Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt? I think inside everyone there lives a hidden pirate always seeking to find that mysterious treasure chest buried in the hills, maybe even in your backyard. The truth is, there may very well be a stash of hidden loot somewhere very close to your house, work, or even school. Thanks to the modernisms of GPS and Internet networking, a new phenomema has risen. This is called Geocaching.
The sport began in 2000 when a man named Dave Ulmer who, according to the message he posted on May 2, 2000, at exactly 9:00 pm, left a “black plastic bucket buries most of the in the ground” at specified GPS coordinates, which contained goodies including, but not limited to software, videos, books, food, money, and a slingshot. Included in the post was an invitation to take and leave accordingly and record it all in the logbook. From there the hobby exploded. As of right now, the official geocaching website has exactly 1,242,105 registered caches in over 200 countries around the world. They estimate 4 – 5 million people actively interested in the sport.
This new form of high-tech hide and seek has spawned a new breed of treasure hunter, involving individuals, families, groups and even school field trips and scout groups. Each one is searching for that hidden cache, in everyday places that the casual eye will tend to miss. The process is simple: find a post on the geocaching website and plug in the GPS coordinates. Often times, the one who posts the cache will give hints or specifications on what to look for. Next, head out to that location and poke around. Most caches contain a few objects to swap or a logbook to sign. Store the cache back in its original location and go find the next one. Treasure is out there, ready to be found. Buried treasure can be yours.
Other links relating to Geocaching:
Treasure hunting with modern technology
Its super big in Europe too. They have huge, week-long competitions. Pretty crazy
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing about this about a year ago, glad to see its caught on and that so many people are involved. I haven't done it yet but it sounds like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds super interesting. I love treasure hunts. Great job.
ReplyDeletethis is super interesting!! almost has a pirates of the carribbean feel to it
ReplyDeletesounds like fun. now if only the caches contained gold bars..
ReplyDelete