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County Club Features
Geocaching - Several Sport and Social Activities
Rolled Into One!
www.Geocaching.com
In issue 1 of Off-Duty
our “Inspector Gadget” feature reviewed the Timex GPS Satellite navigation
device. The review looked mainly at using the device to aide training.
However, since this article a new sport has emerged that puts GPS devices to
good use beyond navigating from A to B inside a car. Taking the world by
storm and definitely on the increase is this high-tech form of treasure
hunting.
What is a
Geocaching?
Geocaching is an
electronic and hi-tech form of treasure hunting. Using a Global Positioning
System (GPS device) you drive, ride, run or walk to an area to hunt out
Geocaches that are hidden in public places across the UK and in fact the
World.
The concept is unique
as it combines an outdoor sporting activity with an a indoor past time using
a computer and the internet. The idea started in America in 2000 and has
expanded rapidly in the last five years. In the last two years the activity
has grown in popularity in the UK
as more and more Geocachers engage and create ‘cache sites’ across the UK.
So what is a Geocache?
There are literally
thousands hidden around the world from Afganistan to Africa, Greenland to
Antarctica and right across Great Britain and Europe.
They come in different
sizes and are a small container that holds a guest book, pen and other small
items of treasure. It is then carefully hidden for other Geocachers to find.
Who are Geocachers?
Anyone who registers
with Groundspeak at
www.geocaching.com becomes a Geocacher and will allocate themselves a
nom de plume and an internet profile.
How do you find Geocaches?
The most essential
piece of equipment is a portable GPS device. The reviewed Timex Trailrunner
is perfect but there are more sofisicated devices on the market many of
which are used on board cars for A to B navigation. The device will
determine a coordinate: For example:
N
54 55 55.57 W
002 77 88.02
This coordinate is
given as the primary ‘clue’ on the internet along with a series of other
clues that will hopefully lead you to the cache.
Apart from the GPS
coordinate and other clues, an Ordnance Survey map is helpful and sometimes
essential depending on where the cache is located.
Where are the caches located?
They can be anywhere
but essentially need to be located where non-Geocachers - or ‘Muggles’ (a
Harry Potter word used for ‘the general public’) - can find them. For this
reason a vast majority are in rural locations but some are in towns and
cities.
What do they look like?
Caches can be ‘micro’
size - as small as a thimble or 35mm film container. These are usually
placed in busy places. There is one in the centre of Lancaster stuck with
Velcro to the underside of a park bench. Most are ‘lunch-box’ size capable
of holding items of treasure, travel bugs or geocoins. Some caches can be
even bigger capable of holding larger travel bugs.
What are Travel Bugs, Geocoins and
Treasure?
Travel Bugs and
Geocoins are ‘Trackables’ and make Geocaching even more interesting.
Geocachers can buy a Travel Bug dog tag that costs only few pounds. It has a
unique number stamped on it and is registered with Groundspeak.
The TB is then let loose into the world, sometime with a mission, usually to
go around the world or to a particular place. Geocoins are similar and are
themed to different countries around the world.
The owner can then
watch his or her bug move from cache to cache, country to country many
clocking up thousands of miles within a few weeks.
Many Geocaches hold
small items of ‘treasure’, usually worthless artefacts. This is ideal for
families with young children to give the sport some added interest. The idea
is to leave a small item in the cache and exchange it for some other.
What is the incentive
to collect Geocaches?
The fascination of
‘collecting’ attracts many people to a vast range of hobbies and past times.
Geocaching is just this only the collectable item is simply a computer
record, a diary of events and activities over a period of months and years.
Avid Geocachers mark
their 50th, 100th and 1000th cache finds as
a success event. There are competitions to find the most caches in 24 hours
or in a year. Who knows where this up and coming sport will end?
Can you visit Geocaches anywhere?
Yes, this is what
makes the sport so versatile. There is probably a Geocache within a mile or
so of where you live and every chance you have walked or driven past it
every day. To find them you may enter your post code in the search facility
and ask for a return radius of 10 miles.
For example, within 1
mile radius of police HQ - PR4 5SB - there are 3 caches. Within 10 miles
there are 130 and within 100 miles there are 4841 caches. There are a total
of 14,555 caches hidden in the UK.
If you are going on
holiday abroad then you can research caches in the area you are going to be
then when you arrive, the hunt makes an interesting way of exploring your
holiday location. Most caches tend to be at a site of particular interest,
viewpoint or historical importance.
Geocaches All Over The Globe
 Some
examples of Overseas Caches
USA – More than 100,000
Germany – 25,814
UK – 14,555
Austria - 2444
Japan – 623
Iceland – 63
Egypt - 45
Afghanistan - 28
Vietnam – 18
Antarctica - 17
Barbados - 8
Travel Bugs
Travel Bug:
Lenny D. Lobster Travel Bug
Released:
22 November 2002 - Sunset Cliffs, San Diego,
California
Distance Travelled:
20,519 miles
Objective:
To reach Perth, Australia
Destinations travelled
to so far:
California
Florida
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Maine
Washington
Arizona
Switzerland
Iceland
Austria
Czech Republic
Switzerland
UK
07 November 2006 -
Sited on Warton Crag, Carnforth, UK
This travel bug is a
great example of the many thousands that are in circulation. This one has
been on the go for many years and is now heading north towards Perth,
Scotland, perhaps not the destination the owner intended!
