Greater Guide to Geocaching
Hide ‘n Seek the High Tech Way
Written by Juliette Johnson

What is it?
It’s a sport, a hobby and a game that’s family-friendly, mentally stimulating and physically challenging. Enthusiasts boast that it’s the one pursuit that combines their love of the great outdoors with their appreciation for high-tech gadgetry. Part treasure hunt and part problem-solving, it’s called geocaching <geo-cash-ing> and it’s one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities across the globe.
Geocaching combines “geo” for geography and “cache” for its two meanings – hidden provisions and data stored on a computer. The goal of geocaching is to find hidden treasure from latitude and longitude coordinates found on websites. There are a number of websites that post information on caches to be found, but the most comprehensive and well-known is www.geocaching.com. On this site, caches can be selected based on country, state, city or zip code. Caches are categorized by difficulty and terrain. Descriptions and other clues are provided. Once you select the cache you want to search for, you can either enter or download each cache’s coordinates into a handheld GPS unit.
Most caches are packed away in watertight GI ammo cans, airtight plastic bowls or boxes — even in regular “zippered” freezer bags — and typically hold a “treasure” of inexpensive and small trinkets. Common items include tiny toys or games, tools, charms, trading cards, key chains, CDs and coins. While there are caches that contain booty that is genuinely valuable (cash, collectibles, gems), most geocachers will tell you that the real reward is in the challenge of the hunt.
Caches are hidden nearly everywhere you can imagine across the world, literally from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. In West Michigan, they are hidden at public parks, golf courses, caves, forests, beaches, urban areas and even underwater. Some caches are very easy to find and some are frustratingly difficult, depending on the creativity of the person who stashed the cache.

A Bit of History
Geocaching buffs (who refer to themselves as geocachers or simply cachers) like to joke that while their sport may be new, just under five years old, it’s the only one with an annual government budget of over half a billion dollars.
Until May 2, 2000, the Global Positioning System (GPS) was scrambled so that GPS receivers were inaccurate to 100 meters. Realizing there was no real security risk in letting the general public have access to the GPS, the Clinton administration removed the scrambling, called “selective availability.” This made GPS receivers accurate within 15 meters up to 90 percent of the time and made it possible to save and find caches with some degree of precision.
The first known cache was hidden on May 3, 2000 near Beaver Creek, Oregon and contained videos, books, software and other items. Within three days, two cachers had located the booty – hidden in a black bucket -- and within weeks other caches were created, hidden and sought. From those humble beginnings, the sport snowballed.
Geocaching.com was established in August 2000 with 75 caches posted online. Five years later, there are now more than 150,200 caches hidden in 214 countries around the world with approximately 525,000 participants seeking those caches. On geocaching.com there are more than 1,950 caches listed within the city of Battle Creek and nearly 1,630 within the city of Kalamazoo.

Guide to Geocaching | Cache Variations | What to pack | Best Stash