When I was little, I ached for a real treasure hunt.
I wanted to follow a map, find some buried treasure, and go
on swash-buckling adventures. Now that I’m older, I realize that’s not quite
how the world works. Geocaching offers the next best thing: a high-tech treasure hunt.
Essentially, geocaching is a worldwide game where players
locate hidden containers – called geocaches or caches for short – using
GPS-enabled devices. Players hide the geocaches, and then record its
coordinates online. Other players can then find the geocache using the
coordinates and any other clues the geocache-hider has to offer.
The containers range in size anywhere from army ammunition
cans to a plastic matchboxes. Each geocache usually contains a logbook of who’s
found it. They also contain small treasures that geocachers can trade. Examples
of common treasures include foreign currency, marbles, seashells, stones, and
other interesting trinkets.
Most people use a handheld GPS device or GPS-enabled
cellphones to find geocaches. Geocaching.com sells a $10 geocaching app for
iPhones, Android, and Windows 7 phones. However, other people just print off a
map from the geocaching website.
Basically, no matter what equipment you have to work with,
you can figure out a way to go geocaching. There are even several caches on or
near City and East campus in Lincoln.
Since I love making lists so much, here’s my top five
reasons why you should go geocaching A.S.A.P.
1)
Learn
about a new place
Geocaching is a great activity
while you’re on vacation in an unfamiliar area. Caches might be hidden in areas
you wouldn’t have normally explored. Even the caches in Omaha were exciting,
since I hadn’t explored Standing Bear Lake so thoroughly before.
2)
Get
exercise without going to the gym
Sometimes the caches require quite
the hike to reach your desired treasure. The fresh air and hike rejuvenates
both the mind and body. There’s nothing quite like going on a cache hunt in
Hawaii.
3)
Be
part of a world-wide community
Millions of people around the globe share
the love of geocaching. If you’re a geocacher, you’ll always have a huge
community of friends to go to for advice and more caches.
4)
Improve
your observation skills
Sometimes we can’t see the small details
that really make life interesting. Geocaching forces you to look at every
object with scrutiny. Let me tell you, it’s hard to find a matchbox – sized
cache if you don’t take the time to look closely!
5)
Strengthen
your family or friendship
Nothing brings people together like
getting lost in the middle of the woods looking for a box of trinkets. Yes,
this is a cheesy reason. However, I do think it’s one of the most important.
Geocaching builds a sense of teamwork; everyone can help find the cache. Most
families or groups come up with a team name to write down in the geocache
logbooks. My family’s name is Mysterious Loggers. I’ll leave the name up to
interpretation.
Check out this video for more info about geocaching: http://www.geocaching.com/videos/default.aspx#cat=cat:newbies&vid=-4VFeYZTTYs
The
main website, Geocaching.com, also lists geocache locations.
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