HIGH-TECH TREASURE HUNTING SKYROCKETS
"More than 90,000 people have become interested in the sport since it was invested just a couple of years ago," says computer technician, Jeff Atwood." It's called 'geocaching' and the sport began just a few days after the government removed the signal scrambling restrictions on GPS or global positioning satellites."
Hand-held GPS units, as used by hunters and anglers were previously accurate only to within 600 feet. With the restrictions removed, units, depending upon the number of satellites being received, are accurate to half a dozen feet and sometimes, just inches.
I tagged along, not long ago, on a short geocaching trip in Amesbury, Massachusetts as Atwood, the voice you hear on the other end of the phone when things get confusing, at Maptech, Inc. makers of the popular Terrain Navigator topographic software.
We began on the World Wide Web at the headquarters site of the sport, www.geocaching.com. The word "geocaching" is a compound word, with "geo" meaning geographical and "caching" a word of French origin meaning to hide.
The easiest way to describe the sport is to say it is a combination of hiking and a variation of the childrens game, hide and seek. Of course the all-important tools you need to play the game is an inexpensive hand-held GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) receiver, a topographic map and, I've found an orienteering style compass helps greatly.
The sport began when a man, David Ulmer hid a can of beans, a compass and a videotape near his home in Portland Oregon. On his website, he posted the coordinates and challenged anyone and everyone to find it.
Since then the sport has blossomed into a popular weekend family activity with over 15,000 caches in more than 100 countries around the world. There are a couple dozen in Maine alone.
"I like it because it forces me to get out and exercise. At the same time I go to places I would never have thought of visiting on my own." Says Atwood. "and I love the challenges the sport presents."
Some hidden treasures are well-hidden and quite challenging while others are almost in plain sight, near popular landmarks. On the expense scale, geocaching ranks way below hunting or fishing and much farther down the scale than skiing or snowmobiling.
Just getting into the sport, you will need an inexpensive GPS receiver, sold at most sporting goods stores for $80 - $200 depending upon how sophisticated a unit you wish to buy. The learning curve for these units used to be a huge stumbling block. Today's units can be set up and understood in less than half an hour. The unit can also be used for hunting and angling as well as hiking, snowmobiling and boating.
The "treasure" boxes or containers are usually something waterproof, like a Rubermaid juice container or an old ammunition box, and marked very plainly with the words "geocach." The headquarters of the sport also sell distinctive labels (as well as hats and shirts)and trinkets or treasures to be placed in their caches and traded or moved from one location another.
The cach we found last week contained a notebook to record our names and time we discovered the treasure and a disposable camera with which we took a photo of all but one of our search team. Inside the container there was also a dozen other interesting trinkets. One of our members took a deck of Old Maid playing cards and we left a keychain and Jeff left a computer disk.
On the trail leading to the cach we were treated to panoramic views of Hampton Beach and Rye Harbor. We learned later that the area we hiked as an abandoned town recreation park that featured a rope ski tow and botanical gardens. Perhaps other visitors to the area will set in motion a drive to restore the site.
As with my first outing as a boy, fishing was pleasant and led me to a lifelong love of the sport, my first outing as a geo treasure hunters was equally pleasant and I will soon be on the trail of other caches. Now that GPS units have been reduced in price and their operation has become simplified, more people will be enjoying the out-of-doors more frequently. Together with the innovative CD-ROM topographic maps and orienteering style compasses, hikers and other interested in getting outside can feel comfortable in their travels.
