Have you ever wanted to…go geocaching?

Geocaching is a high-tech scavenger hunt where you explore the outdoors in search of hidden “treasure” and adventure. Any “geocacher” can choose objects to hide.  Instead of using a map marked with one big “X”, all you need is a GPS receiver which provides the coordinates for the cache.  Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache container hidden at that location.

On a beautiful Saturday, a group of family friends and I set out for the Susquehanna State Park to begin our electronic hunt.  The only necessities are a GPS device or a GPS-enabled mobile phone so that you can navigate to the cache using the coordinates provided.

Our group began our hike with our phones in hand, seeking out the cache. A cache always contains a logbook or log sheet to record findings which, turns the adventure into a real treasure hunt. A cache can contain just about any item, which makes the hunt that more interesting.

Finding a cache for the first time is always exciting. Maybe you’ve just stumbled upon the hidden container or spent a couple painstaking hours hiking to discover the treasure. It’s important to always note how the cache is hidden so you leave it just as you found it.

After a little over an hour hiking, we approached our first discovery. The cache was hidden in an ammo can which was rather hard to pry open. Inside the cache, we found a few “signature items.” Inside were little trinkets like coins, a business card, a clay-made figure, and ancient bottle caps. No matter how big the cache is, it’s always exciting to find other things that people left behind.

Anyone can leave caches, which makes things a little interesting. After we found the first cache, we decided to call it a day. We didn’t take anything from the cache, but decided to leave it there for the next person. There were plenty more caches to be found but, we decided to make our trek back home.

Hanna LeBuhn is a Lifestyles Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.