I’ll treasure this moment.

So my friend K--- came to visit S and I this Sunday, to spend an afternoon geocaching locally. Geocaching is simply the process of placing a package (with logbook, pencil, and maybe some item) hidden out in the wilderness, providing the navigational coordinates to it, and then letting the public come and find it. When they do (using their GPS), they sign the log, and take an item, leave an item (or, alternatively, take nothing, leave nothing: TNLN), and put the package pack. It's like treasure hunting with electronic satellite tracking devices.

K--- brought the GPS, we consulted with www.geocaching.com and found 5 close-by cache sites. We spent the next two hours hunting down our little treasures: near the covered bridge, near the Garbagosaurus, and along the river. Sometimes they are hidden in the ground, behind rocks or in trees. They are almost always camouflaged. S and I are hooked now. It's pretty exciting to finally find the item, after a lengthy search. In the case of K---'s GPS, it was often metres away from the target, so could only get us so close before we had to rely on eyes and clues. Since we were relative novices, we often needed the extra hint to figure out where it was. When we got back home, we went back to the site and checked off that we found it, and thanked the cache's creator - they made it and they maintain it.

In the world of geocaching, anyone that isn't a geocache hunter is known as a muggle, and they are to be kept in the dark about the treasure. That means stealth (like a ninja) and cunning (like a pirate). And dressing in all black. Or camo, if that's your thing.

If your interest is piqued, talk to S or I in the coming weeks, and we can take you out with us. I suspect you'll be hooked too. If you sign up on geocaching.com, S and I's teamname is cardinalfang, add us as your friend.