Geocaching: Play and Travel While You Exercise

For those of you not familiar with it, the key to geocaching is a GPS receiver. The game consists in hiding and searching for small treasures hidden anywhere in the world. The only clues provided (on specialized websites) are sets of GPS coordinates, so there is obviously no point to the game without a GPS receiver. And though it’s been practiced for years, geocaching has only just recently started to gain popularity.

Early Days of Geocaching

Geocaching is becoming mainstream, as increasing numbers of participants search with the sole object of having a good time. Whoever finds the cache, whatever it may be, gets to write down his name and the date. In exchange, one has to leave an object of equal or higher value than the one found. Otherwise the game could not go on. The objects tend to be of little value, and there is usually a notebook next to the treasure to record the name of the finder and the date. Ideally the object will be left in a waterproof bag or in a container, to prevent it from getting wet or covered in sand.

Geocaching Chains

In the city or in the countryside- there are no boundaries for geocachers. Moreover, there are no limits to the game because, among other things, one can create geocaching chains. In that case, the treasure chest simply contains another note with the GPS coordinates to the next cache. And so on successively.

Traveler Geocaches

Another modality of the game involves traceable or traveling objects. These objects are registered at geocaching.com and they can be tracked online using a special tracking code. This allows for checking how these objects travel from one place to another across the world map. The key factor here is to make sure that none of them are left behind or forgotten on someone’s shelf or drawer. They have to move around, the more the better! It is a great idea with increasing numbers of avid followers. You can track any of your objects, from buttons, to t-shirts, coins, books, toys, rings, magazines, stickers, etc. There are no limits. In fact, some of these traceable objects are sent out with a specific mission to reach a particular country.

Muggle Damage

In geocaching terms, those who are not familiar with the game and steal or spoil caches are known as muggles. Even though caches (our so-called treasure chests) tend to be well-hidden, some are invariably found by those who fail to follow geocaching protocol. Good camouflage when hiding the cache is thus crucial.

There are numerous webpages specializing in geocaching, and as such it is believed that there could be up to 3 million active treasures in two hundred countries, with over six million registered players. Spain alone could hold thousands of objects waiting to be geolocated.