Last Friday I had the opportunity to 'hang out' with the staff at Haultain during a part of their Professional Development day. Mrs. Kipp had asked if I could take them 'geocaching' for a couple of hours in the morning. Mr. Barkley was able to tie this activity in to the Digital Learner or some such educational equivalent... I was just along for the fun. The staff really seemed to enjoy it and a lot of interest was generated because this can clearly be a great way for families to spend quality time together.
Some of the teachers wanted me to follow up with more information regarding this great outdoor activity so I thought I would put it all here on the blog. The following is just a top level introduction to geocaching - if you want more information just click here.
Also if you would like advice about buying a GPSr that is suitable for 'caching - drop me an email and I will try to help you out.
A quick synopsis:
A person (hider) hides a cache. A cache is any hidden object whose exact location is known. The means of 'knowing' is through a GPS signal. A GPS receiver is required to accept and interpret the signal which is 'beamed' to the earth via various geostationary satellites. By mathematical calculation the receiver is able to determine a lat/long location, +/- 3-10 meters (depending on how much you spend on the GPSr). Back to the hider; she hides the cache, takes a reading from her GPSr, goes home and logs the hide on a website. The website has a number of members, who watch for new hides in the area they want to visit. The 'searcher' now programs his GPSr with the coordinates the hider has uploaded. He then follows the directions on his GPSr to the site where the cache is hidden, usually gets to within 3 - 10 meters and starts looking around. He finds the cache (hopefully - but not always), logs the find by signing a booklet inside the cache, makes trades, re-hides the cache, and then tries to cover up any evidence of his search. He then goes home, logs onto the website and logs his find there as well. The web site keeps track of your finds for you, and certain bragging rights are then granted. We have 80 in just over a year.
The Cache:
There are many different types of cache. The most common are the 'traditional' and the 'micro'. The traditional cache is often an old ammo box, this box is weather proof, very durable and usually already camouflaged dark green or brown. Any container that fits this description is acceptable. The box will contain a log book to sign, a piece of paper with a synopsis explaining geocaching in case a 'muggle' (see below) finds it , and some trade items (see below). A micro is often a used film container. Sometimes a hider will wrap camo-tape around it. The micros only contain the log book so aren't as popular with the kids, and they can be incredibly difficult to find. Some less common cache can be the most interesting. There are mystery caches that only contain coordinates or cryptography that lead to other cache spots, or 'earth-caches' that are really just a way to point out interesting geographical characteristics (like the 'big rock' near Okotoks), or the largest-cache-in-the-world in Fish Creek Park that turned out to be a pup tent set up in the bush with trade items in it, really the limit is only imagination.
A Muggle:
A Muggle is simply a non-cacher, someone who is not in the geocaching community or who has never heard of geocaching. Generally a cacher will try hard to remain undetected by muggles in a popular area so as not to attract too much interest. Too much curiosity by muggles can result in spoiled, stolen, or vandalized caches. At this point the 'muggle' becomes a 'geo-pirate'. There are a group of people who will sometimes use the open nature of the websites to find and spoil the caches. Some are relatively harmless pirates who just leave a calling card and take all the trade items but leave the log book, but some are genuine vandals who just scatter everything around or worse, take it all without leaving a trace. This makes it very frustrating because you can't find it if its not there...
Trade Items:
Trade items are simple and usually cheap dollar store type toys or knick-knacks that people put in a cache to trade for something else of like value. Again you have some people who like the pirates take more than is fair, but you also have some cachers who put in better than they trade. Its a great treat for the kids to find something they really like in a cache. It really adds to the 'treasure' flavour of the hunt.
The Community:
As you can see, there are some people who are very passionate about this pasttime. I'm a very mild fan compared to some others. But once you get started its easy to get hooked. Its great family fun and a good way to meet like-minded people. It promotes earth-friendly attitudes, exercise, respect for others, fair-minded community spirit, education, global perspective, and the excitement of the hunt. Techno-geeks love the gear too. The web sites are full of geo-events world wide, and local groups crop up everywhere.
This is the site I belong to where people log their hides and finds - http://www.geocaching.com/
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