Geocaches
Here are two examples
of geocache sites that are already in place.
 Geocache
Name:
“Brief Encounter”
Location:
Carnforth
Owner:
Slateman
Coordinates:
N 54° 07.785
W 002° 46.227
Cache Size: A
‘small’ cache about the size of a small lunch box containing a guest book
and pencil along with two or three small items of treasure.
The
cache site is located within a few minutes easy walk from the main high
street. There is ample car parking available. It should be fairly easy to
find and will be of particular interest to Railway and Movie enthusiasts. It
is also wheelchair accessible.
In 1945
Carnforth station was used as the basis, and location for the David Lean
film "Brief Encounter" starring Celia Johnson and Trevor
Howard, filming taking place on Carnforth station during February 1945.
 On
the 17th October 2003, the splendid Brief Encounter Cafe, and the Railway
Heritage Centre's were opened and makes an ideal place to visit once the
cache has been found.
Enjoy
your ‘brief encounter’ in Carnforth!
The
cache was activated on 6
November 2006
and on the first day had three visits from local Geocachers. From thereon
the cache is attracting Geocachers on a weekly basis. This cache is an easy
one to find and was located with disability access in mind. Many caches are
on mountain tops or miles from the main roads so it is refreshing to
consider wheelchair users who can access this site easily.
And if
you think this is in a bizarre location…
Geocache Name:
“Cone Z”
Location:
West side of Mt Erebus,
Antarctica
Owner:
MacMurdo1
Coordinates:
S 77° 31.963
E 167° 04.918
 Extracts
from the cache description and clues how to find it:
“12,000
foot level on the southern-most active volcano on earth.”
“To
access this site will take some very special equipment and a very special
person. First of all, you have to get to Antarctica”.
“Come as
a tourist. This option will involve taking a cruise ship from
Australia
or New Zealand and then finding a way to convince the helicopter pilot to
fly you to the site”.
“The
Helispot is quite nice however have the pilot
take into consideration that the atmospheric pressure in Antarctica is much
lower than it is in the temperate zones. The pressure/altitude is generally
around 14,000 ft. This could make a difference in the number of
cachers on the trip. Dress very warmly!
 “The
ambient temperature is usually below zero on the Fahrenheit scale and I
think I have only been there a couple of times that the wind was not
blowing. The 360 degree views are incredible.”
“The
ocean looks close enough to walk to in a few minutes (don’t try it). The
fumaroles are usually steaming just a very short walk away and the plume
from the caldera just 2,000 feet above is magnificent.”
Why not create a Geocaching Section in your
Division?
We hope this feature
may have stimulated the imagination of many Club members who are perhaps
looking for an alternative outdoor past time for themselves or their family.
This activity can be
extended to larger groups with many members sharing the one GPS device and
going out on a day trip to places like the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales
seeking out caches here and there but at the same time having an enjoyable
days walking, cycling or even just a drive in the country.
Why not form a
Geocaching Section and organise groups of members within your division?
Skills such as map-reading, navigation, orienteering and countryside
leadership can be enhanced and developed in different ways. Funding can be
applied for to assist the activity and even the purchase of a Club GPS
Device could be considered provided there would be enough continued interest
to support this.
GPS Devices
There are a vast number of GPS devices available. The device suitable for
Geocaching would need to be one capable of being hand held and battery
powered. Many devices now are made for ‘in-car’ use as well as on foot and
this would be the best type to purchase.
There are 100s of GPS
devices on sale ranging from as little as £50 up to the more sophisticated
device at £800. Here are three examples of :
Timex Trail-Runner
- £150 – (As featured in Off-Duty Issue 1)
Ideal for runners and cyclists as it is only a small pod unit that is
strapped to your arm and an everyday wristwatch that receives and displays
data.
Garmin Geko 101
- £73.49
Perhaps the ideal
device for Geocaching in terms of cost and portability. Fits into your
pocket, designed for durability and fully waterproof.
Garmin Quest II
- In-Car and Portable device - £362.99
Ideal for those who
want a car-mounted device for driving and the flexibility of taking it
outside and using it as a hand-held device. However, the luxury of having a
colour TV display screen is not necessary for Geocaching.
Conclusion
This is effectively an
indoor activity and outdoor activity rolled onto one. It can be done as a
singleton or as a group. One of the biggest attractions is it is a great
family past time. The kids can go onto the internet at home and research the
cache sites in an area. These can be printed off and the family can then
drive to the first location and find each cache site in turn. This can be
done either on foot, cycle or by car. Either way it gets the family out into
the fresh air. At the end of the day, after a great day’s treasure hunting
the kids can return home and log their visit on the internet. They can also
upload pictures taken at each cache site as well as write a log on the
movements of any travel bugs placed or found.
Find out more about Geocaching?
Go
to www.Geocaching.com
 Email
Steve Broadbent
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