Last Friday, July 30^th, we here at NetPlus decided it was about time we turned off the computers and enjoyed the beautiful summer weather.  At around 1:00 we headed out of the office and over to Fort Washington State Park to meet up with a couple of expert geocachers.  Wait a minute, geoca-what?  What did you do?  Huh?  That was the reaction most of us got when we told friends or family of the afternoon adventure we were planning.  Actually, most of us were still puzzled about it when we arrived.

“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.”  This is the definition you will find at www.geocaching.com.

Still confused?  After eating lunch the group split up into three teams.  Each team got a GPS device; it tells you where you are in relation to the cache you are searching for.  A cache can be as small as a screw or as big as a tree stump, but they are always cleverly disguised.  Once within a 20 foot vicinity of the object, it’s time to start thinking and put away the GPS.  (GPS devices have a variance of about 20ft)  Every cache is cleverly named with a clue.  For example, “Hanging Around,” is a hint that the cache is probably suspended from a pole, branch, etc.  We found our cache just hanging around in the branches of a nearby tree.  All of the caches we found Friday were low difficulty.  However, our geocaching mentors told us stories of their adventures, and geocaching is not just a lazy day in the park for these guys.  There are caches you have to scuba dive to, swim to an island for, or maybe in the quest, you’ll even find yourself army crawling underneath the basement of an abandoned cement factory.

Geocaching can be an adventure for adrenaline junkies and intellectuals alike.  That’s right, there’s puzzle caches, like something out of the Da Vinci Code.  Sometimes the dates on plaques in an art museum are the coordinates to the next clue or cache.  There are caches that you have to find, and then solve in order to open them.  Sometimes it’s an oddly shaped contraption with a lock and you have to find the key.  With a shake you discover the key is inside, but how the heck do you get this thing out?  If you want to explore a new city or town you just moved to, or rediscover the place you’ve lived in for years, geocaching can do that for you too.  Caches exist on all 7 continents so no matter where you are, you can play the game.  With geocaching the world truly is your playground.  Just ask Jim, our Senior Web Developer, he’s already hooked.  You can follow him on his geocaching adventure at http://www.jtdelnot.com/blog/.