Saturday, June 21, 2008

Using technology to explore the outdoors

Geocachers use internet and global positioning to hide and seek caches

Nat Holland El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

I had spent several minutes focusing on my footing while scrambling over some rough terrain in San Lorenzo Canyon on Tuesday. After carefully navigating a tough patch of hill, I checked my Global Positioning System to where I was at — but the batteries were dead.

I knew exactly where I was at, but I no longer had a clue as to where I was going.

My target was a geocache hidden somewhere in front of me, and without the GPS to narrow things down it would be nearly impossible to find. Fortunately my hiking companion, Bureau of Land Management Recreation Planner Mike Bilbo had spare batteries in his camera and the search was able to continue.

Geocaching is an "adventure game for GPS users," according to enthusiast site www.geocaching.com.

Individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches.

Many of the caches contain a variety of items that visitors can take, but something should also be left in return. Caches also contain a log for visitors to write their name and a few brief comments in. Some microcaches might only have a log as they are too small to hold items.

Some items have specific identifiers that allow them to be tracked from cache to cache via the internet.

Most caches are placed a ways off the beaten path to avoid plundering, while some are craftily hidden in very public places.

One of the challenges for geocachers is to find caches without being detected by "muggles," a term for ordinary people that readers of the Harry Potter books will immediately recognize. The concern is that "muggles" who find caches might plunder or destroy them without cause.

Some caches are straight forward and easy to find. Others are complex and require solving a number of clues to find. Some, called earthcaches, may be simply a unique geological feature without a physical cache.

With literally dozens of caches in and around Socorro, San Lorenzo Canyon was a good place to start since there were several easy caches in the scenic area.

My first cache that I found had a toy robot, some fake nose and glasses, a VHS tape that was so full of dirt I'm sure it would no longer play, and various other odds and ends inside all stored inside an ammo crate. I found a golf swing-speed trainer in the second cache, and decided to exchange an item for that. Who knows, maybe I'll pick up golf some day.

Overall I spent just about four hours to find three caches and one earthcache; most of that hiking.

That opportunity to get people outdoors and moving around is one reason why some groups are pushing the hobby. The blend of technology and outdoor sleuthing can lure kids and families into healthy outdoor activities.

To get started in the hobby does require a mobile GPS unit, which range in price from $85 to $500 and higher. The cheapest units are accurate to 20 feet or so, which is adequate to narrow down searches to a reasonable area. Internet access is also a must to find caches and post logs of your discoveries.

For those interested in placing a geocache, there are a number of rules to follow. It can't be too close to another cache, it has to be hidden, it has to be maintained and many other guidelines are posted at www.geocaching.com.

"There are concerns from an archeologist's perspective," said BLM archaeologist Brenda Wilkenson of placing caches on public lands. "We prefer that geocaches aren't in sensitive sites."

Placing geocaches in or around cultural sites, such as petroglyphs, is not appropriate.

The best solution, according to Wilkenson, for those looking to place caches of their own on public lands, is for them to contact the agency responsible to make sure there aren't any sensitive sites.

Wilkenson also warns geocachers to be very careful of land status. Placing caches on non-public lands without permission can be trespassing or worse.

"One was placed on tribal land and that was considered very serious," Wilkenson said.

nholland@dchieftain.com

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