Geocaching – getting the travel bug

This is the coolest. I highly recommend giving this a try as a family activity.

What is Geocaching?

The official definition, from those who know best, www.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.

But really, what is it?
There are at least two types of trackable items (trackables): Travel Bugs and Geocoins. We have used Travel Bugs. A Travel bug is a little metal thing - looks like a dog-tag - that has a barcode and number on it. The trackable gets hidden in a plastic container called a Geocache, by someone, in a park, on a walking trail, anywhere really. The person who hides it goes online and enters in the location of the bug on the website mentioned above.

Another person goes to the same website and finds the general location of the trackable, and then using their GPS device, they go out into the world and find it. Then, they take it somewhere else and hide it again, and log its new location on the website. See? Get it? It travels around the world, literally, and gets found and moved and found again, and again. And you can see every location it's travelled to on the website.

My kids got started doing this three years ago at school. The computer teacher at the school did an afterschool class called "Geocaching". Each kid received a travel Bug, made a little person (like a Flat Stanley - if you don't know Flat Stanley, let me know, I'll blog about that too), attached the bug to it and then logged it on the Geocaching website. The teacher then dispersed all the kids little geo-people and bugs to family and friends in New England, and they were on their way.

Jake's bug, and the little dude that's with it, have literally traveled the globe in the past three years. It is currently in Washington State where it's been since November, waiting to be moved again.


Grace's hasn't been so lucky. Her little dude and bug got as far as one state south in six months time and it's been sitting in some park there ever since - for two and half years. We are going to make a daytrip there sometime soon to see if we can rescue it. Who knows if it will still be there - but we're anxious to find out.
How do you Geocache? And what do you need to get started?
You need a GPS device. You can use a portable one, or one that's part of your car, or phone, or whatever. You need internet access. You also need a desire to get out there and explore - but that's the fun part.

First, you have to go to the Geocache website, www.geocaching.com and sign up . It's free, and easy. Then, you find a geocache that will meet your goals, and explorative style. The geocache is the hiding place, or container that the trackables are in. You might want to find one that's really close to you, or maybe you're going on vacation and want to find one there. On the Geocaching site, you'll get directions to the geocache you've chosen, and you can get latitude and longitude coordinates too. Then, you go find it with the maps you have and your GPS device. Sometimes, you'll find several bugs and/or coins in one geocache. You can pick any one you want. Go ahead, take one.

Now, you have to hide it again. You can mail it to someone if you want and ask them to hide it, or you can hide it while you're on a trip, or even just in your local park, a block away from your house. It's up to you.

Once you hide the tracking device yourself in a new geocache, and enter the new location on the site, you can watch it and see where it goes. That's the other fun part.

If you want to start a new bug or coin, you can buy them online at the Geocache site. You can also get plastic containers for them, and other things. There are all kinds of tips there, and lots of great information. You can look at lots of bugs and see how far they've gone. You can also look at some of the people who do this as a hobby - moving literally hundreds of trackables a year! Some people travel the world to do this.

We don't travel the world to do this. But, it is fun. And, it's a great way to get everyone outside, to see new places, and walk new trails. We're looking forward to Spring - to cache in on some fresh air.