Geocaching

We went geocaching for the first time ever yesterday. Ever tried it? We just used our TomTom - the GPS NavSat we use to find places driving around in our car. I guess there are more compact devices, but it worked fine. We got in a couple of hours of good family walking, fresh air and sunshine. It was cold and windy but there was blue sky.

Our first hunting choice was a nano-cache, meaning a really, really small container. This one was only about as big as my thumbnail. Maybe not too smart to start with one that hard, and we almost gave up, after 15 minutes of searching around the coordinates. But at the last moment, David spotted it. Then suddenly the decoded clue made perfect sense, of course. We gingerly opened up the tiny case and unrollled the miniscule scroll to add our initials and the date.

We embarked on our 2nd cache-hunt, and chose a much longer walk this time, through Chobham Common. It was a multi-step cache, and after some hiking we found the first "virtual" cache, which gave us clues to the final location. However, after a long walk, when we finally found ourselves at the proper coordinates, we could not find the large plastic container advertised. We had brought along some small gifts to leave in the box and everything, but it just did not appear. So that was pretty depressing. We went out for an early dinner.

David and I are keen on trying again elsewhere, but the kids were kind of non-plussed. Anti-climactic. Oh well. There are a ton of caches within a ten-minute drive of our house (plus some walking around). I am sure David and I (at least) will look for more. Maybe on a date.

If you want to try this outdoor hide and seek anywhere in the world, you can find the coordinates to caches near you online. Also, a list of what to bring:
- GPS device of some sort
- print-out of cache clues
- paper for decoding stuff
- pencil
- compass (I wish we'd had this so we didn't have to keep debating which direction was southwest)
- tweezers for magnetic microcaches
- small toys or books or knickknacks you don't need anymore, to leave behind
- snack & water especially if kids with you might need some fuel