High tech hide and seek

If you are only using your GPS for turn-by-turn directions or the fastest route from one place to another, you are missing a great deal of fun right here in the Shoals.

Geocaching, defined most often as a “high-tech scavenger hunt,” combines technology, nature and good, old-

fashioned Easter egg search skills. With more than 650,000 caches hidden worldwide, geocachers download waypoints into their handheld GPS units and literally search for treasure, whether in their own neighborhoods or exciting vacation spots. Caches are hidden everywhere, from light poles to the tops of mountains, and they range in size from small tubes to 5-gallon buckets. But each contains a log that allows the successful cacher to sign, date and claim victory.

For those who rushed to theaters to see “National Treasure” and “Pirates and the Carribean,” geocaching provides the perfect opportunity to put those Capt. Jack Sparrow tricks to use and bring the children along for the adventure..


What do I need?
Most geocachers use handheld GPS units, which range in price from $100 to $500, depending on the features. New cachers should visit the Web site, geocaching.com, for tips on the equipment necessary to get started. But novices should realize that even the best units will only get them within about 10 feet, even under the most ideal conditions. And, since the coordinates may not be exact, wooded areas may impair accuracy and hiders may take their hiding role quite seriously, simply having the coordinates does not guarantee an easy find.

Though some are in easy-to-reach locales, other caches require hiking, rappelling and even scuba equipment. Cachers can be as adventurous as they choose, and geocaching.com ranks the difficulty levels of the cache.


Who goes geocaching?
The Web site also allows all cachers (and assistant cachers) to register a user ID. New cachers should choose the name with the utmost care, for it is by this name they will be known in logbooks and online. Registering a user ID is almost like establishing a new identity.

Carlene Blackburn, of Florence, has been an instructor at the University of North Alabama since 1990. Fellow cachers know her strictly as “Bison Woman,” who leaves a Bison nickel in each cache she visits. She started caching in 2004, and, although Blackburn usually prefers to go it alone (“If I’m with someone else, they almost always find it first.”) she does have a favorite caching parter: her granddaughter, “Bison Girl.”

“She’s been caching with me almost since I began,” Blackburn said. “She was only 5 at the time.”

Blackburn learned about geocaching through a TimesDaily article about Larry Boroff, known to Shoals geocachers as “Keymaker.” The Muscle Shoals retiree has found more than 7,000 caches in 12 states, and he is easily the premier cacher in the area, loving both the finding – and the hiding.

“I have hidden about 80 caches,” he said. “I enjoy giving back to the game and reading the logs. And I like seeing new places and meeting other cachers.”


What are you hunting?
Many kinds of caches compose the game. Traditional caches generally are waterproof containers (such as Tupperware© or metal ammunition boxes), small enough to hide but large enough to hold a log book (with a pen or pencil) and trinkets such as small toys, CDs or unusual coins. Cachers record their names, the date found, notes about themselves and the items they take and deposit, using the geocaching rule: “Trade up, trade equal, or do not trade.” After recording their find in their GPS, they also log it on geocaching.com, which keeps track of each user’s cache finds.

In addition to traditional ones, cachers can look for microcaches, which are usually small metal tubes, film canisters or “hide-a-key” magnetic devices containing tiny paper logs. Multi-cache requires going from waypoint to waypoint until a final destination cache is reached. Mystery/puzzle caches require hunters to solve puzzles or decipher other information to find the final prize. Event caches allow geocachers to gather at a certain location for an organized event, sometimes a race from cache to cache.

But earth caches perhaps offer the most incredible prizes of all − hidden wonders of nature that cachers might never otherwise encounter, such as waterfalls, caves and other unique geological sites.

According to earthcache.org, “The reward is the lesson, not the trinkets in the container.”

Blackburn appreciates them all.

“I like all aspects of geocaching,” she said. “I like caches in the woods, micros in cities, boring caches and interesting caches. I like seeing new places I would never have gone without a cache being there. I also like finding signature items of other cachers.”

For Boroff, few barriers will keep him from a cache.

“Some involved long hikes,” he said. “Some required rappelling down a cliff or crawling into a cave.”


What are travel bugs and geocoins?
Some of the more interesting finds for geocachers are called travel bugs. Usually found in the traditional caches, these items do exactly what the name implies: they travel from one cache to another. By using a tracking number imprinted on the bug, cachers can log it in at geocaching.com, see where the bug has visited previously, and follow where it travels after they drop it into another cache. The key is to keep it moving.

Geocoins are similar. They are designed by individuals or groups and “put into circulation,” just like currency. The fun lies in seeing where they go, even if the cacher cannot travel along.

Boroff has found more than 400 bugs and 175 coins, while Blackburn has logged 26 of the traveling items.

“It is just fun to watch them move to far-off locations,” she said.


What are the rules?
Like most activities, geocaching has guidelines. Permission may be needed for caches in certain public areas, such as state parks, and must be obtained for private property. Caches should not be placed on archeological or historical sites, or in areas where they could easily be “plundered.” Also, placing food in a cache is a no-no, since animals will easily sniff them out and destroy them. Geocaching.com is a great resource for “caching do’s and don’ts.

For geocachers, Earth Day does not roll around once a year. On every expedition, cachers strive to leave the environment better than they found it, adopting a CITO (“cache in/trash out”) policy.


How do I get started?
According to both Keymaker and Bison Woman, the best way to start geocaching is to grab a GPS and go.

“Just jump right in and have fun learning,” said Boroff.

“It is a fun activity, hobby, sport, obsession for anyone, and it is especially good for families,” said Blackburn. “Most kids seem to really like it. So, just jump in, because if you wait, you might not ever get started.”

With about 700 caches within 50 miles of Florence, your treasure awaits.