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Have you heard of geocaching? If not, it’s a worldwide treasure hunting game that involves using a GPS-enabled device to find hidden geocaches (containers) via a set of GPS coordinates. The word itself was first coined in 2000 combining “geo” for geography and “cache”, which means the process of storing and hiding materials. The unique outdoor adventure game is hugely popular with more than 10 million users registered on Geocachig.com (160,000 of which are in Canada) and there are more than 2.5 million geocaches hidden in more than 180 countries. This means that not only can you find caches close to home, you can find them wherever you happen to be travelling.

Not sure what all the fuss is about? We’re breaking down the basics of geocaching with our guide.

Getting started

Prospective geocachers start by signing up for a free membership on Geocaching.com (there is also a premium membership option). You can either sign up with Facebook or with a username and password. Once you do that you’ll get an email asking you to validate your geocaching account and once you do, you’re ready to start. The next step is to head to the “Hide and Seek” page on Geocaching.com, enter your postal code and hit the search button. You’ll get a list of geocaches and you can click on one to get the coordinates and details about size, difficulty level, etc. Put those coordinate into your GPS device and use them to locate your geocache. Once you find it, sign the logbook and put the geocache back exactly where you found it for the next geocacher. You can also hide geocaches and then list them online at Geocaching.com for others to try and find.

Rules of the game

The rules of the game are pretty straightforward. If you take something from a geocache you have to replace it with something of equal or greater value. It’s also very important to never remove a geocache from its location. If you discover a cache is missing in your search, make sure to log it on the website with a “didn’t find it” log so the owner of the cache knows. In terms of hiding caches, they’re never buried, just hidden. It should probably go without saying, but food, sharp objects, ammunition, illicit or illegal items and alcohol should never be placed in a geocache.

What’s in a geocache?

There are many different types of geocaches and they contain all sorts of items. At the very least a cache will contain a logbook of some kind, and then depending on the size of the container it could hold any number of cool and interesting surprises. Not knowing what you might come across is part of the thrill of geocaching. You might find a small trinket like a pin or a keychain, a foreign coin, a toy, drawings and letters or even a handmade item. The possibilities are endless. One of the coolest things you can find in a cache is something called a trackable. These are cache items that are supposed to be moved and come fitted with a unique code that’s used to log its movements. These items travel from cache to cache, from city to city and often country to country.

According to a forum on Groundspeak.com about interesting geocache items, geocachers have found and left Pez dispensers, McDonalds toys, toy cars, gift cards of various denominations, semi-precious stones, fossils, dice, pens, stickers, a first aid kit, bottle openers and money (one user claimed to have found a $100 bill).

Finding geocaches

According to the Geocaching website most people in North America and Europe live within a short walk of at least one geocache. So you likely won’t have to travel far to find one – unless you want to. Geocaches are everywhere, there’s even one at the base of Mount Everest believe it or not. Some people like to start off close to home and then branch out to further locations. Geocaches come in all shapes and sizes and the size will be listed on the cache page so you have a better idea of what to keep your eye out for. Use your GPS to find the cache, sign the log book and log your experience online. As you gain experience geocaching you can choose caches with a higher level of difficulty.

Hiding geocaches

Before you decide to hide a cache, it’s a good idea to find several so you get a better understanding about what goes into the process. Once you think you’re ready to do some hiding, you’ll need a waterproof container and a location to hide it. What you put in your geocache and where you hide it is up to you but it needs to meet a list of guidelines. Once you have the coordinates for your cache and if applicable, permission from the landowner, you submit it for publication to Geocaching.com where it will be reviewed to make sure it meets all the requirements. If it doesn’t a volunteer will work with you to get it right. After a few days it should be up on the site for someone to try and find.

Featured image: Mark Kelly, Rhinogs Viewpoint via Flickr CC BY 2.0

About the author

Jessica PadykulaJessica Padykula is a Toronto-based writer and editor who regularly covers travel and lifestyle trends. When she’s not writing or researching a story she can be found planning trips to places near and far in a never-ending quest to travel the world.

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