FSS Insider

What is geocaching?

by Josha Brown, Asst. ODR Director

I would like to extend a new outdoor activity I have started looking into; geocaching.  Now, geocaching is not a new development.  It has been around for years, but I have just recently started exploring its opportunities.  Geocaching.com has been my reference point to figuring out how it all works. Basically, a geocache is a hidden treasure placed in random places like hollow tree cavities, next to a boulder, etc.  Caches range in sizes from pill bottles to five-gallon buckets, most of which have some type of log book to say who has found it and when.  Some caches contain little trinkets or prizes, but if you decide to take the prize you need to replace it with something of equal or greater value.

Okay, so how do I find one of these hidden treasures you ask?  Well, you take your handheld GPS or smartphone, there’s an application you can download, log in the cache coordinates and your adventure begins.  The website explains this process pretty well, and there is no reason for me to reinvent the wheel, so check out how to find your first cache on the website geocaching.com.  You will have to create a profile to access cache locations, but a general membership is free.  Each cache is logged into the website giving you the size and difficulty for locating it.  There are hundreds of caches from which to choose.

Typing in Mountain Home on the search, I received 841caches within 25 miles and more than 7,000 within 100 miles.  This will keep you busy for quite some time and is an excellent opportunity to get out, explore your surroundings, and get to know your local area a little better.  Geocaching is like a grown-up version of Easter egg hunting, just on a larger scale and with more high-tech equipment.  So, when you find yourself with a couple hours and an itch to get outside, log on, grab some coordinates, and have some fun!