began planting boxes with self-addressed letters or postcards as their calling cards. The next traveler who came along and found one of the boxes would take the letter, mail it and leave a letter in its place. It sounds a bit like “Who’s got mail?” (See Letterboxing.org.)

To get started as a geocacher, simply log onto the geocaching website, type in a location and sort through the many hits of hidden caches. Caches can be concealed anywhere, from wilderness areas to inner-city parks. Forms also vary, from traditional (ammo can or Lock & Lock brand divided tray) or micro-caches (film canister, breath mint tin) to theme or benchmark caches and virtual caches that des- ignate a special point of interest, such as a dazzling sunset overlook, secret grove or panoramic view. Earth caches promote educa- tion; visitors learn about geological processes, re- source manage- ment and scientific investigation pro- cedures. Mystery and puzzle caches challenge search- ers by offering puzzles, problems or mathematical equations to be

solved in order to determine the coordinates. Items hidden in caches may be geocoins, trinkets or dog toys. Some include a “travel bug”—a metal dog tag with a unique tracking number stamped below the picture of a bug. The number can be tracked on the geocache site and by definition, a bug must hop from cache to cache. After finding a cache, there are three basic rules to follow:

1. Sign the logbook, and if you take an item, leave an item of equal or greater value. 2. Return the cache to its original hiding place. 3. Cache In Trash Out (CITO). Geocachers often participate in cleaning up the environment by bringing a trash bag and picking up the occasional litter. For coordinated worldwide cleanup events, log onto Geocaching.com/cito. George Hornberger, an avid geocacher from Vienna,

Virginia, echoes a common sentiment: “I’m a kid at heart,” he says, “so hunting for hidden treasure using grown-up technological toys is perfect for me. I’ve been introduced to several nearby parks and natural areas that I’d never visited until going to hunt for a cache there. The moment of joy when my family finds the cache we’re hunting for is very satisfying.”

Geocaching, say organizers, helps indoor entertainment junkies put the active back into interactive.

Patricia Komar is a freelance writer in British Columbia, Canada. She, her husband and their Lab/border collie and cairn terrier dogs are avid geocachers. Connect at Komar2 @telus.net.

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June 2010

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