Over an after-work round of brews, healthcare worker Jessica Davis pipes up, “Well, I’m a treasure hunter,” she says, “I look for GPS locations with hidden treasure caches.” She slips out of the room and proudly returns moments later with two jewelry box-sized treasure chests. One contains a miniature mountain lion, smooth chunks of colored glass, a quartz crystal, a rubber duck keychain, a shark figurine and more tiny, colored trinkets reminiscent of sandbox make-believe. “See,” she says, holding out a bright rainbow heart bracelet, “these are some of the things I’ve found.” She leaves her own little baubles behind, too.
Geocaching is what happens when inquisitive tech geeks hide things and then dare each other to find them. To date, there are more than two million geocache sites all over the world (there’s even one in Antarctica). It started back in 2000, when techie and computer consultant David Ulmer hid a bucket of random objects in the woods near his home in Beaverton, Ore., and challenged his tech buddies to find it in order to test the accuracy of the newly-improved GPS. It’s everywhere in the world, even Old Town, the Arcata Plaza, the community forest and the marsh.
Davis has a second box of trinkets that are “track-ables” with a specific geocaching mission. With their own individual GPS markers, you can trace them as they move from hiding place to hiding place all over the world. She selects a small bunny rabbit and explains, “This one’s mission is to get to San Diego. Next time I head south, I’ll find a cache and leave her there to get her closer to her destination.”
Ready to go hunting? Sign up at geocaching.com to discover this world of secret stashes all around you. Humboldt County is home to hundreds of hidden treasures in town, on the beach, in the forest and even out at sea. Of course, you will need a GPS device or tracking software. If you have a smart phone, you can download the geocaching app directly from the site. The Geocaching app is solid — it also can link you to clues if you’re having a tough time in the field. Go to the maps section on the website and find an area you’d like to scour — again, they’re everywhere! The caches also have difficulty ratings, so on your first few times out, select easy ones. That way you’re less likely to get frustrated and give up.
According to the maps, there’s one at Arcata City Hall, where Heather Leigh Stevens, recreation manager for the city, has watched treasure seekers investigate the ferns, climb the wall and tap on the water fountain just outside her office. “It makes us smile and sometimes laugh,” says Leigh, who has seen her fair share of students, traveling retirees and occasional traveling families trying to find the cache in the past three years. She also notes that the people who do this tend to be focused and tenacious — they keep at it until they find the treasure. “I rarely hear people resort to anger or profanity,” she says. “Most people in this office know where it is, and if someone is having a really hard time, we’ll offer clues. For us in recreation, we like seeing people poking around in the bushes, getting out, getting active.”
If you attempt the Arcata City Hall cache, note that it has an “easy” rating, even though the overhang of the roof skews the satellite signal. It took this reporter 40 minutes. Though said reporter did not swear, she did utter a whole string of “dangs,” “holy cats” and “for goodness sakes” before finally finding it without a clue from the recreation folks. She also crawled around the water fountain numerous times.
Curious? Get out there, Humboldt. And let us know what you find.
This article appears in Jack Mays.
NOOOOO!!!!!! The posers will kill it!! And hoarding trackables is a sin!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No one is hoarding trackables. There is a constant flow of those coming in and those going out. Newbies are not posers. We always need more cachers. Young and fresh energy is good. That is what it is all about. Share the magic. Don’t be greedy, brother.
***OFFICIAL GEOCACHING ETIQUETTE NEWSLETTER(READ STEP FIVE! PS- Those things are seriously expensive!)****
5 Geocaching Etiquette Tips
The Guide to Geocaching Etiquette
There are two steps to any geocache: 1) it’s hidden and 2) others are challenged to find it. As easy as that is, it’s even easier to make sure you’re keeping your geocaching adventures on the up-and-up. Check out five helpful geocaching etiquette tips below or just watch the geocaching etiquette video.
— Bring a Pen – It’s like the first day of school. You need to be prepared. Always pack a pen to make sure you’re ready to sign your Geocaching username and the date.
— Leave No Trace – Be kind to the geocaching game board, which happens to be the entire world. Make sure to Cache In Trash Out (CITO) when you geocache: pick up litter along the way and don’t leave anything behind.
— Write a Great “Found It” or “Didn’t find It” Log – When you find a geocache, or even when you don’t find a geocache, make sure to share the spirit of adventure with the geocache owner and for other geocachers. Write a log detailing your journey.
— Put the Geocache Back Where and How You Found It – The geocache owner placed the geocache at a specific location for a reason. Make sure the owner can find it again later and that other geocachers have the same experience as you.
— Move Trackables Along – If you remove a trackable, like a Travel Bug ®, from a geocache make sure to post a “retrieved” log and move it to another geocache as soon as possible.
These five steps will have you rocking the geocaching world in no time. What geocaching tips would you add? Post your thoughts on our Geocaching Facebook page. Oh, and don’t forget the sixth step: repeat steps 1 – 5 often!
Another “PS”- No, there is not a “constant flow” of trackables. Are you even a cacher?? They are rare. I have NEVER found one. Why? Because people horde them. End of story. And I have no issue with DECENT people geocaching and being newbies. But there are some pretty trashy people that read this paper, and you just invited a slew of muggles to thrash all the hard work people have put into their caches and keeping them HIDDEN. It’s as if you’re saying, “Here you go tweakers, thieves, and prostitutes, all you have to do is download an app and you can raid hidden treasure caches all over the world!”. There is a reason that this sort of thing is a “word-of-mouth” type hobby. It’s NOT for everyone.