Geocaching: high-tech treasure hunting

MARCELA TOLEDO

Contributor

MICHAEL WESTHOFF WASHTENAW VOICE

Hidden under a large pile of rocks, hollow logs, in the crook of a tree or any other place you can think of, more than 200 “treasures” are waiting to be discovered in Ann Arbor and surrounding areas.

And the modern but harmless pirates do not use a map but a global positioning system (GPS) to find this XXI century hunting treasure, in an activity called geocaching.

With the excitement and adventurous spirit of children, fans of this new hobby, outfitted with backpacks, are determined to meet the challenge.

“Geocaching is a game of hide and seek where finding a treasure is the primary goal,” explains Marc Stephens, 41, a Washtenaw Community College student who takes audio visual classes. “Geocachers hide containers with different sizes somewhere in the world, and then uses a GPS receiver to locate that spot, based on those coordinates and the description.

“Players use the Web site, the most popular is geocaching.com, to find the coordinates of geocaches in a given area, and download the coordinates to the GPS receivers. I usually go to Google Earth to see how the terrain looks like before I start my search.” Stephens said.

In 16 months of geocaching, he has found 52 “treasures” in Ann Arbor and other cities he has visited, like Boston and Detroit.

“Each geocache listed in the website has details about the size of the containers, difficulty of the terrain on the site, and an overrating difficulty to find it,” Stephens said. “Many descriptions give clues and hints that prove very helpful in finding the geocache.

“There are hundreds of thousands of geocaches waiting to be found. For example, there are more than 200 hundred geocaches in a 10 kilometer radius of downtown Ann Arbor, some maybe within walking distances, while others maybe further out.”

MICHAEL WESTHOFF WASHTENAW VOICE

Mary Mann, 32, an audio visual student, learned about geocaching from a friend, and is planning to take her family geocaching.

“I borrow a GPS at this point, but I hope to buy mine soon,” she said. “I have a 2 ½-year-old daughter. We take walks anyway, so it will be fun find something in the woods, just follow the directions and navigate through the wilderness.

“It’s so much fun! You can practice it in different cities, in different areas, and save your searches in a map. It’s great to interact with nature, have family picnics or hides. I think it’s awesome. For a child, it can be a real treasure because some containers have little toys or trinkets. It’s something to search for.”

But you cannot keep the “treasures,” Mann said. “After you find the container, you have to sign the log and leave them there. Sometimes, if you like one item from the geocache you can exchange it, just put one similar object there. It’s a community and figuring out a puzzle.”

Stephens said that the GPS coordinates locate you around 10 meters from the hiding spot and affirmed that some are easy to find while some are too difficult.

“The containers are in different sizes, from a canister to large boxes,” he said. “And they can be anyplace you can think of. There is a variety of objects placed in the geocaches; it depends on the size of the box. Some of them are themed, and only contain objects related to the theme.”

Stephens advises all new geocachers to have at least a map and a compass, as well as a GPS device.

“It’s also a good idea to mark in the GPS where your car is located, to find an easier way back,” he said. “Bring some layers of clothing and be well hydrated, and don’t forget fresh batteries!”

An example of how popular the geocaching craze is: In a recent seven-day period, there were 954,086 active geocaches around the world, with 482,320 new logs written by 67,172 account holders, according to http://www.geocaching.com.