this as a "geocoin" or "travelbug" that contains a unique number identifying its owner. Febr u a r y, 2 0 1 0

A recent cancer survivor, Kenna produced a small pink stuffed animal with the breast cancer survivor symbol and coin on which was recorded her tracking number. She hoped that it would travel the globe. She said that she plans to track its mileage and location online. "One person going to Iraq wanted to take the travelbug," she revealed. "There aren't many there like there are in Germany and Italy." Kenna spoke of "geosense" as the ability to look over a situation and guess where the cache is located. Sometimes the GPS isn't picking up the signal from the satellite as well as other times. Once, she said, when she was out with her husband in

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12-degree F weather in a Carthage location, she used her finger to point to a hiding place. Mostly, she said, one had to "learn by experience." While standing in Spiva Park, 4th and Main, she saw what looked like an electrical outlet on a pole without wires leading to it. That, she deduced, with the proper coordinates, could be a cache. Geocaching has a webpage in which anyone seeking a cache is able to fill in a starting point (like a home address) and find the nearest geocaches in that area. For example, imputing a southwest Joplin address brought up 70 cache locations within 10 miles. "I have lived in the Joplin area my entire life and have found many (MANY!) different location that I never knew existed before I became involved in geocaching," Kenna said. "Beautiful abandoned bridges in the middle of nowhere, a section of the Trial of Tears that runs near Cassville, historical markers – all are among places that surprised me." The best cache descriptions that are found online provide a historical overview of the location. One such cache location is at the site of the old Connor Hotel in Joplin. Kenna said, "One great aspect of geocaching is that many caches require a bit of walking. There are also caches that are handicap accessible. Some may take less than five minutes including signing the log and replacing it (she called it a park and grab) while one took my husband and myself considerable time to find. At this point, we are the only ones to have found it." Kenna said she only has been geocaching since the summer of 2009. She's a Girl Scout and heard about it while at camp. She doesn't think that once someone tries it that he or she will give it up. "It's very addictive." http://www.joplinindependent.com

A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing

EXPLORE THE STATE PARKS WITH YOUR GPS

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innesota State Parks have rolled out a new geocaching adventure, after introducing a geocaching program that was a big hit with park visitors. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt, where participants use hand-held GPS devices to track down a stash hidden in a weatherproof, camouflaged box at a location designated by latitude and longitude. Since this activity has grown so popular, Minnesota State Parks decided to add geocaching to the many outdoor recreation activities available in the parks. The park geocache program is designed especially to appeal to kids and their families. Almost 20,000 geocache finds were recorded in state parks during the 2008 Geocaching Challenge. In 2009, the program had a wildlife theme. For the Geocaching Wildlife Safari, the "critter caches" in all the parks feature collectible cards, each with information on a mammal, insect, fish, reptile or amphibian that lives in the

The Origins of Geocaching Geocaching, first coined by Matt Stum on the “GPS Stash Hunt” mailing list on May 30, 2000, was the joining of two familiar words. The prefix geo, for Earth, was used to describe the global nature of the activity, but also for its use in familiar topics in GPS such as geography. Caching, from the word cache, has two different meanings. A French word invented in 1797, the original definition referred to a hiding place someone would use to temporarily store items. The second use of cache has more recently been used in technology. Memory cache is computer storage that is used to quickly retrieve frequently used information. The combination of Earth, hiding, and technology made geocaching an excellent term for the activity. Geocaching.com

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A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing

park or did in the past. A cache may occasionally include a "wild card," offering the finder a special reward. All state parks are part of the Geocaching Wildlife Safari, but 24 of them across the state are demonstration parks, where GPS units are available to be checked out free of charge. These parks also offer some "Geocaching 101" how-to programs to get people started in this activity.

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Many of the parks have multi-caches, where participants find multiple boxes, the first ones offering quick quizzes or puzzles and the coordinates for the next cache on the route. All of the routes are fairly easy hikes, and are designed to lead people to interesting places in the parks. By Explore Minnesota Tourism http://www.exploreminnesota.com

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A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing

NIAGARA FALLS NOT QUITE OFF THE BEATEN PATH Second, if you are traveling with minor children who have a different last name, have some sort of documentation that they are yours and you have permission to take them into Canada or the US. Third, the traffic during peak season is really bad on either side and parking is very scarce. Both sides have very good transportation systems, so you should plan to park somewhere, buy a tourist pass for all the attractions and ride the shuttles. Taxis are reasonable too. We combined shuttle bus, taxi and walking to see everything easily.

For History Buffs There is a little known but important battlefield on the Canadian side just north of the Floral Gardens and not too far from the Spanish Aerocar attraction. The Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812 was the first major land battle of the War of 1812. There is an extensive multi-cache called The Battle of Queenston Heights which will take you all over the battlefield. Additionally, there are at least a half dozen traditional geocaches nearby on some great hiking trails along the bluff with views of the Niagara gorge.

Niagara Falls isn't exactly off the beaten path, but it is a spectacular place to explore, geocache and letterbox.

Planning Your Trip There are three things you should be aware of in planning your quest. First, all people 16 and up Febr u a r y, 2 0 1 0

need a passport to cross the American/Canadian border from either direction. This new requirement has been bad for business on both sides but it isn't going away. Be prepared for some real scrutiny and long lines. The days of being waved across the border are over.

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Geocaching at Niagara Falls There are geocaches and letterboxes galore on both sides. They run from above the falls all along the gorge down to the whirlpool and beyond. There are several down in the whirlpool gorge itself and three on Goat Island just above Horseshoe Falls right next to the river. There are virtuals, traditionals

A DV E N T U R E : G e o caching – To d ay’s Tre a sure Hunt ing

of all sizes, urban caches and caches in the wild throughout the area. Ditto for letterboxes. If you do some planning, you can tour the whole area, pick up a couple dozen geo-hides and see things that the regular tourists would miss. Here are a couple of our favorites. The Green Cascade: This is a virtual geocache that takes you to a geological feature on the far edge of the Three Sisters Islands. Only about 400 yards from the brink of Horseshoe Falls, you have to practically step into the river to get the right camera angle. It looks like there's a 20 foot wall of water bearing down on you, which there is. But then it hits the remains of an ancient canyon left by the glaciers and flows away into the main channel of the river and over the falls. Very cool. The Other Sister: This is a traditional geocache in the same area as the Green Cascade. It is an ammo box tucked away in the rocks just a few feet away from the river. It's a bit difficult to find and has lots of DNF's but it's there. You do have to be a bit nervy to find it and to retrieve it. If you miscalculate and end up in the river, you're going over the falls. If you like geocaches with a bit of a pucker factor, this one will do nicely. While doing this cache, you can also pick up the Goat Island letterbox, which is nearby. You'll also need a compass. http://www.offthebeatenpath.ws Febr u a r y, 2 0 1 0

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