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Geocache hunters find local treasures
You may have seen them as they climbed over the rocky terrain behind the Desert Mountain Visitors Center. They were trying to locate the small container with the cache.
Nearly five dozen treasure hunters have already logged the geocache find onto the Internet -- 58 people who might not have stopped in Mountain Home if not for the lure of the 'treasure' they might find.
For Dave Sonnetag of Mountain Home, the spot seemed to be an ideal location to place the cache. "It is close to the Interstate exit and gives people a chance to pull of the road, stretch their legs, get a little exercise and have fun hunting. And while they are there, they might just stop in at the Visitors Center, learn a little more about Mountain Home, and maybe even visit some of our local businesses."
With those goals in mind, the "Welcome to Mountain Home N 43° 08.222 W 115° 39.768 (WGS 84)" geocache was tucked away.
Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the features and capability of a global unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something, they should try to leave something for the cache.
A GPS unit is a electronic device that can determine your approximate location (within around 6-20 feet) on the planet. Coordinates are normally given in longitude and latitude. You can use the unit to navigate from your current location to another location. Some units have their own maps, built-in electronic compasses, voice navigation, depending on the complexity of the device.
There is no need to know all the technical mumbo jumbo about GPS units to play Geocaching. All you need to do is be able to enter what is called a "waypoint" where the geocache is hidden.
Sonnetag received his first GPS for Christmas in 2001 and spent much of the following month learning how to use the unit and reading about geocaching.
Paying a visit to the website (www.geocaching.com) he learned there were about a dozen people in the Boise area who had been placing caches. At that time (February, 2002), there were approximately 74 caches located within a 100-mile radius.
After his first 'find' Sonnetag was hooked. It did not take long before his cache-hunting nickname appeared in a number of cache logs. The game's players were soon encouraging him to place some caches in the Mountain Home area -- something that might present a new challenge to players who had already visited so many of the existing cache sites.
He set out five separate caches and entered the coordinates on the webpage. Not long after, someone else placed two other caches in the area to give a total of seven around Mountain Home. Before long, as the popularity of the game grew, more players were placing more caches in their favorite spots.
In 2003, Sonnetag added six more caches. He noted that finding places to locate new caches used to be relatively easy, but as more people become involved, finding a location that someone else has not already thought of is becoming more of a challenge.
Geocaching is a relatively new phenomenon. Therefore, the rules are very simple: 1. Take something from the cache; 2. Leave something in the cache; and 3. Write about it in the logbook.
A cache can come in many forms but the first item should always be the logbook. In its simplest form a cache can be just a logbook and nothing else. The logbook contains information from the founder of the cache and notes from the cache's visitors. The logbook can contain much valuable, rewarding, and entertaining information. A logbook might contain information about nearby attractions, coordinates to other unpublished caches, and even jokes written by visitors. If you get some information from a logbook you should give some back. At the very least you can leave the date and time you visited the cache.
Larger caches may consist of a waterproof plastic bucket placed tastefully within the local terrain. The bucket will contain the logbook and any number of more or less valuable items. These items turn the cache into a true treasure hunt. You never know what the founder or other visitors of the cache may have left there for you to enjoy. Items in a bucket cache could be: Maps, books, software, hardware, CD's, videos, pictures, money, jewelry, tickets, antiques, tools, games, etc. It is recommended that items in a bucket cache be individually packaged in a clear zipped plastic bag to protect them.
But caches need not be large. An Altoid tin or a small Tupperware-like container can serve just as well.
"It's fun and is a great way to get a little exercise and to see some really interesting sites, like the Crater Rings for example. Many of the log entries indicated the finders had not even known of the existence of the rings prior to the cache hunt, he said.
If you are new to geocaching, he suggests you pay close attention to the rating system for both difficulty and terrain. "One star is the easiest, five stars is hardest." So if you see four stars beside 'terrain,' you might need to think about whether you will need four-wheel drive to even get close enough to hike to the site, or climbing boots or other special gear, Sonnetag said.
The geocacher now has 185 'finds' credited to him and is still excited about the prospect of more. "It's fun and it is something a family can do together. You get your exercise and get to see some really interesting sites."
While most geocache coordinates are posted only on the Internet, Sonnetag plans to leave a list of coordinates with the volunteers at the Visitors Center so that when traveling cache hunters stop at the center, the volunteers could suggest other nearby cache sites they might try.