RV Geocaching A Treasure Hunt for Grown-ups

When travelling by RV, Geocaching is one activity which lends itself well to the RV lifestyle.  If you've never heard of it before you might say "What the ___ is Geocaching?" Think back to the games you played as a child, and if you remember enjoying treasure hunts, Geocaching is definitely for you!  This activity allows you to explore the great outdoors, while incorporating your favourite hi-tech gadgets.

What It Is and How to Play

This is a high-tech treasure hunt for young and old RVers alike. A GPS helps to find hidden caches (containers) at specific latitude and longitude coordinates, in some very interesting places, all over the world. With around 1 million caches worldwide, there are bound to be dozens, or more, hidden close to where you are right now.  present location. If you travel by RV, car or plane, there are always new caches to hunt for at your destination or along the way.  If you live in Canada or the U.S., you may be surprised to find out that there may be several geocache locations within a short distance of your home. 

Becoming an official geocacher is free. With a simple on-line registration at www.geocaching.com and a GPS unit, owned or borrowed, you are in the hunt. Once you have registered and obtained your user name, an on-line search at the Geocaching website will grant you access to site descriptions and coordinates of caches worldwide.  All there is left to do is put on a pair of comfortable shoes and let the games begin! Seek Your First Cache Here

Searching for caches can be a individual pastime, participating as and when you wish at home or if your RV travels take you near an identified cache site.  Alternately, it can be a great group activity shared with RV friends or a social club.  You can all start with coffee, hunt for several caches within a specific area, and end the day with a picnic or meal at your favourite restaurant.  

The size of caches range from “nano”  (no bigger than a pencil eraser), to containers the size of buckets. No matter where in the world you are searching, cache sites typically take the seeker to areas not ordinarily explored, such as hidden gardens, parks, and tourist attractions. Some sites provide a real challenge because of the type of cache, and you may find yourself delighted by the clever way in which the cache is hidden. 

Nano caches, as described above, are commonly attached magnetically to a steel surface.  These nanos can be disguised as things like nuts or bolts, and can be attached to a public street sign in full view of unknowing passers by.  ,Other nanos which may be slightly larger must be hidden from site or camouflaged.  Nearly every cache has a logbook, which can take the form of a simple small roll of paper inside the container of the cache. 

Larger caches will often contain items based on the theme, cache name or location.  For example a cache at a golf course may contain golfing-related tidbits, such as golf balls, tees, etc.  Caches may be hidden to look like part of a building or vegetation.  This aspect adds to the challenge, because not only do you need to find the exact coordinates, but you also need to find the container itself.    

You may find a cache which contains what is called a “registered” item. These are known as Geo-coins and Travel Bugs.

• A Travel Bug is a trackable item that moves from place to place, picking up stories along the way. You can add your own story, or live vicariously through each bug's adventures. Travel bugs have unique registration numbers which are used to track their movements.  When a TB is found and moved to another cache location, the move is logged on the Geocaching website.  It is interesting to note that TBs can often move between countries, or have a theme which directs finders to move them to specific types of caches.
• Collectible Geocoins come in all shapes and sizes, and can be tracked in the same way as Travel Bugs. You can log a geocoin you found, activate a new geocoin, locate geocoins near you, and find out how to create your own.

There are two aspects which impact the ability of a seeker to find a particular cache: the cleverness of the hide and the terrain involved.  For this reason, each cache on the website is rated from "easy" to "very difficult" for both of these aspects. This feature allows you to tailor your search to what suits you.  When you find a cache, sign the accompanying logbook, and then registered your success online.  Your total number of finds can be tracked this way.   Learn how to log your finds
 

RVers are in a unique position to pursue geocaching as hobby. As a snowbird heading south, you may want to plan your route along several geocache sites before arriving at your destination.   

A Brief History of Geocaching

Pursuing this activity was made possible after the USA adjusted its military satellites to provide signals which could be accurately received by commercial GPS units now available to the public.  In May 2000, Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant in Oregon wanted to test the accuracy of this available signal.  He accomplished this by simply hiding a bucket in the woods near Beaver Creek, Oregon, with the intent that others would find it. 

Shortly after this experiment, in July, the Geocaching website was established by Jeremy Irish, a website developer from Seattle, WA.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Geocaching has morphed into a worldwide sport/hobby activity which attracts and entertains thousands of enthusiasts. 

Want to give geocaching a try? Sign up for free at www.geocaching.com

Start your own grown-up treasure hunt and enjoy geocaching by RV!