Anybody know of a GPS-based treasure hunting game?

[Northstarmom]

<p>I think it’s called “secret cache” or something similar, but I can’t find its website.
I’ve heard that there are sites all over the world where you can play it, and when you find the treasurer, you get something silly or quirky. Sounds like fun.
Anybody got a website or other info on it?</p>

[berurah]

<p>Isn’t it geocaching?? You might try googling that?</p>

<p>here ya go:
<a href=“http://www.geocaching.com/[/url]”>http://www.geocaching.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[mootmom]

<p>I have several friends who are avid geocachers (yes, it’s geocaching). They play everywhere they go, around the world, and some take infants or toddlers with them, while others are retired folks. When you find the cache and open the box, you log that you’ve found it in a log book, and “take a little treasure, leave a little treasure” – you’re supposed to put something INTO the cache as well, to keep it stocked and interesting for those who come later. I haven’t gotten “the bug” yet myself (mostly because I don’t have a GPS unit), but it sounds like such good fun!</p>

[asteriskea]

<p>I am amazed I know what you are talking about - I recently read this article about GPS precise treasure hunting:</p>

<p>

At any given time, as many as 2 million people worldwide are playing the game that combines high-tech gadgetry and the Internet with old-fashioned outdoor recreation.</p>

<p>Using global positioning satellites to get latitude and longitude coordinates, geocachers go outdoors in search of each others’ “caches,” boxed gifts that can be anything from Cracker Jack trinkets to Sacramento Kings tickets.</p>

<p>Since the federal government unleashed GPS technology for the masses in 2000, the sport has grown, drawing in such participants as retired grandmothers in urban parks, Boy Scouts and intrepid trekkers who comb mountainous terrain in search of caches.</p>

<p>“It’s just been absolutely tremendous,” said Bryan Roth, a cofounder of Groundspeak, which runs the official Web site, geocaching.com. “On the average, we get a new account every minute.”</p>

<p>With GPS units starting at about $100, and cache boxes little more than waterproof Tupperware, it can be the start of a lifetime of adventure, said Roth, who met his wife at a geocaching get-together.</p>

<p>There are 364,700 caches hidden in 200 countries, according to the Web site. At least 200 caches are hidden within six miles of the Sacramento Bee ZIP code.</p>

<p>A whole geocaching industry is growing to supply the sport with accessories such as specially minted coins and the book, “Geocaching for Dummies.”</p>

<p>By hiding “travel bugs,” which finders move from cache to cache, players can take virtual trips around the world. Those with causes, such as breast cancer or AIDS awareness, have promoted them by leaving ribbons or wrist bands in caches.</p>

<p>Anderson, who has searched daily for two years for geocaches, has logged more than 6,000 finds. Some he reaches in minutes. Others can mean strenuous hikes for hours. Known online in the geocaching world as “TRAKD,” Anderson has 150 caches of his own hidden and labeled with names like Cirque du Quarante and Dark Tater.</p>

<p>If Anderson wasn’t compelled to find those little containers and log his name in them, the former couch potato said he never would have seen woodsy trails along the American River or secluded neighborhoods in San Francisco.</p>

<p>“It totally changed my point of view of things,” Anderson said.</p>

<p>Along the way, Anderson lost his TV viewing habit, embraced hiking and lost 20 pounds.</p>

<p>Others are perfectly content with a few leisurely searches a week.</p>

<p>“It’s just the fun of the hunt. I love the journey,” said Jan Yarnot, a retired Sacramento teacher and four-year geocacher, who goes out weekly with her husband.</p>

<p>An avid birdwatcher, she hides her caches where finders are likely to do a little birdwatching.</p>

<p>The meteoric rise of the sport hasn’t come without its detractors and controversy.</p>

<p>U.S. National Parks forbid geocaching. Although some state park systems, such as Colorado’s, are welcoming geocachers, others, including California State Department of Parks and Recreation are not.</p>

<p>And hyper-vigilence about terrorism causes jitters over a cache possibly being mistaken for a bomb.</p>

<p>“You don’t want geocaching to get that kind of reputation,” Yarnot said.</p>

<p>In the early days, renegades reportedly left illegal drugs in caches, trampled sensitive nature areas and chose dangerous hiding spots, such as under waterfalls, said Philip McKnelly, executive director of the National Association of State Park Directors in Raleigh, N.C.</p>

