Once upon a time, treasure hunters used maps. Usually these were well folded, drawn by hand, and included clues like "look for the tree that looks like a hand" or "take forty giant steps from the flat rock in the middle of the brook".
Now treasure hunters have a little gnarlyfish unit, a GPS of some description, clutched firmly in their steely grip, and the map is a set of co-ordinates. With those magic numbers and the GPS, they can track their treasure hoards across the globe.
It's called geocaching, and it's got a huge following.
One of our guests asked us if there were any geocaches nearby, and to be honest, we didn't know. So David and I surfed out on the net, took GPS (well, he took GPS, I'm not allowed to have technology that sophisticated, they're all quite concerned about the fact that I can't seem to figure out a cell phone's applications yet) and we headed out to find our very first geocache.
It has in fact been lurking there since Sept. 19, 2008. Who knew?
Well, the fine folks who put it there knew. And all the folks that have found it, and recorded their names in the log since, knew. And know, we know.
If you have a GPS, you too can know. It's at N 45° 17.942 W 079° 00.793
Hidden by "Team Royal" it is titled "Remember".
Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache. The treasure will be hidden in something watertight -- in this case a small plastic case, but it could be a bucket with a lid, or a very small case. It can be really tricky to find, or fairly easy. Inside will be some little items that are 'traded' by those who find it. If you take something out, you are expected to put something in. We added a small green plastic lizard toy.
You are also expected to sign the log book inside, and there is a site on-line where you can log in that you have found the cache as well.
If you are searching in our area, you'll find that there are a lot of these treasures stashed near Bondi, Dwight, and Oxtongue Lake. You could easily make a weekend vacation just tramping about in search of them.
It's easy to see how folks get the geocaching "bug" -- we'll be heading out looking for another all too soon! After all, any excuse to get into the Great Outdoors is just great with us! In fact, we'll probably be figuring out how to 'stash a cache' or two of our own very soon!
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