GEOCACHING

Another Blogger Mom out there asked me about Geocaching and wanted to know more about it. Well, you've come to the right place! It's a sport that has become, for many reasons, one of our dearest passions. Most important is the time we get to spend together as a family but it's also being outdoors, meeting new people, discovering new places and not having to spend much money to do it!

On the intro page to the GEOCACHING website, they give a good little description of what this sport is all about.

"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."

Here is a list of things that you will need to get you started:

1. Hand-held GPS Unit.

That's it. Nothing else. Once you visit the Geocaching website, all you need to do is input your home zip code and it will bring up a list of all the nearby Caches in your area. Click on the nearest one and the page will look something like this:



The Waypoint or GC# is located in the upper Right hand corner of the page and will be your reference number for each individual cache. You'll also see on the center/top of the page the Geocache Title, the owner, the size of the hidden container, the difficulty of the hide and the difficulty of the terrain. These items help you determine if this is a cache that you are interested in searching out. For example, a 1-Star Terrain usually means that it is Handicap Accessible and a 5-Star Terrain usually means that a boat or other special equipment is required to find it.

Just below this information is the key to the location of the Geocache, your longitude and latitude. This is the waypoint that you will need to enter into your GPS unit to get you to the hidden container.

In the middle of the page is a description of the cache or location and should give you some clues as to what you are looking for or the type of area you are going to be searching in. You'll also see a Google Map of the area and some cache attributes that will also help your team be more prepared, such as letting you know the cache is "Winter Friendly" (meaning most likely not on the ground) or that it's a "Lunchtime Cache" (meaning it can be completed in less than 1 hour).

At the bottom of the page you can read all the logs from other Geocaching Teams that have already found this cache and what they had to say about it. You can log your find by clicking on the link on the upper Right hand corner of the page, under "Navigation", called "Log Your Visit".

Remember:

• If you take something from the geocache, leave something of equal or greater value.
• Write about your experience in the geocache logbook.
• Place your geocaching stories and photos online when you log your find!
  

So, come up with a fun Team Name (we're Tikibirds) and get out there and find your first one! Once you do, you and your family and friends will be hooked! Any questions?