Something happened to me when I picked up the GPS unit the first time I went geocaching. It was feeling akin to "gold fever" that afflicts prospectors. There was a treasure out there, and I wanted to find it! It probably didn't help that my first experience geocaching in Anchorage was a competitive element. Otherwise, I might have relaxed enough to soak in the sunshine and scenery in the Chugach foothills.
Equipped with a GPS device and just enough information to track waypoints, I was overcome by the competitive urge to stumble over hill and dale, to wherever the compass needle pointed. The other people assigned to my team had little choice but to chase along behind me as I bushwacked my way to the prize. The cache!
Geocaches are hidden all over the world, and hundreds can be found in Alaska. In Anchorage, caches exist for every skill level. There are leisurely paced, sightseeing tours through the heart of the historic downtown district, easy to moderately skilled nature walks the entire family can enjoy and intense hikes in the surrounding wilderness.
For those who have never geocached, essentially it is a discovery game where participants follow clues and coordinates on a GPS unit to find a hidden cache. Once found, a cache provides a wide variety of rewards. The rules are very simple: take something from the cache container, leave something in the cache container; and write about it in the logbook. Where you place a cache is up to you!
- Jody Overstreet, local geocacher
Heed the Creed
The Geocachers' Creed is a voluntary set of guiding principles. It describes how geocachers in general act, orients new players to the ethos of the geocaching community and guides experienced players in questionable situations, so that everyone can enjoy geocaching! Read the creed
