Geocaching: A Real Life Treasure Hunt

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This is a guest post by Bob Garbett.

Sometimes when I tell folks my wife and I are going “geocaching,” I get a blank stare in return or they say, “geo-huh?”

My wife has a t-shirt which describes it best – “I use multi-billion dollar military technology to look for tupperware hidden in the woods.” Essentially that’s it. A “cacher” will hide a container (hopefully watertight) and then post the GPS coordinates on the geocaching web site. Usually a theme or a story goes along with the cache and many are placed in beautiful or interesting places you may not otherwise visit. Once published, other cachers proceed to look for it, posting their “finds” online.

The only tools you need are a handheld GPS device, which can locate caches based on latitude and longitude, maybe some hiking boots and bug spray depending on when and where you “hunt.”

Caches are rated on difficulty and terrain using a scale of 1 to 5. Generally, 1 ratings are handicap accessible and 5 ratings require some extraordinary means or effort to reach. We have had to canoe after some, solve puzzles to get coordinates, etc.

If you want to rack up numbers, there are “park and grabs” in just about every town, from 35 mm film canisters in the base of lamp posts to small metal tubes hanging in trees in city parks. If you are more adventuresome, you can hike over a mile to get to one ammo can or lock-n-lock box (these are our favorites). We have cached from the coast to the mountains and many places along the way.

The containers range in size from a micro, which is just a little larger than the eraser on the end of a pencil to an ammo can the size of a suitcase. (There may even be larger ones, but that’s the biggest we’ve found.)

Our favorite so far was one called “Bradley’s Rock Collection.” It was placed by a stream in the Bent Creek Recreational Area of the Pisgah National Forest in the mountains of North Carolina where we camped, hiked and hunted for caches last summer. The container was full of various rocks, minerals and fossils – each with a description.

Kids love the hobby because it is a real life treasure hunt. You want to keep the locations “secret” so they remain hidden and the kids get to be “sneaky” along the way. Geocaching is a great way to have fun, get out there and enjoy the adventure along the way.

Bob is a bi-vocational pastor serving New Hope Baptist Church, Beulaville, NC. He also is the coordinator for the NC Justice Academy’s Management Development Program. Among the topics he teaches are leadership, critical incident management and communication.  He and his wife, Eileen, have been married for over 27 years. They enjoy camping, hiking, canoeing, geocaching, running and other outdoor activities where they are able to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. They have one son, Jared, who is a rising senior at Campbell University. Check out his blog. 

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