by Jamey Landry

It’s the thrill of the hunt that keeps them going back for more, but it’s the technology that makes it easy. It’s geocaching (pronounced “geo-cashing”), an adventure sport that is becoming more and more popular because of its simple requirements and potential for excitement. Individuals and families find it’s a great way to get people off the couch and back into the world. Even corporations are discovering geocaching is a fun way to build problem-solving and team-building skills!

The object of geocaching is to use Global Positioning System technology to score “finds” by discovering hidden “treasure” caches, or “hides,” which have been set out by other geocachers. To discover a hide, its GPS coordinates and a GPS receiver are required. The coordinates are obtained by simply logging onto a geocaching website and entering a ZIP code. Armed with the coordinates and a GPS receiver, the next step is to locate the hide.

Some hidden caches are easier than others to locate, based on the skills and experience of the players, but all offer the same objective: treasure! Every hide contains a logbook to record the date it was discovered, and many have small trinkets inside. Each person who finds the cache is welcome to take one of the trinkets, but must leave a similar trinket in its place. This “take one, leave one” edict is one of only two rules of geocaching, and it is strictly enforced. The trinkets are the reward for finding the cache; some are more valuable than others. (The other rule of geocaching is no trespassing or hides on private property.)

There are many websites dedicated to various forms of geocaching, but the first was geocaching.com. It is generally considered one of the best, offering tips on how to geocache safely and what to wear while caching, etc. It also provides forums for members of the worldwide geocaching community to share their experiences, their sense of adventure and the thrill of discovery that geocachers find so appealing.

One local geocacher, known by his geocaching handle “Bamboozle,” is what might be called “heavy” into the sport, with more than 1,145 documented finds to his credit since he began in 2002. He says that for him and his wife, geocaching has been a great adventure. A frequent traveler, Bamboozle has geocached in Switzerland, Luxemburg, Germany and France, as well as across the Gulf South and the Southeast United States.

Bamboozle notes that it is not uncommon to find up to 50 caches a day in target-rich areas where multiple caches are hidden. Instead of carrying a ream of printouts, he now uses a PDA to download and store cache clues. An admitted techno-geek, his geocaching equipment also includes a top-of-the-line GPS unit with electronic compass, removable memory, and mapping and weather station capabilities. “The removable memory is nice, because you can download waypoints (clues) from the geocaching website of places you are going to visit without having to enter in the coordinates by hand,” he says.

Corporate trainers are taking notice of the growing sport by introducing geoteaming events. Geoteaming combines the thrill of the game with an emotional takeaway that creates a competitive/collaborative team-building adventure that challenges old ways of thinking. According to the geoteaming.com website, geoteaming tests team members inter- and intra-team communication skills and builds trust; it can also help players sharpen their competitive edge, while nurturing the collaborative skills that transfer back to the workplace for lasting change.

If you are looking for something fun and low cost to do with your kids, or to motivate coworkers to develop new problem-solving skills, then “cache” the geocaching wave.

Here’s information for a cache
hidden by Inside Northside’s art director (a.k.a. Monmorbet).

Name: Cache of Shards
GPS Coordinates:
N 30° 28.631 W 090° 02.159

Description: This kid-friendly cache is a Tupperware container loaded with log book, pen, monkey, digipet, Mr. Tumnas whistle, Chuck E. Cheese's tokens, superballs and free passes to the (very) nearby museum. Do yourself a favor and check it out. From this location you can also rent bikes for riding the Tammany Trace. Cache is near a busy road, so please keep an eye on the little ones. You'll know you are on the right track when "you see 'em."