Newspaper article - Newton Citizen - Topic Powered by eve community

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Geocaching lets hobbyists search globe for ‘treasure’

By Barbara Knowles
News Editor
barbara.knowles@newtoncitizen.com

COVINGTON — They can be anywhere — behind any bush or shrub or in the limbs of any tree; near sites both famous and infamous; right outside a back door or all the way on the other side of the world. They’re inconspicuous, cunningly hidden and often in the last place you’d think to look. They’re caches of items usually so mundane that most folks wouldn’t ordinarily give them a second thought.
But a growing army of folks are on the hunt, and when they make a find, and triumphantly shout, “There it is!” you’d think they’d unearthed a chest of gold doubloons.
These seekers are geocachers — folks who hone in on boxes of “treasure” hidden by other geocaching fanatics.
Enthusiasts refer to the phenomenon as an outdoor adventure game, a high-tech scavenger hunt or just a good hobby for those looking for a challenge and perhaps a little low-key competition.
At the heart of the game of geocaching is the global positioning system. A GPS unit (ranging in price from $50 on into the thousands, depending on bells and whistles) can hook someone up to a 24-satellite navigation system that, when provided with latitude and longitude coordinates, can zero in on any place on earth. Originally designed for the military, GPS was declassified in 2000, and now there are thousands of civilian users worldwide.
Geocaching is conducted by a group of GPS enthusiasts who hide waterproof containers and post the geographic coordinates on the Internet, listed primarily by zip code. A person who wants to seek a “treasure” can type in his own zip code and look close to home, or if a trip is planned, caches can be located there and all along the way. He simply enters the coordinates his fellow geocacher has entered on the Web site at www.geocaching.com into his GPS unit and follows the signal.
Mississippian Ron Willett was found conducting a search in close proximity to Newton Citizen offices recently, compelling nosy reporters to follow.
The cache he found was simply a prescription bottle containing the names of all those who had visited the site before — some 48 of them. Willett will register his “find” on the geocachers Web site and receive credit for his discovery. He’ll also make a comment about the cache for fellow geocachers to determine if they want to visit it. He’s made approximately 600 such finds to date.
Though the Newton cache contained no treasure, Willett was happy with the simple victory of locating it using his handheld GPS unit, which he said is accurate to within 10 to 20 feet.
“Most caches are ammo boxes, lock boxes — anything waterproof — and they’ll have little treasures like coins or trade items,” he explained. “The idea is if there is anything in that treasure chest you want, you take it, but you are to put something back. That’s the ethics of it all.”
Willett, who has family in the area, said the most unusual cache he ever found was in Conyers. The box was magnetic and located in the metal ceiling joists of an abandoned building in a “not too good part of town,” he said.
“I felt real strange when that GPS sent me right up into that old building,” he said, adding that places that might be dangerous or difficult to reach aren’t usually the goal.
“The idea behind geocaching is to find an interesting place. I’ve found areas that I didn’t know about, even in my own hometown. One place was an old artesian spring right in the middle of town. I didn’t know the thing was there, but the geocacher knew, and when I found it, there was a nice monument around it and everything. I’d never paid any attention to it.”
DeKalb County resident and Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve volunteer Tom Smith is also an avid geocacher. He never misses an opportunity in his travels to seek out the unusual.
“It’s an interesting way to combine hiking with something interesting to do,” he said. “The best geocaches are places of historic or scenic interest.”
He recounted a trip to California where he and his wife were led to a cache called “Precious One.”
“It was the lone grave of a Jewish child who died at the age of 6 months in 1853. It was way out in the woods with a little fence around it. Another place we visited was the largest water oak in the state. It was a beautiful, majestic tree we would never have seen otherwise.”
Smith has taken his hobby and turned it into an educational opportunity for visitors to Arabia Mountain. He and park ranger Mary Terry have established five geocaches around the park. In addition to providing rewards, each geocache has an educational fact sheet and photos that provide information on the history, geology, botany and wildlife in the vicinity of each cache.
“We’ve had a lot of favorable comments from people who thank us for bringing them to a really beautiful place. People just love it,” he said, adding that visitors to the park have included those representing a wide variety of education and expertise, and in turn it’s been gratifying to get to know those folks.
Willett said most people feel that way about fellow geocachers.
“There’s a saying we have that says, ‘It’s not where you’ve been or what you’ve found, but who you met along the way.’ And I’ve found that to be true,” he said.
For more information on this hobby, visit www.geocaching.com. Those using coordinates on the Web site must belong to the Geocaching Association. Membership is free. For specific information about the treasures waiting at Arabia Mountain, enter zip code 30038.
</quote>

Pretty cool, huh?

~erik~

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