We've been out enjoying our summer weather. Yesterday, we did a community service project for 4-H and cleaned up some overgrown horse trails. It made me think more about geocaching. We've even hit a few geocaches lately, gotten in a few hikes and soaked up a few rays along the way. We've been geocaching for years but haven't done as much of it as we would like. Plus, being in a new area, we have a brand new canvas to cover. Ever done any geocaching? Curious to know more? Here's the scoop...
Geocaching is the world-wide hunt for hidden treasure. It begins with a GPS, a computer, and a love of exploring. Then you go online to http://www.geocaching.com/ and sign up for a free account and then find the caches closest to you. You can purchase an annual membership for cheap and get access to more caches but it isn't necessary. There are different icons and descriptions that appear that you can use the legend to understand. Basically, a "1" means it is easy peasy, you should be able to drive right up to it, and a child can do it. A "5" means you better be in shape, make plans and tell someone where you're going, and don't take little Johnny. Some are urban, some rural. We have a huge trail system less than a mile from here with hundred for the finding. Some, called macros, are large and contain little, trade-able treasures that the kiddos will dig. Others, called micros, are anything smaller than a business card. I have seen some the size of a nickel. I've also seen some disquised as tree branches or pinecombs. Talk about hidden treasure! There are rules, too, like where and how you can hide a cache. For example, you can't place caches in national parks or state parks or bury it. Anyway, once you find your caches online, you can either download them to your GPS or manually enter it. We've started using the free applications and GPS on our Droid phones and made geocaching a little more, well, mobile. Take a glance at the descriptions and you're ready to set off. It's a great excuse to get out and explore our beautiful world! I'll leave you with a few pictures of MacGyver, Ike and Izzy and the loyal stead, Tank, on our last geocache/hike. I took some cool pictures of flowers, too, but I'll put that in another blog! I just saw that there happens to be 13,000 geocaches within 100 miles and over 1,000 within 10 miles. We better get movin'!
This is close to where the geocache was hidden in a camouflaged plastic container:
Brooke - Thanks for writing about this! How old were your kids when you started geocaching? I think we need to start doing it. I know my 5 year old would love it!
ReplyDelete-Karen
Karen-They were probably 2 and an infant when they started. We would start out with short hikes and worked up from there. One time when they were about 5 and 7 we ended up on this scary, loose shale mountainside and we literally had to stand behind them and push them up the hill. Sort of scary! Two years ago, they would have been 9 and 7, they did a round-trip hike that was 16 miles. They were troopers and really only struggled the last mile. This year we plan on doing some backpacking with them and let them start carrying their own food/clothes while we carry the bulk of it... tent, water, heavy food. I see another post coming! :) You really SHOULD try out geocaching. My kiddos LOVE the hike, hunt, treasure and everything about it! I just with that pesky thing called life didn't get in the way all the time!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brooke! We hike with them but I never think to take the steps to make it a geocaching hike. I know they would love it so maybe we will give it a try this weekend. Crazy...I just went to the geocache website and there is literally geocache in my backyard, well technically it's probably 20 yards away from my backyard. I can't wait to find it. Fun stuff! Thanks again for the info!
ReplyDelete-Karen