Geocaching?

Know the game? I wrote about it many, many, many years ago. I haven't played in several years. I hid a few geocaches over the years then retired them.... except one.

I had forgotten about it. If you don't know what geocaching is - it's little 'treasures', (can be big or very small), that you hide, (concealed well), and then mark the location with GPS. You post it on the Geocaching website and people search for it. Got a notice today that my 'forgotten about' geocache had been found today. I'm AMAZED that they found it... for many reasons.

First... I live in the boonies so only hardcore geocachers come out into the sticks this far to find a meaningless treasure. Secondly.... the last time it was found was 7 years ago! And lastly.... it's been raining a lot here and the geocache location is NOT accessible, (by vehicle) due to mud. Whoever found it had to walk in.... and it's over ½ mile from a paved road. That was one dedicated geocacher!!!

Timing of this was surprising because I was just planning a geocaching expedition a few days ago. As I said I haven't played in a long time, yearS.... and since I played a lot of new geocaches have been hidden somewhat nearby - and so I thought my youngest grandson, and his best friend, would like a little adventure. So -

I'm noting some easy to find geocaches in a nearby town... then for fun a couple of more difficult to find geocaches. The caches are rated... 1 to 5 stars for difficulty of access... (5 being the hardest).... and 1 to 5 stars for how well it's hidden. Geocachers can be incredibly clever in concealing their geocaches. To give you an idea.... many years ago I found one that was hidden in this way:

First... the GPS coordinates give you the 'approximate' location. Can be dead on or could be in a much broader area. This geocache was in a fence post. They had somehow cut out a square piece of wood from the wooden fence post then bored a hole to put the cache in. They then reinserted the square piece they had cut out which had an old rusted nail in it.... (the fence post itself was probably put in the ground back in the 1930's, or earlier). They then added some type of sealant to disguise the cut mark and painted it to match the fence post color. You had to pull the old nail to remove it and nab the cache. Took me well over an hour to find it.... fun as hell. - JamesJM