October 22, 2011 - Hike 19

Medium Geocache Ammo Box

Geocache Hike in Forest Park - Cannon Trail - Approximately 3 miles













My friend loves to hike and geocache. So after our 10 mile hike out Leif Erickson Drive in Forest Park. We decided to hike a little of the Wildwood Trail to find a couple of geocaches. If you are not familiar with Geocaching, it is a hobby born when on May 2, 2000 the government switched off the selective availability to GPS. This allowed average everyday people to be able to find very specific locations using a hand-held GPS. The first Geocache was called "Great American GPS Stash Hunt".

On May 3, Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finder would have to find the "Stash" using only a GPS unit. The rules were simple. Take something out of the box and leave something behind. Since that day, the hobby has exploded and gone world-wide. There was even a geocache on the space station. Others can be found anywhere. There is probably one within a 1 to 2  mile radius of you right now.

Ken and I first did geocaching with the kids in 2002. We loved to hike and the geocache was a way to get the kids to love it as well. They took their little hand-crafted gekkos that were made out of beads to put in the boxes. They usually got something like a fast food toy in exchange. They loved the hunt for the boxes.

If you are interested in geocaching, check out geocaching.com. It is a nice addition to hiking and a good reason to get out into the woods.