a treasure-hunting staycation

by kellie abrahamson
There’s a good chance that a treasure chest has been hidden somewhere very close to where you’re sitting right now. And it’s entirely possible that you pass by two or three more on your way to work each day. The good news is all you need to find these concealed caches is a GPS and internet access. The bad news is you won’t get rich once you do, at least not in the way one would assume.
Geocaching (“geo” meaning Earth, “cache” as in hidden storage) is a popular activity that was imagined in 2000 when civilians were given unscrambled access to the Department of Defense’s satellite navigation system, making GPS receivers far more accurate. Soon after, an Oregon man celebrated the change by hiding containers of trinkets in the woods and posting their coordinates on the web for people to find. The rules: sign the log book enclosed in each box and if you take something, leave something. And with that a game that is played by over 100,000 people worldwide was born. Today there are 800,783 active caches, some as far away as Antarctica, others as close by as your own neighborhood. In fact, there are nearly 6,000 caches on the First Coast alone, with more being placed each month.
What you might find in a particular cache depends on the type of cache you’re searching for. Tiny micro-caches (usually pill bottles or film canisters) only have room for a log book, but larger containers like ammo boxes or 5 gallon buckets are typically filled with goodies like small toys, books, CDs and unusual coins. As I said before, you won’t get rich hunting for this kind of treasure; the joy is in the hunt, the prize is what you experience along the way. Often times you’ll discover a place you’ve never been to before- a serene little lake near an office park, a hiking trail rarely traveled, a spot on the river with great views- and that’s a big part of the appeal too.
There’s a good chance you already have a GPS, whether it’s suction-cupped to your windshield for road trips or an application on your smart phone. In any case, once you have the equipment, getting started with geocaching is a snap. Your first step will be heading over to geocaching.com and creating an account. From there you can search for caches near you, and trust me, there are plenty. Once you’ve picked out a few to hunt for, you’re ready to go. It’s that easy.
I’ve been geocaching with my family several times over the years. We’re not hardcore like a lot of cachers, we don’t plan family vacations around it or go every weekend, but when we’re looking for an inexpensive (read: free) thing to do on a lazy afternoon we fire up the GPS, slather on the sunscreen and bug spray and take to the woods. The kids love the idea of treasure hunting; my husband and I like that we’re not spending all of our time zoning out in front of the couch. Geocaching has given us a chance to explore North Florida in a new way. We’ve found places to camp that most people aren’t even aware exist. We’ve come across beaches so secluded only a handful of people go there each year. It’s not only given us something to do on a boring Sunday, it’s opened the door for even greater family adventures for another day.
Instead of wasting away your summer vacation sitting around the house, take your family on a real life treasure hunt. Geocaching is a rewarding experience that is well worth checking out during your staycation. For more information on geocaching, including tips on what GPS receivers to buy and how to hide your own cache, visit www.geocaching.com.