According to Geocaching.com, Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.
Andy got me hooked on the game when we got married three years ago. Wow, three years, doesn’t seem like it. It’s a fun, free (after the initial gps purchase) way to spend an afternoon and gets us outside. We definitely take advantage of the Victor Hiking Trails, an awesome network of trails and parks, but have also done Geocaching when we go on trips too. If we know we’re going to have some free time when we’re out we make a point of looking for caches online before we leave…this has led us to find some fun ones in Taughannock Falls near Ithaca, when we go home to visit family and when we went to Ohio earlier in the summer.
Inside the caches are usually just little novelty toys and most of the time it works on the system of you take a trinket-you leave a trinket for someone else to find. Sometimes you discover Travel Bugs that have little IDs which you log online. Some bugs have missions (one we found in NY, wanted to get itself back to OH). Others are to raise awareness about causes (when you log the bug online, it tells you its story). Some caches are puzzle caches, where you have to solve something to get the coordinates to find the cache. Others caches are part of a series, where you have to find 4 or 5 in the set before you get enough information to find the end cache in the group.
It’s fun, kind of nerdy and definitely up our alley with the outdoorsy stuff. I could really see how kids would get a kick out of finding the little treasures. Andy and I certainly do!
***Yes, that’s a toilet in the middle of the woods with antlers and googly eyes. People often get creative with their caches. No, we didn’t reach in the seat for the prize, haha, it was in a waterproof box that replaced the tank.
