Want to try something fun and be adventurous while camping? Go geocaching! It’s a modern-day version of a pirate’s map involving clues, foraging and “treasure” large and small. I am fairly new to it, but I am firmly hooked. I have geocached around town, while camping, and with my granddaughter, who also loves it.
My first geocache!
I first geocached at Fort Cobb State Park in Oklahoma a couple years ago and it was fun to be out walking and exploring. All you need to start is some basic knowledge of your surroundings and your cell phone.
Start by visiting Geocaching.com to learn more and download the geocaching app. Amazingly, it’s free! The app will help you find nearby caches (the goal of the treasure hunt). There are hundreds of thousands of caches hidden worldwide. The app also gives you information such as level of difficulty, type of terrain and the size of the cache.
Varying sizes
Caches vary in size from nano, micro, large and devious. Some will have just a piece of paper to sign and date showing you found it. Some might have a stamp for you to mark in your geocache record book, if you have one. The micros can be hard to find and come in containers such as film canisters or pill boxes. Bigger ones may be in ammo boxes or big plastic containers. Some may have trinkets or so-called “trackables,” like coins, toys, or travel bug tags you can customize at Geocaching.com. If you find a trackable, be sure to login and let the owner know where it lands next! Each owner of a trackable sets a goal for their item such as visiting every National Park then tracks it through it’s unique code etched on the item.
Great Group Activity
Who hides geocaches? Members of the enormous geocaching community like you! We can all hide and maintain our caches on Geocaching.com. This is a great group activity for camp outs. It involves exploring, walking, hiding treasures or finding them. It can be a great ice-breaker, too. You can go off in pairs or make it a race to see who can find it first.
Discovering new places, solving clues (some geocaches are very tricky, with puzzles to figure out), getting exercise and involving your kids or grandkids in the fun, are among the many perks of geocaching. Be careful though, once you get started, it’s easy to become an avid player!
This article by Margo Connell was originally published in Girl Camper Magazine
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