Geocaching adds a twist to exploring nature in your neighbourhood and beyond

How I got started with Geocaching began a few years back when I had stumbled across the web site www.geocaching.com and noticed that some folks had hidden some containers with stuff in it around my neighbourhood. Mostly out of curiosity I began searching the web site for other major cities across Ontario, Canada and the World and to my surprise Geocaching was indeed an international pass time of thousands of people. Without the necessary GPS technology or desire to do more this was the end of my interest with Geocaching as more of an internet curiosity.

Over this past Christmas holiday 2009 I accidentally rediscovered the Geocaching website via an Australian flickr account that had wonderful photos of geocache finds in Australia. This renewed my desire to get outside and enjoy the fauna and flora that live among us, but we often do not recognize. After several days of reading different GPS reviews and looking at various stores to find the best price I settled in on a great Triton 400 GPS to get you started with Geocaching.

The next few days required plenty of reading and messing around with the GPS and PC to try and get this hobby started up. Plenty of website bookmarks and late nights later and I had my Triton 400 GPS loaded with topographic maps and geocache waypoints. As a result of this jump start I learned a bunch of new language:

GPS Receiver: uses the Global Positioning System, a network of satellites in space and monitoring stations here on Earth, to find an exact location. Now relatively common in automobiles, these devices help drivers find their way to a specific location — a restaurant, a theater, you name it. In the case of geocaching, the device is handheld and can be carried into the wild. These can be purchased at a variety of shops including sporting goods stores. It is also common for geocachers to have a car GPS Receiver (e.g. Tom Tom, Garmin) to get your car close to Ground Zero of the cache.

Waypoint File Formats:

• LOC - The original download format for the search results page on Geocaching.com. This contains only the most basic data.
• GPX (GPS eXchange Format) - Available for Pocket Queries, a Premium Member feature on the Geocaching web site. The GPX file format has specific geocaching information that can be used by supporting applications.
• KML - Although originally used for Google Earth (formerly Keyhole - KML stands for Keyhole Modeling Language), KML is increasingly being used to read and display map data. Geocaching.com uses this format to view caches and to view the movements of trackable items.

Geocache: is the “treasure” in the activity of geocaching. Most often it is a sturdy, waterproof container, hidden and registered by another geocacher, offering a mix of fun, adventure and prizes. Using the GPS, the geocacher searches for the cache like a game of “hot and cold” — one moment the cache is one quarter-mile that way and soon enough, hopefully, you are 50 feet away. Upon locating the cache, you log your visit in the enclosed journal, and trade for some treasure or swag if you wish. Geocaches can be filled with a wide variety of items from marbles and trinkets to toys and tools.

Caches are hidden in an endless variety of locations. I’ve had to climb high into a tree, crawl into a cave, go out on a limb, scramble into a thicket, and wade into a stream to name just a few examples. Caches reflect a wide variety of creativity, cleverness and challenge. They’re rated by difficulty so that you can pick and choose. There are different types of geocaches as well. The basic geocache is known as the traditional cache, with one set of coordinates leading to the hidden cache. There are also multicaches, mystery caches, earth caches and event caches.

Travel Bug: used to describe a dogtag used in Geocaching. It is moved from cache to cache, and its travels can be logged on the geocaching website (www.geocaching.com). Each travel bug tag is printed with a unique PIN, which is needed to post a log online. Some tags are fastened to an object, such as a plastic figurine, before they are put in a cache.

Some travel bugs have goals to travel to a specific cache, location or a certain type of location. Other travel bugs simply have the goal of traveling as far and widely as possible. Most travel bugs consist of a "bug" (which could be just about anything pocket-sized) with a metal plate attached by a small chain. The plate has the PIN on it.

Geocoin: is a metal or wooden coin minted in similar fashion to a medallion, token coin, military challenge coin or wooden nickel, for use in geocaching. Some geocoins are trackable on the internet using a serial number and website address engraved on the coin. Personal geocoins are a personal signature item bearing the geocacher's handle and personal design, similar to a heraldic device. Geocoins are often minted by caching organizations and as fund-raisers for geocaching events.

Geocoins with tracking numbers that have been registered on their associated websites are said to be "activated", whereas geocoins that are still unregistered are termed "unactivated". Activated geocoins that have been left in a cache are meant to be moved from cache to cache like a Travel Bug, whereas unactivated geocoins may be placed in geocaches to be found by others and kept as trophies. Unactivated coins may be also traded or given to other cachers like a calling card, as prizes, as awards, or merely sold and collected.

The excitement of searching for a “treasure” has helped me get into the wild more consistently and has me spending 2 to 3 hours each week preparing for the next Geocaching adventure. There is an addictive nature to going out and you've "gotta catche them all" as there are over 900 thousand hidden around the world including the International Space Station. Each week with my list in hand and Triton 400 GPS fully charged up and loaded with the geocaching GPX waypoint file I have the goal of finding as many caches as I can while the sun is still up.

Fresh air, sunshine and exercise are among the healthful benefits of geocaching as you go for the hike and walk amongst the nature in your neighourhood. This cannot be overlooked in an age when screen time seems to be the primary form of recreation for most. Geocaching also leads to new parks, new trails and new discoveries.

Some people are just starting with only a dozen or so finds and others are seasoned veterans with many thousand finds. Ultimately this is not the real treasure of geocaching. It’s not about a container full of cool trinkets. It is not even about the success of finding the cache. It is more about the journey that you take and the sights that you see.

It is about discovery and magic, the song of a stream or the language of flowers. It is about the many wonders that surround us out there. Geocaching is fun, even addictive, and can serve as a reminder of the importance of protecting natural habitat. With just a little attention, it can lead to a deeper appreciation of the natural world and a better understanding of our place in the environment. If you need an extra lure to get yourself exploring nature in your neighbourhood, give it a try.