On an eTreasure hunt

Geocaching uses GPS to locate global goodies.

We are sitting in our car in a Plantation parking lot, pulled over by the police at 3 in the morning under suspicion of prowling.

But we are not prowling, or breaking any laws at all.

We are geocaching.

This is difficult to explain to the police officers, who, like most people, have never heard of geocaching.

"We use multibillion-dollar satellites to find Tupperware hidden in the woods," we try to explain.

Geocaching is a game of high-tech treasure hunting, using GPS technology to locate hidden containers with latitude and longitude coordinates provided at websites such as geocaching.com . The containers, called caches, are water-tight, and each holds a log sheet, often stored in a zippered plastic bag, for users to sign.

Geocaching combines "geo," for Earth, and "cache," a term meaning both hidden provisions and data stored in a computer. There are 31 satellites orbiting the Earth, and at least three or four of them are being used by us global gamers.

Imagine a high-tech Easter egg hunt, all year-round. A hobby you can participate in day or night, in urban or rustic settings, for the young or old. It's not a race, but a challenge and an adventure.

Sky's the limit

It all began in May 2000, when laws were passed regarding GPS navigation. Prior to that, public GPS was accurate only within 100 feet, and only military personnel had more-advanced GPS ability. But at midnight on May 2, 2000, each satellite processed its new orders and the accuracy for GPS users was instantly improved tenfold. Suddenly, multibillion-dollar military equipment was being used by ordinary citizens. Most are accurate within 25-50 feet, and geocachers must learn to compensate for the equipment inaccuracy.

In Beaver Creek, Ore., tech aficionado Dave Ulmer wanted to test the new GPS ability. So on May 3, 2000, he ventured into some woods near his home and hid a black bucket with a logbook and various other small prizes for potential finders. He marked the coordinates on his GPS device and then posted them in an online technology user group, challenging his fellow tech junkies to find his "stash." Within days, two users had navigated themselves to the find, using their own GPS equipment, and then they posted their experience in the users group.

With that, geocaching was born.

It is now played in nearly every nation worldwide. By March 2001, every state had at least one geocache hide. Currently, there are more than 914,000 geocaches worldwide.

Me, Mulder and Scully

My first time out, I was beyond confused, having no real concept of what I was looking for, where it could be hidden and why this was such a popular sport. Then my friends and I discovered our first cache, and the thrill of the find completely overcame me. Suddenly I knew what it was like to be some wayward pirate following a plotted course to an X marked on a treasure map.

In the few months since I stopped being a muggle, I have become addicted to geocaching. Along the way I have visited great local historical landmarks, have developed my geosenses and have made a whole new crop of friends in the geocaching community.

Geocachers become known by their unique user profile names, which they select on the website.

Team "MonkeyCheetah&Li'lMonstah" are three Broward County kids whose dad takes them on the hunt. Couples who get involved in geocaching often find it a fun common interest that helps to strengthen their relationship, as my friends "Mulder-n-Scully" can attest.

In September, the great puzzle master "ePeterso2" hosted a going-away event for two geocachers who were moving to Minnesota. Dozens of cachers came from as far as the west coast of Florida to attend, swap stories and send off "Gothicstorm" and "Sweetpea3" with a bevy of Travel Bugs and other geocaching gifts.

Broward County not only has a strong geo-community but has creative and instructive geocachers. Some create puzzle caches, in which geocachers must first solve a puzzle to earn the correct coordinates to the caches. Broward County offers some of the best puzzles ever devised by the "puzzle-headed weenies" (as self-described by ePeterso2). "Red Otter" even offers a Puzzle of the Month Club.

Between the caches of the "puzzle-headed weenies" and the various forms of traditional hides, there are also virtual caches, multi-stage caches, webcam caches, earthcaches and mystery caches. Users such as Dennis the Menace2 have left some of the most challenging and interesting hides I've ever seen. If you can find DTM2's "Feeling Lucky," a 4.5 in difficulty, then you are capable of finding almost any cache out there.

While not as difficult of a find, "Formula Cache" is one of the largest in the state. Located inside Formula Tattoo in Fort Lauderdale, it's a chance to interact with the cache owners, to swap stories and trade items.

History buffs get their thrills from the location of the caches, as most hides lead to a place of local relevance. One hunt led me to an old lookout in the mountains of Massachusetts. Another led me to the original Turnpike entrance in Davie.

But what became of me and my friends the night we were stopped by the police? The two cops who stopped us went on to become geocachers themselves, and we are now close friends sharing a fun common purpose.

So by reading this you may consider yourself no longer a muggle; but to truly understand, you must first attempt and discover a cache of your own.

As the creators of geocaching are fond of saying, "If you hide it, they will come."

KNOW THE LINGO

Geocaching has developed its own traditions, lingo and guidelines.

Muggle: An unaware person. This term is borrowed from Harry Potter, where it refers to a non-magical person.

SWAG: Stuff We All Get, referring to tradable items left in caches.

CITO: Cache In Trash Out. The concept is for geocachers to clean up litter and garbage we notice while geocaching. The idea is to encourage good civic outdoor responsibility.

TB: Perhaps the most important term a geocacher can know, it stands for Travel Bugs. These are traveling trackable items that are equipped with a dog tag and a serial number so users can track their travels online. TBs can be made from virtually everything, and each one has its own unique look and goal. Geocachers swap Travel Bugs regularly, but generally we don't take a TB from a cache unless we have something of equal value we can exchange for it.

GETTING STARTED

All you need is a GPS device and a sense of adventure. You can use any kind of GPS device, including a car GPS or an iPhone with a GPS app, for as little as $50.

Right now, within 100 miles of your current location, there are nearly 2,000 cache hides.

The best way to begin is to visit geocaching.com and familiarize yourself with the basic rules.

Then, create your own personalized online profile so you can log and track your finds.

To learn where the nearest caches are from your location, simply follow the prompts from the home page of geocaching.com by either entering in a set of specific coordinates or your ZIP code. Each cache is given its own unique name, description, coordinates and (sometimes) hints. Hints are always encrypted so users have the option to decrypt it or try to find the cache without the extra clue.

Cache containers range in size from a micro (which can be as tiny as a jelly bean) to containers the size of a coffin, and they are rated in difficulty on a scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (most difficult).

Once you find a cache, enter your name and the date on the log sheet, as well as the website.

For a first-timer, it is common to be unsure and confused about what you're looking for. But as one makes finds they will increase their ability and understanding of the many creative and exciting ways that caches are hidden. It is something that cannot really be taught, only learned.

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