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Geocaching 101: The Basics of the Hunt

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Challenge
What are you taking them through?

I was still very new to the game when I encountered "A Nice View of Water." In fact, I had tried for it on my first day out but was still so new to using a GPS that I wasn't sure if I was 30 feet or .30 miles away from the cache. I came back a second and third time and continued to be stumped by how exactly to get to this cache. This was before I had a GPS with maps on it, but even with paper maps, finding the location proved to be difficult.

Finally frustration and determination took over and I pushed myself down one deep ravine and back up the other side. Somewhere in the midst of the hunt I scared up a heron and dropped my compass. However, I finally found the cache and saw that very nice view of the water. I also saw what was a very obvious trail leading away from the cache and a nice flat path back to a parking area I had never noticed before. It was only about 300 feet from where I had parked my car.

I'm not sure whether the person who placed the cache did it intentionally or not, but that particular cache has an unusual challenge that has puzzled many cachers, veteran and newbie alike. Since it's on the banks of a finger lake, you're never sure which finger is the right one and a wrong choice will land you a mere hundred feet or so from the cache with a lake and high ravines between you and it.

A Nice View of Water was exactly that, and it felt like it might be my last view!

The very word "game" implies some kind of challenge, and the game of geocaching should fit that bill somehow. However, as anyone who has found more than one cache can tell you, every challenge is a little different, and some are very different.

Physical Challenges

Even the most basic cache requires you to go somewhere and do something; therefore it offers some physical challenge. However, many caches are specifically designed as a physical challenge. They may include elements like rock climbing, scuba diving, repelling or extreme hiking, or they might simply push the finders beyond their normal level of physical activity. Whatever the case, proper planning on your part will help prepare your cache seekers for the challenge and make it more enjoyable and safe for them.

It is essential that you use the Cache Rating System appropriately—that's why it's there. There are some people who have enough physical challenges just with daily life and need to be aware of what you're going to be putting them through. A cache with a terrain rating of one star ought to be somewhat handicap accessible.

Be prepared to adapt your terrain rating to the changing seasons. Your two star terrain in summer could easily become a three or four star with snow on the ground. It's also important to listen to your finders. I've appreciated those who make suggestions to my cache ratings. Many people are likely coming to your cache with different levels of ability than you possess, so listen to their suggestions and adapt accordingly.

Another great tool at your disposal is the Edit Attributes section of your cache page. With this handy form you can create a visual guide to different elements found in and around your cache (everything from equipment needed to whether or not the park allows dogs to whether or not there are restrooms nearby). Simply check the boxes that apply to your cache, click the "Update Attributes" button, and the selected icons are added to your cache page. It's very quick, very easy, and very helpful in preparing others to hunt for your cache.

You can make someone's first cache experience a memorable event by paying careful attention the physical challenge of your cache. The youngest member of lazyCachers hit the trails at three days old.

Mental Challenges

One of the most appealing facets of geocaching is that it not only exercises your body, but your mind usually gets a decent work out too. I've often given the advice to someone stumped by a cache location, "Stop following the GPS and think like a geocacher." This is a skill that comes with practice and experience on various kinds of caches.

Multi-caches usually offer some kind of mental challenge. Often times it's a matter of observation—noticing a certain set of numbers on a monument-and then assembling them in the right order. Or it might be a matter of some intricate compass work (shooting a bearing from one location to another). Whatever the challenge, make sure you've worked it out plenty of times yourself and are confident in the results before you put someone else through it. In one of my own multis, I discovered that one word could be interpreted completely differently than I had intended and gave at least one seeker an erroneous result.

Puzzle caches take the mental challenge to a whole new level, often requiring a code to be decrypted in order for the cache to be found. One of the first I ever did actually used a code from a book on World War II encryption. To break the code I had to do a little research on the Internet and find the proper key. Thankfully, someone had written a java-based decoding program that helped quite a bit. Other people probably arrived at the solution differently, but that's part of the fun of a puzzle cache.

As with puzzling multis, be sure to work your puzzle through several times to make sure your answers are consistent. What seems like the only logical answer to you might actually be only one of many right answers to the finder. It might be best to have a few area cachers serve as guinea pigs before releasing the puzzle cache to the general public.

Another kind of mental challenge caches provide is through the camouflage technique used by the hider. Some of my favorite caches have been in unique hiding spots that required a bit of problem solving and deduction to find the prize. In these instances, the hunt becomes more of a challenge to understand the mentality of the hider (sometimes the greatest puzzle). Where could the cache have been hidden? What kind of camouflage could have been applied in this area? What is there that it absolutely could NOT be?

Cranna Lake Trail lies in wait for its next victim.

You will find yourself applying Sherlock Holmes' old axiom, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Trust me, some of your fellow cachers specialize in the improbable!

Stealth Challenge

Geocaching has always been about "hidden treasure," but it wasn't until the advent of the urban micro that stealth really entered in as an element to the game. The likelihood of someone accidentally stumbling over a container hidden deep in the wood is completely different than the likelihood of a container hidden on a street corner being spotted by a casual observer.

Stealthy stashes present challenges both to the hider and the seeker. To the hider, the challenge is making the container accessible enough without making it too obvious. To the seeker the challenge is retrieving the container, signing the logbook and replacing the container without arousing the suspicion of onlookers. Both challenges require a lot of planning and careful thought to successfully pull off.

One thing that must be stressed when it comes to stealth challenges is that you need to search responsibly. The cache hider went to a lot of trouble to place that cache. They likely invested some time in searching out the proper location and may have also spent some time and effort designing a container that flawlessly blends in with the surroundings. If your search is not done with great care and with one eye out for onlookers you could cause the container to be stolen by someone who has witnessed you find it. Urban mirco cache logs are filled with notes and "did not finds" from cachers who closed in on the container only to discover the area crowded with "muggles." There's no shame in taking a "did not find" and you will likely even receive a thank you note from the cache hider.