Geocaching: The Art of Treasure Hunting

If you've ever been on a walk through the streets or canyons of Monrovia and seen adults and kids alike searching on their hands and knees behind bus stops, in the holes of trees or under newspaper racks and wondered, "What in the world are they doing?" Well, there's probably little need to be concerned. You've most likely witnessed geocaching in action.

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," according to geocaching.com. Our family calls it a great way to spend anywhere from 20 minutes to a half day getting to know the nooks and crannies of a city while exercising our brains. It's a fun family activity offering the excitement of treasure hunting for kids, but also a fantastic solo or take-a-friend adventure, as you search for caches varying in difficulty in both clues and hiding spot terrain.

Geocaching only requires a few things to get started. First, a visit to the official site geocaching.com where you can join for free and search for local caches all over the world. Second, a GPS system, either one used for driving or included in your smart phone. And yes, there is an app for that! Third, a pen or pencil to write your name and date in the cache's log book. And fourth, if you want, a small token like a sticker or rock or my husband's favorite, a plastic army soldier, to leave behind in the cache once you've found it.

With over 100 hidden within 4 miles of Monrovia, you can probably find one within a short walk of your home. Amusingly enough, the very first cache we discovered within one block of our house was being sought after by another family as we were closing in on it. When they realized we had beat them to it, they quietly left it to us to find and saved their hunt for another day. Geocachers are not just adventurers, but polite folk as well.

Geocaching also makes a great vacation activity, with over 1.3 million active caches worldwide. We frequently look up caches to hunt out of state and last year in St. Louis a cache stumped us so badly that we had to sleep on the clues and go back the following day to find it. Victory was ours and the cleverly hidden cache that carried a very special message about a fallen soldier who was the friend of the owner of the cache was worth the extra effort. Every cache has a story, and sometimes a life lesson as well.

My husband would say I was remiss if I didn't mention our own hidden cache, deposited at the top of a very steep trail in Sierra Madre, with the initials SS to get you started. Be sure to let us know you read about it in Monrovia Patch when you find it!