What in the world is geocaching?

I haven't written in a while, largely because much of my free time has been taken up by my new hobby, geocaching. One of my first posts was about geocaching, but I did not explain what it is. I just assumed that most people had some exposure to the sport. I don't know why I assumed that, since I did not know much about geocaching or how to go about it until I was practically forced to do it for my job. The reaction I get from most people when I tell them I geocache is the a puzzled look and the questions, "What in the world is geocaching?"

Well, had the question been, "Where in the world is geocaching?", the answer would have been everywere! Geocaching is like a high-tech treasure hunt, and the "treasure" is hidden all around the world. Some is probably closer to your home than you think! But, prospectors, don't quit your day job yet--this "treasure" has little to no monetary value. The majority of the "treasure" is composed of kids' meal toys, small trinkets, and coupons hidden in tupperware containers and ammo boxes. The real "treasure" is the experience of hunting for a cache.

Before I go too far, it would be useful to explain how geocaching got its beginnings. In the not too distant past (sometime in the 90s), GIS data became available to the general public. Before this point it had only been available to the U.S. government. This data uses satellites in order to pinpoint exact locations on the globe. Not too long after this data became available to the public, a man in Oregon hid a tupperware container with a log book and posted the coordinates for this book online, challenging others to find it using their handheld GPS systems. It did not take long for the the sport to catch on. The hidden "treasures," called caches, began to spring up all over the place. For simplicity's sake, someone decided to concentrate all of the coordinates on a website called geocaching.com. This is still the foremost website for geocaching.

So that is how geocaching began, and today it seems to be flourishing more than ever. There is much more to explain about geocaching, but, in my experience, it is one of those things that can be explained until I turn blue in the face without sounding very interesting. Geocaching is kind of like travelling. It just cannot be explained in a way that gives it justice, and people cannot fully understand the joys of it unless they does it themselves.

In my next post I will touch on a few of my recent geocaching experiences and explain why I like it so much. In the meantime, I would encourage anyone reading this to go to geocaching.com and see how many caches are within 10 miles of your zipcode. You will be surprised! And, if you have a handheld GPS or know someone who does, perhaps you can give this a try. I want to hear about others' amazing geocaching experiences!