Hold on, now, all you geo-cachers- I don't mean to diss your hobby. Au contraire, I think it sounds pretty cool. The headline referring to it as "time-wasting" does so only in the sense that one might consider all forms of recreation as such. Of course this completely ignores the restorative benefits of whatever we find ourselves doing in what I feel is erroneously called "spare time". I believe that the only time we really have is the present, thus if it were "spare", we would only use it under special conditions. I don't know about you, but I'm always using my time for something or other. "Down" time doesn't do it, either. The things we do in our so-called "down" time are supposed to get us "up", aren't they? But I'm diverging from my point, which is that I think the whole concept of geo-caching is quite interesting, and has the potential to provide more than a little quality "non-working, eating or sleeping" time. (There- is that better?)
For the uninitiated, allow me to explain. The whole idea of geo-caching is based on the use of GPS devices to find caches hidden by other devotees of the sport. (The dictionary defines "sport" as "an active pastime; a diversion".... I say if you can call NASCAR racing, golf, and poker all "sports", then this surely qualifies as such.) Of course, there are a multitude of complexities and details to discover, but you get the general idea. Upon investigating, I found that there are many, many urban, suburban, rural, and wilderness caches, and millions of participants, world-wide. It will cost one not a farthing to "play", although the website does offer a premium membership. However, my friend Jon, who is a profoundly devoted GeoCacher, and who exposed me to the idea, says the basic membership works just fine for him.
There are two separate aspects to the activity. First, there's the search for the hidden treasures. Then there's the creating and concealing of the caches, which are generally fairly small, but can contain anything your heart desires- usually mere trinkets and baubles. If you want to take any of the cache contents, you are obliged to leave something in return. You also are expected to sign and date a log, also enclosed inside the cache. I presume that one then goes on line and registers as a finder of that specific cache. I found that there are dozens of caches concealed within walking distance of my residence, hiding out amongst the Muggles (borrowed from Harry Potter and referring to all non-geo-cachers) and waiting to be discovered by ambitious searchers. The caches are listed online, by general location and with a vague general description, along with the GPS coordinates, which are presumably enough to assist in the discovery of the exact location. Of course, the whole process of search and discovery must be concealed from all clueless Muggles.
The caches themselves present the ultimate opportunity for creative expression. Or not. They can be as simple as a film canister (does anyone remember film canisters?) or as elaborate as one cares to invent. They obviously must be weather-proof, and need to blend in completely with their hiding places. They can be concealed in urban environments or as far from the beaten path as one desires.
I truly am fascinated by this concept, and hope to soon make the time to indulge in my own adventure(s).
Remember "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handy, on Saturday Night Live? I came across this recently- one of my favorites:
“If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is 'God is crying'. And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is 'Probably because of something you did.' ”.
