Though the outdoor recreational activity shares a few similarities with the latest cultural craze, geocaching has long occupied the realm of a far quieter subculture.
In 2000, Oregonian Dave Ulmer hid a bucket of trinkets in the woods just outside of Portland. He announced the location of the “stash” in an online message board, accompanied with simple instructions: take something and leave something. In less than a day, someone found it. Within a few days, more stashes popped up in Kansas, Illinois and California.
Flash forward 16 years – and today, more than 2.8 million geocaches (and counting!) are waiting to be found worldwide.
I discovered geocaching a few years ago and was hooked almost instantly. I set a lofty goal of finding a different geocache every day for a year. And 366 days later, I accomplished my mission. Each new find, regardless of how ordinary, has given me a new appreciation for the way I see the world. The ability to place my own geocaches has become an outlet for my creativity and connectedness to build and foster community in the cities I know and love.
I bet there is a geocache within 500 feet of you right now. (.) Headed to a new city or exploring your own neighborhood? Geocaching will help you discover hidden gems – parks, public art, unique and interesting places you never would have found otherwise; I guarantee it.
Looking for a fun and FREE activity to get your family outdoors? Want a difficult puzzle to test your mental stamina? Got 10 minutes to kill and want to make a fast find? Geocaching!
Every geocache has its own unique size, difficulty and a terrain rating that denote how challenging the cache will be to find. Start easy and try to find larger sizes as some of the micros can be extra tricky.
Trust me – I know what it’s like to sit and stare at a wall (sometimes literally) without being able to spot the cache. Be patient with yourself – it takes time to develop geo-sense.
Sometimes, you’re not going to be able to find the cache. Sometimes, it’s actually missing. Sometimes, you just won’t be able to see it. Geocaches are meant to be hidden in places where there is a story – listen for it.
Interested in learning more? Feel free to reach out to Giacaches via , or .
Additional Resources:
Family Friendly Geocaches in Fargo-Moorhead – A List by Giacaches
Guest blog post by Gia Rassier ’10
Published September 2016