For a number of years now we've enjoyed a challenging and enjoyable new activity called “geocaching”. There has been some reference to it in RVing magazines, though many fall short of providing an easy-to-understand explanation of geocaching. When we’ve chatted with other RVers and explained to them what we’re doing, they’ve invariably concluded it sounds like a lot of fun – and something RVers can do as a hobby wherever they travel. This article is intended to provide RVers with an understanding of just what geocaching is all about.

To understand geocaching one must first have a basic familiarity with “GPS” – an acronym standing for “global positioning system”. GPS is essentially a number of satellites that “broadcast” positioning data back to earth, and that can be “read” and interpreted by a wide variety of devices to locate virtually any point on the earth’s surface. The “language” of GPS most commonly uses precise longitude and latitude data to express specific locations. If you’re standing in your back yard and turn on a small hand held GPS device, it will within a few seconds “find” up to twelve of the geostationary satellites, and by referring to three or more of them be able to determine precisely where you are standing – expressing itself on its built-in LCD screen with the exact intersection of the longitude and latitude. The latter will be shown as “minutes”, “seconds”, and thousandths of seconds of both longitude and latitude.

Where am I?

As I write this I am at Emerald Desert RV Resort in Palm Desert, CA. If I step outside and turn on my GPS here, I get the following reading:

N 33 46.492
W 116 20.615

This places me north of the equator by 33 degrees plus 46.492 minutes; and west of the “Greenwich Meridian” (England) by 116 degrees plus 20.615 minutes. It also places me at site #718 at Emerald Desert RV Resort.

How do I find a precise location?

A GPS device not only tells you “where you are”, it can find specific locations that you are looking for. Using the last example, if you were to key the precise coordinates into your GPS device and press the “go to” button, it would calculate the precise distance and bearing (compass direction) from where you are standing to site #718 at Emerald Desert RV Resort in Palm Desert, CA.

A GPS can do much more than what I’ve just described – but for now that’s really all you need to know to understand this story about geocaching…

Enter this new “sport” called Geocaching

It didn’t take long for some enterprising person to notice that with hand held GPS units now widely available at greatly reduced cost (some now under $100), it was time to get creative. No doubt this was influenced too by the fact the US government some years ago stopped purposely controlling GPS receiver technology to keep it from being so very, very precise. Older GPS units are capable of getting fairly close to being perfectly accurate, but the “built in error” ensures they can be as much as 40-50 feet off target. The newer generation units are allowed to bypass the built in slight error, and can bring you within a very few feet of the target. The combination of lower cost, a whole bevy of smaller, faster GPS units, and now highly precise technology was bound to lead to something fun…

And it did. Someone had the bright idea for creating a new generation treasure hunt – based on the notion of the “cache”. A cache, of course, is well known as “a hidden store of things, especially…valuables”. The details of how to create a cache are spelled out at the website we’ll refer to in a moment. While there are variations, the typical cache will be a sealed plastic container that has been generously salted with trinkets of every type and description. You’ll find key chains, playing cards, fishing lures, toys, and even specially registered “travel bugs” – and much, much more. Also inside will be a log book and pencil, usually in a sealed plastic bag, where those who are able to find the cache will log their visit, and usually add a bit of commentary about their “find”. Geocachers will take something from the cache, but also deposit something new in it. Enter now the role the Internet plays in all this.

All this is explained in great detail at http://www.geocaching.com. At the main page you’re immediately invited to type in a zip code (or GPS coordinates) to begin your search. If you’re at an RV park, use the local zip code and see what’s nearby. You’ll be amazed at how many “caches” will be located within a very few miles. The caches are always located on public lands (not private property), and will vary in terms of the difficulty of accessing the site plus the difficulty of finding the cache once you’re nearby. Both are rated on a scale of one to five stars. A cache that is rated with one star for access and one star for ease of spotting the cache will likely involve very little walking and easy terrain; and it will be quite easy to spot once you get to the right area. The most difficult are five stars. A five star access would be extremely strenuous; and if the difficulty of finding it is five stars, it would likely be very, very difficult to locate even after you get close to the right “spot”.

