BY JOHN OWEN
When you live in a beautiful part of the country like we do, you really don’t need an excuse to go exploring. But you might be surprised to find that there are hundreds of hidden objects all around you with the express purpose of getting you to go outside and seek adventure. They’re called geocaches. Geocaching, a global treasure-hunting activity, encourages exploration and outdoor recreation for millions of people worldwide. It is a lot like a treasure hunt or an Easter egg hunt, an adult version of hide-and-seek, or even Pokémon GO. People all over the world have hidden caches for you to find using the GPS function on your smartphone.
It all started in May 2000, when Dave Ulmer hid the first cache, known as the Original Stash, in Seattle. The activity quickly gained popularity and caches began to appear not only in Washington but globally.
Geocaches come in all shapes and sizes—cache creativity is endless. Some are large reusable plastic or metal containers (think Tupperware and ammo boxes); others are micro-canisters hanging from trees. Some are as small as an acorn and look exactly like an acorn, while others mimic sticks, frogs, lipstick tubes, empty cans, squirrels, or industrial nuts and bolts. There are caches, T-shirts, and other merchandise for sale on Geocaching.com, plus thousands more on Etsy and Amazon. Many people delight in making their caches from sticks, old cans, bottles, spice containers, and even trash. All caches have a logbook inside for people to record their find.
The caches are all provided and placed by unpaid volunteers in the global geocaching community. After you have found three or more, you can then place your own caches, too. Some people are inventive, clever, accomplished artisans—and some, are diabolical.
Geocachers refer to all people who are NOT geocachers as “Muggles” and if there are some of them nearby when nearing a cache, they will delay until the Muggles are out of sight to make their find. You might recognize this term from the Harry Potter stories as people who are unaware of the “magic” world. In this case, it’s the magic geocache world.
How to Go Geocaching
Download and open the app on your smartphone. Or you can simply log into www.geocaching.com and start looking for caches. There is a visual difference between using the app and the website. I prefer the website, but I encourage you to check them both, and then select your preference. Suppose you select a park in Seattle, you can click on several icons to select which one you want to find. When you click on the icon, a new screen opens, which will tell you how hard the cache is to find, how difficult the terrain is, and how large or small the cache is. Click on the “hint” arrow near the lower right corner to access another screen with more information about the location.
Map your navigation to the cache. Once you select a cache, go outside and use the app to navigate to it. And don’t forget to bring a pen to sign the logbook inside the cache.
Look for the cache. Once you’re in the general location, use the app to look at the recent activity and hints for clues. Remember, caches come in all shapes and sizes!
Find and log the cache. Once you find it, you’ll need to open it and sign your username in the cache’s logbook, then place the geocache back where you found it. Log your find in the app or Geocaching.com to see your “find count” increase.
What you will find in a geocache depends on many things, especially the size of the cache, but there will always be a log for you to sign. In larger caches, you can find trackables or items to trade. Trackables are items that are meant to move from cache to cache. Some items have traveled halfway around the world. If you take something meant to be traded, leave something of equal or greater value.
How do people feel about their exploring activities? They leave their comments for each cache on the site for you to read. Here are some examples:
Mercer Slough: “I was in dire need of some outside time to clear my head, so I headed here with a friend who used to work at the nearby Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center. I got a healthy dose of animal facts as we walked to the cache. We searched for a few minutes before the hint helped me find the correct location. Thanks for the cache and giving us a good reason to get outside tonight!”
DuPont: “Such a cool cache! The log was so creative. The woods leading to it were beautiful. I had no idea this small path was there!”
Shadow Lake: “Was the first body of water for our paddling adventures on this gorgeous day. We had the entire lake to ourselves, which made for some of the smoothest sailing each of us has ever experienced. It was a comfortable temperature out and there were caches to be found. What better conditions could you ask for? There was a turtle sitting on a log as I was heading outbound, and he dove into the water as I approached.”
Oyster Bay: “Beautiful area. I wanted to stop and just stare at the water. Thanks for the scenery.”
So, where’s your treasure? The real treasure lies in getting outside, having fun, discovering new aspects of your environment, and getting healthier. Medical experts agree that walking triggers a cascade of health benefits—it lowers blood pressure, contributes to greater cardiovascular fitness, promotes weight loss, strengthens muscles, improves mental health, and can help ease depression. Walking can improve both the quality and the length of your life and those are gifts you can treasure!
John Owen transitioned from life as a graphic artist/website designer to a biomedical executive at age 61. After 20 years in the biomedical business, he now uses his knowledge of medicine and physiology to write about successful, vibrant aging. This is excerpted from his forthcoming book on super-agers.
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Check out these online resources for more information and to get started:
If you need more detailed information about the nuts-and-bolts of Geocaching, the Olympic Peninsula has an excellent introduction to Geocaching online: https://olympicpeninsula.org/geocaching-101-a-guide-to-treasure-hunting-for-beginners:
Washington State Geocaching Association https://www.wsgaonline.org/
The Washington State Geocaching Association (WSGA) is a nonprofit recreational club supporting geocachers and geocaching across the state of Washington.
Washington State Parks https://parks.wa.gov/find-activity/activity-search/geocaching
Geocachers are welcomed at Washington State Parks, but they have a number of regulations you can find out about on their website.
Trail Link https://www.traillink.com/
A nonprofit source of information about various trails in Washington and all other states. Free to join.
The Washington Trails Association https://www.wta.org/go-outside/trail-smarts/how-to/geocaching-an-on-trail-treasure-hunt
The Washington Trails Association mobilizes hikers and everyone who loves the outdoors to explore, steward and champion trails and public lands, and includes geocaching in its family.
Explore Washington State https://explorewashingtonstate.com/geocaching/
A site that promotes tourism in Washington. Lots of good information including the
Geocaching origin story.