Geocaching

What is Geocaching? - Geocaching is basically a worldwide treasure hunt where "You are the Search Engine".

How does it work? - It is very simple to start Geocaching. All you need is a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver and the love of adventure. You log onto www.geocaching.com and look up a "cache", and input the coordinates into your GPS. A "cache" is the actual thing you are looking for. It is usually some sort of airtight container that can hold a logbook with a pen/pencil and items to trade. The GPS will then guide you to the general location of the "cache". Once there you look for the "cache" by using hints given to you on the Geocaching web site. Once you have found "cache" you sign the logbook and trade an item that you have brought with an item in the "cache".

Do you have to trade items? - No, you do not have to trade any items if you don't want to. But it is a general rule if you are going to take an item you should leave one. You can trade pretty much anything you want with some exceptions. You shouldn't leave any trash, sticks/stones, and any inappropriate items. There are items called Travel Bugs and Geocoins, and these items are placed into the cache and are meant to be found and travel from cache to cache to see how for far they can go, o they might have a destination and they move around until they get there.

How long does it take? - Geocaching can take from 5 to 30 minutes. This is all based upon what cache you decide to do and the level of difficulty.

How did Geocaching start? - Geocaching, first coined by Matt Stum on the "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list on May 30, 2000, was the joining of two familiar words. The prefix geo, for Earth, was used to describe the global nature of the activity, but also for its use in familiar topics in gps such as geography. Caching, from the word cache, has two different meanings, which makes it very appropriate for the activity. A French word invented in 1797, the original definition referred to a hiding place someone would use to temporarily store items. The word cache stirs up visions of pioneers, gold miners, and even pirates. Today the word is still even used in the news to describe hidden weapons locations. The second use of cache has more recently been used in technology. Memory cache is computer storage that is used to quickly retrieve frequently used information. Your web browser, for example, stores images on disk so you don't have to retrieve the same image every time you visit similar pages. The combination of Earth, hiding, and technology made Geocaching an excellent term for the activity. However the "GPS Stash Hunt" was the original and most widely used term until Mike Teague passed the torch to Jeremy Irish in September 2000.