Flatfoot
2nd Level Orange Feather
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2001
- Messages
- 2,479
- Points
- 36
Have any of you ever done this, before? My sister just visited us and got us hooked on it. For those who don't know what it is, it's kind of like "treasure-hunting".
There's a website (http://www.geocaching.com), where you can register, and people will post geocaches with GPS coordinates. You can take these coordinates, and search for geocaches that other people have hidden in various places throughout the world. A "geocache" is typically a small, water-proof container that will contain a logbook/logsheet. If you find it, you sign the logbook, return the geocache to where you found it, and then post online to which ones you've found.
As far as the treasure-hunting aspect, some are bigger than others, and can contain various items that people will place in the geocache that you can take when you find them. However, the rule is that if you take an item from a geocache, you should put another item of equal or greater value in its place.
Some can be very difficult to find, and for the hardcore geocachers, they can be hidden in really elaborate places that may require rock-climbing equipment, SCUBA gear, etc. It reminds me a little bit of the movie National Treasure, and the ending to the Shawshank Redemption where Morgan Freeman finds the box Tim Robbins hid for him.
It's a pretty cheap hobby to get into, aside from the cost of a GPS (although my wife downloaded a free app her Blackberry that allows us to plot the coordinates.), and gas. If you're getting out and walking, though, you don't have to worry as much about that, and you're engaging in a little physical activity.
There's a website (http://www.geocaching.com), where you can register, and people will post geocaches with GPS coordinates. You can take these coordinates, and search for geocaches that other people have hidden in various places throughout the world. A "geocache" is typically a small, water-proof container that will contain a logbook/logsheet. If you find it, you sign the logbook, return the geocache to where you found it, and then post online to which ones you've found.
As far as the treasure-hunting aspect, some are bigger than others, and can contain various items that people will place in the geocache that you can take when you find them. However, the rule is that if you take an item from a geocache, you should put another item of equal or greater value in its place.
Some can be very difficult to find, and for the hardcore geocachers, they can be hidden in really elaborate places that may require rock-climbing equipment, SCUBA gear, etc. It reminds me a little bit of the movie National Treasure, and the ending to the Shawshank Redemption where Morgan Freeman finds the box Tim Robbins hid for him.
It's a pretty cheap hobby to get into, aside from the cost of a GPS (although my wife downloaded a free app her Blackberry that allows us to plot the coordinates.), and gas. If you're getting out and walking, though, you don't have to worry as much about that, and you're engaging in a little physical activity.