Most caches are relatively easy, involve some walking, and are usually “findable” with a few minutes searching once you get to the right general area. Almost all cache locations include one or more “clues”. For example we once had a clue that said “under an ocotillo about 50 feet below the ridge trail”. We’d walked up an extremely scenic canyon about a mile when our GPS said we were getting close. We approached a side hill which, as it turned out, had quite a few ocotillo. Our GPS was reporting we were about “.05 miles” from the target, and at a compass bearing of 247 degrees. The second bit of information of course makes an ordinary compass another tool required in addition to the GPS itself (though many GPS units now have a built-in compass function). By looking in the direction the compass identified as “247 degrees” we could point to the hillside, and target what turned out to be the “right” ocotillo. We scampered over the rocks, and sure enough, slightly concealed by a rock at the base of that ocotillo was a sealed plastic container. We made an appropriate entry in the log book, removed a plastic scorpion and deposited a toy car. Score one for our team!

When the day was done we logged back onto the geocaching website, and completed the exercising by “logging our visit” at the website. To do this part, we had to “log in” using our member number. Joining as a member costs nothing, and gives you full access to the site. It also lets you “log” your finds – and the website automatically keeps track of the number of caches you’ve found. When logging a find, players of this “game” invariably add a comment describing their experience finding the cache – and hopefully don’t leave too many new “clues” about where it is. Just reading the logged entry finds is usually an amusing experience.

Most geocachers just participate in the hunt. But of course some (including us) will be enticed to create a new cache as well. We did that very thing some years ago on a secluded beach not too far from our (then) home in the San Juan Islands. We used an old waterproof container, and filled it with lots of “goodies”. None of the trinkets was expensive or valuable, but there were lots of things for both adults and kids that might eventually find our cache. Following the detailed instructions at the website, we included a spiral notebook and pencil in a separate sealed baggie, so visitors could log their find. We found what we thought was a very fun hiding spot in some driftwood well above the tide line. Using our GPS we took several readings at the site in order to get the precise coordinates for the location we’d selected. We filled out a short form at the website which provided the location, a general description of the area, and even a couple of cryptic clues about both the route to the site and how it might be detected when a geocacher got into the general area. The site we’d chosen was an easy half mile walk from the closest parking area; and was only marginally difficult to find once close to where it was concealed. We rated ours one and a half stars both for ease of access and difficulty of finding it. It was subsequently found by dozens enterprising visitors to our island.

What we’ve described here is obviously not just a fun activity for RVers – it’s for anyone. We frequently see families with young children in tow, wandering through the woods looking under stumps, behind fallen limbs, under suspicious rocks, and even in trees. They know they’re within a very short distance of the “treasure”, and for the moment at least it’s eluding their detection. Usually a clue will eventually result in logging a find, and the exchange of special treasures.

What makes this all such fun for RVers is that wherever you travel, these special locations will lead you into some of the best walks and hikes, and to some of the most spectacular vistas, that you could hope to find in the local area. The caches were placed there by people who know these special places well. And by carefully watching the star ratings of the caches in the area you’re exploring, you can choose a short, easy walk or a longer, more challenging hike. And the general description of the cache you’ll read at the website – including the comments of those who have logged their finds there – will always provide a good general idea of the type of challenge you’re selecting.

And we think GPS is a valuable tool for RVers – even beyond its use for geocaching as we’ve described here. It can be attached to a laptop with mapping software to track your location as you drive down the highway; it can help you locate RV parks and campgrounds, that are now frequently publishing their GPS coordinates to help visitors find them; and they’re a fun companion on a hike to show you how far you’ve traveled – and if need be precisely how to get back again!

We hope this article will be helpful to RVers who would like to learn more about geocaching. For starters we’d recommend going to the website, and simply entering the zip code of a location of interest. This will give you a list with a short description of all the caches in that area, with the closest ones first. You’ll be surprised to find dozens of caches likely within an easy drive. By clicking on one or more that may be of interest, you’ll see the full writeup on that particular cache. And when you do, we think you’ll be greatly tempted to join those of us who are currently enjoying this fun new “sport” anywhere we may go in our travels!

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