Whalen's Wanderings

C6

By Ben Whalen

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A global positioning system is a great tool in my industry. It is a tool that has many functions. Probably the most important function it serves is that it keeps me from getting lost when wandering in an area I haven't hiked before. As great a tool as it is, it is also a great toy. A GPS could be considered the adventurer's Nintendo.

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Whalen photo

Plumweseep covered bridge

Recently, while I was brainstorming for a new hike location, I decided to try geocaching. Geocaching is a sort of treasure hunt where you can download a location onto your GPS from the Internet, search for the location and a small cache using your GPS as your "treasure map."

I went to www.geocaching.com to find a cache that interested me and this is where the journey began.

I was amazed at how many geocaches were located in my local area. There were hundreds of them. Some would be easy to reach and others not so easy. I thought "Wow. This is a great way to entertain not just myself but my family too."

Before heading out though, I decided to research the caches a bit more. There are encrypted clues to decipher, journals to read, and of course coordinates to download. I wasn't even outdoors yet and I was already having a great time. The anticipation of the hunt was building with every clue and journal entry I read.

Finally, my son and I got dressed and headed out for treasure. I used my GPS and navigated to the location where the treasure was supposed to be. Now we had to find it. It cannot be buried and the clues told me it was an old ammo box, so I scoured high and low looking for the treasure.

My son, excited to be outside and anxious to find a treasure, was picking up sticks and asking, "Is this it Dad?"

Every time I told him ‘no', he would let out a half-hearted sigh of disappointment that was quickly replaced by excitement as he found a spruce cone. After about 15 minutes of searching we were both getting frustrated and it started to rain. I decided this treasure would have to remain hidden for now and we headed for home disappointed but happy to have searched and played together.

That evening I went back to the Internet to look up the geocache again to see if I missed anything. I hadn't. We just couldn't find it.

The disappointment I felt earlier though was replaced by the anticipation of finding another treasure somewhere else. Later in the week that is exactly what I did and so now I am officially part of the geocaching world.

If you are looking for an interesting way to spend an afternoon, this is a great way to do it. I would proceed with caution though because I think it may be slightly addictive. Now, where is that "Eagle's Nest"?

benwhalen@hotmail.com