A hot sport or hobby depending on how you look at it is making its presence around the world, but more importantly to us here in the Santa Fe area- It is called geocaching. (Geo-cashing) The word Geocaching broken out is GEO for geography, and CACHING for the process of hiding a cache. A cache in computer terms is information usually stored in memory to make it faster to retrieve, but the term is also used in hiking/camping as a hiding place for concealing and preserving provisions
What is geocaching and why is it so hot right now?
Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users.
The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache. It is modern day treasure hunting.
Of course it is important to do the hiding and searching on public land and the open spaces in this country are the best places for your GPS to work and to get out and enjoy the natural beauty. This is why in New Mexico and more importantly the Santa Fe area is such a great place for this sport/hobby.
It is possible to do this in the urban areas, but GPS systems sometimes have difficulties with the buildings.
It would seem that if you have a GPS you could find it. It is true to find the coordinates, but getting there is not as easy. Here is where the challenge comes in.
There a few rules that must be followed:
- Take something from the cache
- Leave something in the cache
- Write about it in the logbook
- Where you place a cache is up to you.
- Don’t move the cache
A cache can be many things but the first item should always be the logbook. In its simplest form a cache can be just a logbook and nothing else. The logbook contains information from the founder of the cache and notes from the cache's visitors. The logbook can have more entertaining things if you want. A logbook might contain information about nearby attractions, coordinates to other unpublished caches, and even jokes written by visitors. If you get some information from a logbook you should give some back. At the very least you can leave the date and time you visited the cache.
Larger caches may consist of a waterproof plastic bucket placed tastefully within the local terrain. The bucket will contain the logbook and any number of more or less valuable items. These items turn the cache into a true treasure hunt. You never know what the founder or other visitors of the cache may have left there for you to enjoy. Remember, if you take something, you have to leave something in return. Items in a bucket cache could be: Maps, books, software, hardware, CD's, videos, pictures, money, jewelry, tickets, antiques, tools, games, etc. It is recommended that items in a bucket cache be individually packaged in a clear zipped plastic bag to protect them. The variety on the types of caches are as large as any one’s imagination.
Here are two types of variations of the game
Offset or Virtual Caches - They're not found by simply going to some coordinates and finding a cache there. With the Offset Cache the published coordinates are that of an existing historical monument, plaque, or even a benchmark that you would like to have your cache hunter visit. From this site the cache hunter must look around and find offset numbers stamped/written in or on some part of the marker site, or continue based on instructions posted to geocaching.com. A Virtual Cache is just a location and there is no physical cache but the experience of being there is usually well worth it.
Multi-caches - The first cache gives coordinates (or partial coordinates) to the next location, or multiple caches have hints to the final cache
In the state of New Mexico, at last count there were about 200 caches. In the Santa Fe area I counted around 70.
This would be such a fun trip for any hiker especially if you are familiar with a GPS. Kids do well with this, after all what kid doesn’t want to go on a treasure hunt?
On the site www.geocaching.com you can see how involved people get. There are chat rooms and advice on your equipment, and the caches are rated by level of difficulty and terrain. This is THE site to do it all when it comes to geocaching.
For a fun outdoor event that not every tourist coming here will do, try geocaching in Santa Fe and New Mexico.
Eileen Richardson
