Geocaching is treasure hunting for anyone with a Cell Phone or GPS.
Okay, so treasure hunting might be a bit of an overstatement, since the treasures are trinkets left by like-minded adventurers rather than ancient Spanish coins, but the fun is in the journey, and isn't that a lesson worth learning?
So, if your kids balk at the thought of an afternoon hike, this is the perfect way to entice them. Go online to the official Geo Cache website and enter your zip code. The site will list all the "caching" locations in your area. Take your cell phone or GPS, set the coordinates and you're are on your way!
There are a multitude of caches throughout the Laurel Highlands ranging from easy to next level hard that you and your family can hunt for. Once you find your cache – and some are tricky so look well -- there is one golden rule. If you take a trinket, you must leave one! Make your entry into the log book and hide it right where you found it so that others can search it out. Hobby cachers have their own handles on the geocache website, cacher's own websites and places like YouTube, TikTok and more. You can find tips for finding caches, ways to make your own, how to hide them and more.
Some socials you may want to check out:
So what's the big deal, you ask? The challenge of the hunt combined with fresh air, exercise and quality time with the little ones is priceless. Caching can become pretty competitive as well, especially for those that can be naturally competitive. When deciding what to leave behind, anything can be used as long as it fits in the cache. Once you become more experienced, you can purchase Geo Bugs to place in a cache box. When fellow hunters find them, they take them to anther cache location, and you can track your Geo Bugs online as they travel across the country. The bugs are logged on the website and you can track each stop! Ahhhh the life of a Geo Bug!
How many can you find in your town?
