Dobbs: Even with a GPS, geocaching not easy

By Hillary Dobbs, Journal staff | Saturday, February 03, 2007

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I’d make a terrible pirate.

And not just because of the long stretches at sea, where I would be unable to bathe, exposed to the sunlight reflecting off the water and frying my pasty, prison-pallor complexion. I’d also be lousy at piracy because I have no ability to find treasure, even if there’s a Global Positioning System involved.

Geocaching is the modern-day equivalent of a treasure hunt. Participants pick a location to hide a cache of items — which can include most anything, such as trinkets or money — record the latitude and longitude of the location with a GPS, and then enter the cache on a Web site for other participants to try to find.

There are various kinds of caches. Traditional caches consist of a container and log book so that participants can take something, leave something and write a little something about their adventure. There’s also an event cache, where organizers designate a time and place to meet, as well as webcam caches, where Web cameras monitor various areas, and you have to have your picture taken to prove you were there.

I wanted to try geocaching to see if I could figure it out by myself. It’s a fairly straightforward concept, which means I would have ample opportunity to screw it up.

When I went to www.geocaching.com, I made sure to pick the simplest cache I could find. I typed in my ZIP code and opted for “Walk the Dog,” which may have been a little too simple, since the clues basically told me that I would be going to ... well, I won’t mention were I was going, in case you decide to try it for yourself.

The biggest obstacle I had was trying to enter the coordinates — called “waypoints” — into the GPS unit I was using. I was getting to the point where I was going to quit and do something else for a column when I finally figured out how to operate the machine.

After that, it was simply a matter of following the arrow on the unit. Since I already had an idea as to where I was going, it was fun to watch the arrow switch directions each time I made a turn or drove around a corner. (Note: I’m not sure you’re supposed to drive while trying to find a cache, but I figure it can’t be any more dangerous than talking on your cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. ... So, yeah, it’s probably a bad idea.)

I was able to find the area where the cache was “supposed” to be without a problem. But the closer I was to the designated latitude and longitude, the more inconsistent the GPS became. Apparently, units can be off by as much as hundreds of feet. So, I probably should have expanded my search area, but after about 45 minutes, I gave up. Chalk one up for the cache hider.

After my outing, I read some of the comments left by users who had found the cache. For one participant, it took multiple tries on multiple days to be successful.

Maybe the next time, I’ll wear an eye patch to see if it improves my treasure-finding abilities.

Hillary Dobbs is a Journal copy editor. If you have an outdoor activity you’ve always wanted to try but want more information about it first, contact her at 394-8426 or hillary.dobbs@rapidcityjournal.com