– A Real-World Treasure Hunt for Adventure Seekers with a Competitive Nature*

*Warning: This global craze may be habit forming. Participate at your own risk

All you need to get your family hooked on this addictive outdoor sporting activity is a GPS device, a sense of humor, and a little…OK, a LOT!) of perseverance.

One sunny Saturday afternoon, in the historic, charming town of Mount Dora, Florida, a couple of my BFF’s and I found ourselves putting our treasure seeking skills to the ultimate test. It all began with an outdoor treasure hunt game called Geocaching, which calls for locating hidden containers (geocaches) using a GPS or GPS-enabled device. You log on to the game site at  HYPERLINK “http://www.geocaching.com” www.geocaching.com to get your geocache coordinates and, and once you locate the geocache container, you log on again and share your hunt experiences with other geocachers. There are almost two million active geocachers worldwide.

Geocaching involves navigating to a certain place, which could be located in your immediate vicinity or halfway around the world in some exotic vacation destination, using a specific set of GPS coordinates. Many times you may find yourself in interesting out-of-the-way places in your hometown that you didn’t even know existed. You can pick either an easy or a difficult traditional geocache, depending on the age and physical abilities of the player. A geocache is a container that can be as small as a film canister or bigger than a shoebox, and is typically made of metal or plastic. A cleverly hidden geocache has a logbook or log-sheet inside, and a player can sign his or her name and the time/date when the geocache was found. If you take anything from the container, you must leave something of equal or greater value in its place.

My friends and I elected to use my iPhone as our GPS guide and we downloaded the iTunes Geocaching App onto it. The Geocaching App is simple and easy to use. I entered  our location, selected an “easy” geocache hunt and, then we set out into the unknown following a compass and map that led us to our first geocache location called “Ghost Town in the Oaks.”

When we arrived, we parked our car and trekked into the wooded area behind a home. The undeveloped tract was filled with weeds, hanging tree limbs, and moss. We soon realized we weren’t dressed for hiking through the rough terrain, but we forged on. We searched high and low, under rotted logs, and even tried to climb a tree to find the hidden  geocache.

After two hours of walking in circles and tracing every step very carefully using the compass from the Geocaching App, we came to the conclusion that we would never find the hidden geocache and that someone had possibly stolen it. We understood there is a slight degree of “error” when using a GPS device, so we tried not to be discouraged. Needless to say, we weren’t very happy that we hadn’t found the “easy” geocache! So, being diehard adventure seekers, we decided to give it another try. Back in our car, we typed our new coordinates into the Geocaching App, and selected another traditional geocache treasure hunt called “Lookout @ Franklin.”

This geocache was way more fun than the first one, because our map took us to a quiet neighborhood on top of a hill that is one of the highest points of elevation in Mount Dora. The scenery was picturesque and overlooked a glassy lake. We parked our car on top of the hill, pulled out the compass on my phone, and began our search. We walked up, down, around, and over the hill where the geocache was supposed to be hidden. At one point, all three of us got on our hands and knees on the side of the road to search a dirt and grassy area where our compass indicated we were standing directly on top of the geocache. We turned over every rock and piece of wood that we found on the ground and also searched in several near-by trees for approximately two hours.

Unfortunately, we were once again unable to find the hidden geocache. However, even though we were disappointed, we still had a terrific time exploring new areas of Mount Dora that we would have never discovered if we hadn’t gone Geocaching.

Geocaching is a great way to bring the family together to explore new places in familiar or unfamiliar territory. Geocaches are located all over the world; they can be underwater, in the woods, hidden in a park, or near a school.

Here are some tips to consider for your first Geocaching adaventure:

Go to  HYPERLINK “http://www.geocaching.com” www.geocaching.com and register for a free basic membership.

Get a GPS device or download the mobile iTunes Geocaching App onto your GPS-enabled cell phone.

Wear close-toed shoes and long pants, because you may encounter rough terrain.

Bring water and sun block, as you might be out in the sun for a long period of time.

Be aware that you may not find the geocache. If you have little kiddos with you, it might be helpful to bring along an alternate treasure or small treat to give them for their hard work, even if they don’t find the hidden geocache.

The next time you watch Disney’s National Treasure and feel like chasing after some hidden treasure, pull out your GPS, and try Geocaching. The treasure is waiting to be found by you and could even be right in your own backyard!