A Researcher's Overview Of Geocaching

Geocaching is a concept that is followed by millions of people worldwide. It first began in the year 2000 thousand mostly driven by the lifting of policy that restricted GPS use. It was initially known as geo stashing before its community changed the name to geocaching. By definition it involves the hiding and locating of caches in any part of the world using GPS technology. Participants use GPS navigators to located a hidden cache by entering the given coordinates of the location of the cache. There will then be a physical excursion to go and find the cache using GPS technology.

In order to participate in geocaching you will need to invest in a good gps receiver preferably a handheld mapping gps. These are available widely on the internet from stores such as Amazon and numerous other hiking specialists. Its a good idea to specifically look for a geocaching navigator. Manufacturers of GPS navigators such as Garmin officially recognize the sport to the extent that they have developed gps devices targeted at the geocaching community. These are typically gps navigators that quickly lock into satellites even under heavy cover such as vegetation and deep in canyons.

With a good geocaching gps receiver in hand you may head-out to numerous internet membership sites that list numerous caches ready for you to find them. These have gps coordinates of latitude and longitude which you enter into your gps receiver in order to map the location of the cache. The sport is so much fun that individuals who find a cache will get small token of goodies and memorabilia in the cache. They will also be required to leave some goodies for the next person to find the cache.

Depending on your requirements, membership sites that have premium membership will over more things and information on concerning a particular cache. Paid members will have more options than non-paid members. All in all the sport is generally safe and can be accomplished within a few hours to days depending on your preference and how fer out you are willing to go in pursuit of a cache. In the United States there are many caches that are likely to be found within your state or neighboring state. The sport has ground so rapidly worldwide so much that each region may have its own website and caches.

Also important to mention is that once you get a hang of it you may also initiate your own cache by hiding some 'treasure' for other participants to find. Today there are an estimated over 1.2 million caches around the world. Enough to keep the hard-core participant very busy.