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What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is like a treasure hunt, with a very accurate map. Individuals and organizations set up “caches” of rewards all over the world, ranging from toy army soldiers to bragging rights. The cache creator then reveals the latitude and longitude of these caches online, and provides additional clues if necessary. The general rule of thumb is, “If you take an item, leave an item, and write in the logbook.”
What is a GPS unit?
GPS stands for Global Position System. A GPS unit is an electronic navigational device that indicates the user’s longitude and latitude. It can be used to get from one point to another point, to measure distance traveled, speed, and other related parameters. It works by broadcasting a signal to satellites, and interpreting the response data to triangulate a location. GPS units range from $100 to $1000, and are used for a variety of purposes both recreational and official.
Potter County has some local geocache sites at the Austin Dam, along the Susquehannock Trail System and look for more caches here
Other Fun Outdoors Activities with a GPS Unit:
- Benchmark Hunting: Similar to geocaching, but benchmark hunters seek National Geodetic Survey markers, used by the NGS to enable land surveying, civil engineering and mapping activities. These markers are generally metal disks. Benchmark hunters who locate a benchmark report their find online and often share pictures of the moment of discovery.
- Trail running: Wrist-bound GPS units not only measure distance travel, but are also able to monitor heart rate, speed, pace and calories burned. Many of these devices also log lap times, so you can gauge performance over time.
- Boating and Fishing: GPS units are great for nautical adventurers, as they help with following fish patterns, marking casting points, favorite fishing spots, etc.
If you've never been geocaching, it's basically a community-enabled treasure hunt using GPS devices. The idea is, someone hides a "treasure" somewhere on the planet, and posts its coordinates online. Geocachers locate the "treasure," and the tradition is to sign a logbook, and if you take a piece of the treasure, to replace it with something else. Pretty neat, you can read more about it here. One of the most popular units among geocachers is the Garmin E-Trex, which is carried by BentGear.com.
Practice "Cache In Trash Out"
Every year geocachers around the world get together and clean up their local parks. It's just one way we can contribute to the maintenance of our outdoor spaces and to say "thanks" to the land managers that help to make our parks a great place for geocaching. Learn about how you can start your own CITO event, or just how you and your family can CITO every time you go geocaching. Visit CacheInTrashOut.org for more information.
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