The Ins and Outs of Geocaching

By Anna Hagen
Contributing Writer

Do you love the outdoors? How about games? Adventure? In the mood for a treasure
hunt, but not a pirate?

Not a problem.

Geocaching is a high-tech game of hide-and-seek in which a GPS device is used to find cleverly hidden treasures and trinkets throughout the world—and in this case, Fargo! The game originated in 2000 in Oregon and mushroomed outward to reach more than 100 countries on all seven continents. Even more impressive, more than one million geocaches are currently hidden around the world today.

These prized items can be hidden in anything from military ammunition cans, to cup-size jelly jars, or even smaller containers, and typically include small objects of little or no value (other than a personal connection to the hider) such as baseball cards, necklaces, or even rubber ducks. The geocache container must also include a logbook and a writing utensil in which the seeker must write down his or her name and the coordinates in which the treasure was found.

Beyond that, the hunter may choose to take one trinket out of the container, but in turn must replace it with something of equal or greater value and then re-hide the container exactly as it was found. This may be anywhere from an old, hollowed out tree stump to the top of a mountain or the bottom of a stream.

Streets Alive is going to incorporate this game of hide-and-seek in ways that will get the whole family excited. Come out this Sunday for two sessions at 12:00 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. at the intersection of Broadway and 2nd Ave, Fargo, to learn how to get involved! “It’s a family oriented activity that you can do on foot,” explained Former Hawkeye, the woman behind the scenes on this project, “This will interest grandmas all the way down to toddlers.”

To begin, just create a free account and retrieve a set of coordinates from the geocaching website (http://www.geocaching.com), plug them into your GPS and make the trek to the appropriate location. This will bring you within roughly twenty feet of your geocache. “The coordinates only get you in the general area—then you need to search,” explained Hawkeye.

Be ready—you may spend 10 minutes or up to 10 days searching under every rock or blade of grass for your treasure. At the event, Hawkeye will walk participants through the process and rules and then set you free on an adventure through miles and miles of Streets Alive.

But be careful (and somewhat sneaky!) when geocaching, as you don’t want a “muggle” to chance upon one of these prized processions and pick one up thinking it’s litter.
“Muggles are referred to as people who know nothing about geocaching,” explained Octavio Gomez, a local geocaching participant.

It’s a great way to explore your neighborhood and discover things you never thought possible, because the hunt may end up being the greatest reward. So bring a GPS (if you own one!), some long pants and good sneakers if the journey gets a bit brushy, and an open mind as it requires some thinking and a little bit of creativity. See you on the streets!

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If You Go

What: Geocaching at Streets Alive
Where: Broadway and 2nd Ave
When: Sun, Aug 29, noon and 3:45pm
Info: 877.977.5770