<p>As the sport evolved, so did the ground rules, including geocaching.com’s admonishment against digging, littering, trespassing and other undesirable behavior.</p>

<p>Geocaching has exposed state parks to a whole new audience.</p>

<p>The 71,000-acre Colorado State Forest State Park sprawls high in the Rocky Mountains and offers camping, hiking, snowshoeing and, now, geocaching.</p>

<p>“I just think it’s a gold mine,” said Deb McLachlan, an aide to the park manager. “If I had a business, it would be an awesome way to bring people into it.”</p>

<p>The park has hidden eight of its own geocaches and rents GPS units to novices for $10.</p>

<p>A survey of geocachers at the park revealed that 90 percent of them had never been to the park before, McLachlan said.</p>

<p>“If you hide a cache, they will come,” she said.</p>

<p>She has sold park passes to a group of retirees in a caravan of 22 recreational vehicles who came for the geocaching. She was hugged by a 70-plus Nebraska woman who had 1,100 geocache finds, and has welcomed European visitors with GPS units in hand.</p>

<p>Geocachers have not created significant problems in Sacramento County Regional Parks, including the American River Parkway, said the director, Gary Kukkola. Because locations are logged on the geocache Web site, rangers can monitor them, he said.</p>

<p>“Anything that gets people into the parks for a positive outdoor experience is always a good thing,” he said.</p>

<p>Anderson, boyish in demeanor and enthusiasm, loads his family and the dog in his sport-utility vehicle on days he doesn’t work. In the back, he carries containers loaded with his signature miniature eight-ball trinket and other paraphernalia.</p>

<p>On a recent hunt, he rode past Phoenix Park in Fair Oaks, a place he picked for one of his own caches. Heading toward the bank of the American River, his GPS on the console, he explained how he also spends hours documenting his travels in online logs.</p>

<p>“Half the sport is going out and finding the cache; the other half is being creative in your logs,” he said.</p>

<p>On a trail by the river, guided by the GPS, Anderson let his 4- and 6-year-old sons open the cache and choose one of the toys inside as he dropped an eight ball inside and signed the log: 6,395 and counting.

<a href=“http://www.sacbee.com/303/story/135965.html[/url]”>http://www.sacbee.com/303/story/135965.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[Northstarmom]

<p>Thanks so much! I heard about it last week, when I was in Bonaire. The person who told me about it said that there was a cache in the field right across from where I was staying. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the name of the game, so thanks for all of your help.</p>

<p>Sounds like a lot of fun. I can’t wait to start playing it.</p>

[Motherdear]

<p><a href=“http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/167769.ctl[/url]”>http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/167769.ctl&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here is a nice coffee-table book about geocaching. It was written by my SIL.</p>

[1moremom]

<p>Thanks for the link; I’ll order it for my son. Our (alternative) high school offers geocaching as a PE class. He took it and had a blast.</p>

[digmedia]

<p>Some of us are not gigantic fans of geocaching. The idea is great, but some environmental damage has been done to specific areas where caches have been placed. It sometimes brings a lot of traffic into a wilderness area. So… tread lightlz (sorrz … I am in Slovenia and this is a Slovenian kezboard without certain letters, so…), but have fun.</p>

[berurah]

<p>^^Sending a HUGE shout out to dig in SLOVENIA!!! Hey there! :D</p>

[EllenF]

<p>If you like geocaching, you might like letterboxing, too. The concept is very similar, although letterboxing clues are written instructions rather than coordinates. Clues for geocaches and letterboxes are widely available on the internet. As in geocaching, some letterboxes are easy to locate while others are difficult.</p>

<p>Letterboxing is cheaper than geocaching because all you need is a pad and a personal rubber stamp. When you locate a letterbox, you will discover it contains a pad and a rubber stamp. The latter often has something to do with the location of the letterbox. You imprint your personal rubber stamp on the letterbox pad and imprint the letterbox stamp on your pad/log. </p>

<p>This is a great activity for children and adults alike and can lead you to discover hidden treasures in your neighborhood.</p>

[weenie]

<p>digmedia: If you’re still checking CC – Slovenia! Wow. Cool! Have fun. I understand Ljubljana is a “happenin’ town.”</p>