Eighteen-year-old Girl Scout Sara Lemiszli has always been an outdoor aficionado.

When she was 5 years old, she was able to successfully build and light a campfire and tie every knot in the book. Since then, Lemiszli has earned dozens of badges through her natural knowledge and goes hiking, camping, and/or fishing whenever she can.

It seems only natural that she would enjoy geocaching.

Geocaching? While the term may not sound familiar, for thousands of GPS users worldwide, it is a technologically-enhanced outdoor treasure hunt that began in 2001, and has become increasingly popular since.

For people who own global positioning devices, geocaching - pronounced geo-cashing - is a relatively new way for outdoor wanderers, like Lemiszli, to experiment with their pocket-sized navigators.

How does it work?

Like the "X" marked on a treasure map, a secret outdoor cache is created and the exact latitude and longitude are recorded. According to geocaching policy, the "stasher" must also accompany their cache with a log book.

Geocachers then share hints and coordinates on the Internet to inform other GPS users where they can find each other's caches. Using their global positioning devices, the geocachers then enter the appropriate coordinates and set out into the local hinterlands—hoping to find the secret package. Upon finding the cache, the founder would then sign the log book, take the "treasure," and replace it with their own booty for the next geocacher to find.

But finding the cache's aren't always easy. For each cache created, a five point scale is used to determine how difficult each cache is to locate, with one being very easy and five being exceedingly difficult. Global positioning devices are only so accurate; if the cache is buried underground, hung in a tree or weighted underwater, satellite technology won't help.

In addition, a separate five point scale is used to rate the difficulty of the terrain upon which the cache is located. For instance, a cache hanging indiscreetly from the protruding branch of a cliff-side tree might not be hard to see, but scaling the cliff wall to acquire it might prove difficult. If ratings are hard to determine, half points are used.

Here are the locations of several caches in the Green Mountain State.

Vermont's Geocaches

Courtesy of www.geocaching.com

	Feb. 24, 200	May 4, 2002	June 9, 2002	Aug. 7, 2002
Coordinates	N 44 degrees 26.459 and W 073 degrees 10.165	N 44 degrees 33.188 and W O73 degrees 15.139	N 44 degrees 28.795 and W 073 degrees 07.025	N 44 degrees 30.087 and W 073 degrees 08.424
Difficulty	*	*	**	*
Terrain	*1/2	* *	***	*

 

"When I was first exposed to the idea of trying to find treasure by using the coordinate points of latitude and longitude, I thought, What?!" Lemiszli says. "But when I went for my first adventure, I thought it was really cool."

She explains that each time she has gone geocaching since, she has experienced something new.

"Now, I'll go geocaching in the sun and rain," she asserts.

 

photo by Adam Szot

Sara Lemiszki, a freshman at Plattsburgh state, tries to enjoy the outdoors whenever she can..

 

During a recent cache hunt in Vermont, Lemiszli found a Janet Jackson mixed tape, a packet of Armor Wipes, and a piece of foam. She found each item stored in a zipped plastic bag to protect them from water. What did she leave?

"A button," she replies, laughing. "But, most of the time, I like to leave candles and a lighter."

Aside from signing the logbook and replacing each find, are there any other geocaching rules?

"It is prohibited to place a cache in a restricted area, like a private property or restroom, or a historical site," says Lemiszli.

How did geocaching begin? Although it is hard to pinpoint who planted the first cache, geocachers agree that the hobby came about in celebration of the Clinton administration's removal of GPS signal degradation, or Select Availability, in 2001.

Geocaching is a fresh and flourishing outdoor experience that can be enjoyed by all outdoor wanderers. Today, there are over 31,000 active caches in 149 countries worldwide.

The question is, can you find them?

Caching on? E-mail us.

What are global positioning devices? To answer this, the Global Positioning System must be briefly explained. According to Peter Dana of the University of Texas, GPS, or global positioning system, is an operational constellation of twenty-four satellites that orbit the earth every twelve hours. Funded and controlled by the United States Department of Defense, the global positioning system provides specially coded satellite signals that can be processed by a global positioning receiver, or device, enabling a user to compute position, velocity and time. Price? A simple GPS unit will give you coordinates for latititude and longitude only. The average cost is $100. More expensive GPS units will give you the luxury of voice navigation and built-in electronic maps and compasses. The more accessorized the GPS unit, the more you will have to pay. On average, an intricate GPS unit will range between $500 and $1,000.