Geocaching is a simple hobby of treasure hunting. You hide some treasure (trinkets, always child-friendly and often aimed at the children in us all) some place in a specially-marked "geocache," take the GPS coordinates of where you hid it, post your "cache" to the Geocaching web site, and wait for other people to find it. They sign the log book you included in your Geocache, trade one trinket for another, rehide your "cache" and the game goes on.
Unless your "cache" is mistaken for a terrorist threat…
But before [Scot Tintsman] could finish adding the requisite trinkets and log books [to his cache] and posting its GPS coordinates on the Internet, a bridge inspection crew found it.
Rounding a corner on his motorcycle to finish rigging his cache, he was greeted by a barricade of police cars and a bomb squad.
To help prevent such mistakes, Geocaches should include a water-proof paper with the following description:
GEOCACHE SITE - PLEASE READ
Congratulations, you've found it! Intentionally or not!
What is this hidden container sitting here for? What the heck is this thing doing here with all these things in it?
It is part of a worldwide game dedicated to GPS (Global Positioning System) users, called GPS Stash Hunting, or Geocaching. The game basically involves a GPS user hiding "treasure" (this container and its contents), and publishing the exact coordinates so other GPS users can come on a "treasure hunt" to find it. The only rules are: if you take something from the stash, you must leave something for the stash, and you must write about your visit in the logbook. Hopefully, the person that stashed this container found a good spot that is on public property and is not easily found by uninterested parties. Sometimes, a good spot turns out to be a bad spot, though.
IF YOU FOUND THIS CONTAINER BY ACCIDENT:
Great! You are welcome to join us! We ask only that you:
- Please do not move or vandalize the container. The real treasure is just finding the container and sharing your thoughts with everyone else who finds it.
- If you wish, go ahead and take something. But please also leave something of your own for others to find, and write it in the logbook.
- If possible, let us know that you found it, by visiting the website listed below.
The GPS Stash Hunt is open to everyone with a GPS and a sense of adventure. There are similar sites all over the world. Currently, the organization has it's home on the Internet. Visit our website if you want to learn more, or have any comments:
If this container happens to be sitting on private property and you wish it removed, please let us know. We apologize, and will be happy to move it.
There are stickers available to help identify geocaches for what they are:
Groundspeak has a great, waterproof version of this sticker available, that's easy to apply to your cache. They also sell a lot of other cool stuff for Geocaching.
I can't help but wonder if any of my hobbies — high power rocketry, geocaching, photography, comic books — will survive long in this post-9/11 world. Won't giving up our freedoms mean the terrorists win?