Anyone who loves hiking, adventuring, going outside, or just spending time with friends or family would love geocaching. Most of the caches are located on the side of the road, on hiking trails, streetlights or pretty much anywhere someone can hide a container. Getting out and being active is the main focus of geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing).
According to geocaching.com, “Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure.” All you need is a GPS and a free geocaching.com account and you are ready to go! When you are ready, read the cache description and hints, and load the coordinates on to the GPS. When you make the find, go back online to log your finds! Each cache you log gets added to your geocaching profile tell you how many caches you have found.
Each cache has different attributes that can tell you a lot about the terrain, size, and difficulty. The caches can contain a logbook (where you write your geocaching username), toys and trinkets, track-able items, and even money. There are also five levels for difficulty, five levels for terrain, and four different classifications for size.
Driving around looking for the cache locations might be the best part because learning the different areas can result in finding new locations to visit over and over again. The premise may not sound like that much fun, but it is addicting once you get started. The feeling that one gets when the find is made can be very gratifying and it will start a new obsession, outdoor activity, and family bonding experience.
All ages can participate in geocaching, and everyone from children to seniors will love it, as it is really something that any person at any age can participate in. For example, retired couple from N.H. has over 10,000 finds and they have cached in all 50 states. The stats of any geocacher can be found on cacherstats.com. Also, all types of physical levels can participate; from someone in a wheelchair, to someone who rock climbs. Any cache that has a terrain of one can be accessed by wheelchair and a terrain five requires special equipment. They can also be found all around the world! There are several in the Plymouth area, and even two up at WalMart. They can be in the city or in a remote part of the woods; it all depends on where the person wants to hide the cache. The caches can be in plain sight, like an electrical outlet on a lamppost, or a Tupperware container in the trunk of a tree. The creativity of the cache hidden is all up to the imagination of the person hiding the cache.
When looking for a cache, keep in mind the time you will need to find a cache, the terrain, the difficulty and your experience, and the last date found, and if it is accessible at all points in time. To learn more about this awesome outdoor activity, visit geocaching.com and make your profile and start caching!