You don’t Geocache? 8 reasons to start.
Olivia shares about her experiences geocaching and why she keeps on going to strange places to look for hidden boxes.
Geocaching is my hobby. It’s not a common hobby, so my 30-second pitch is that it’s a GPS-enhanced treasure hunt game, made by the players, for the players.
It sounds cool, but would turn people away once they realize they just can’t get the motivation to move off their butts to walk around, then endure the frustration of not being able to find the geocache container right where it was supposed to be at. So here’s some motivation for you to whip out your GPS and do some serious caching.
1. Motivation to Exercise
To find a geocache, you will have to walk. I have scarcely been more motivated to move.
Caches are hidden in places you wouldn’t think could hide, so you should be prepared bash into forests, wade into cold gushing streams etc. More often than not you could simply walk behind a tree to find the cache neatly tucked in the tree hole. My curiosity makes it really easy to want to go out and walk from cache to cache, and all around the cache location until I find the obscure corner where I would never have thought could hold a cache.
2. Connect with Nature
Caches bring you places you would not otherwise go to.
The first cache I ever found involved avoiding highly defensive territorial ants guarding the entrance to the cache. Others have guided me through rock caves, and into the woods to hear the chirps of birds and insects. As we know, experiencing nature is an effective way to stay happy, so don’t deprive yourself of it!
3. Hang out with Friends
Geocaching together strengthened my friendships
In my pre-geocaching days, I got my gang out for food. But as students with no income, it was taxing on our funds and most people quickly dropped out. Since most of my friends are guys, and research has shown that men’s friendships emphasized doing activities together, geocaching is the perfect excuse to bring everyone together.
Post-geocaching, I ended up seeing my friends more often, doing a fun, wallet-friendly activity. It’s undeniably a crowd pleaser.
4. Experiences instead of Objects
Spend your time on enduring satisfaction
Research has shown that buying experiences makes us feel happier than spending money on objects, and article after article have heralded the virtue of spending on less material goods and more on experiential goods. Geocaching is the ultimate experiential good. It’s just you trying to solve a problem, and then getting the satisfaction when you find the cache.
5. Grab that SWAG
Found the cache? Open it up, pick your prize
It’s a backronym for “stuff we all get”. Even if you really need to get something shiny and new to be happy, geocaching’s got it covered for you! Most caches sizes small or bigger can contain goodies like little figurines, keychains and clips, but legend has it that people have found car keys…
6. The Community
The people are seriously chill
I still remember that first time someone visited the first cache I owned. It was exciting that someone went through an experience I designed and shared with them.
It’s wonderful too, to find a travelbug in a cache, and find out about all the caches it has hopped between, and think about the vastness of the world, where the travelbug came from and where it could go next.
The game is more an experience, and less of a competition, so the atmosphere is just chill. Can’t solve a puzzle? Message the cache owner for help, and who knows, you could make a new friend.
7. Get lost in the jargon
Do you talk the talk?
If you love nature, then you should always #CITO. You should be fine for the larger caches, but if the cache is a small, micro or a nano, it’s a good idea to BYOP Remember to thank CO by saying TFTC. For your first cache, it’s not a good idea to do a D5/T5, because you’ll most likely end up circling GZ then logging a DNF in the end.
Learn the jargon here
8. It’s free
Like so many of the best things in life
… Only before I count in my backpack, snacks, transportation…etc. But the point is, you should already have most the items that will enable you to go off on a cache hunt for a few hours.
Basic membership give you access to thousands of geocaches. Premium memberships cost $30 a year, which is admittedly cheaper than dinner for 2 if you want an unforgettable date. The official app costs a bit, but I prefer c:geo on Android, for free. So going geocaching should incur little additional cost to you. Geocaching trip: not a log of money. A unique trip to a little known place: priceless.
I hope my motivations were enough for you to look at the geocache map, and plan your next geocache adventure. Life is like a geocache. You never know what you’re going to get. Keep exploring!