Geocaching in Alaska
The accessibility of GPS (Global Positioning System) units has increased in the past few years. As the cost has become extremely reasonable on some units, an activity known as Geocaching has become a popular pastime around the world.
The basic premise is that one person hides an item, notes its exact position (latitude and longitude) on a geocaching website, and other people then attempt to find it using their own handheld GPS devises. It might sound easy, however there are often twists thrown in, such as the inaccessibility of a location (it might be on a mountain top, or at the end of a 20-mile trail). There are many different types of adventures that you can go on involving geocaching. They range from very easy (kid-friendly) caches to special skill or equipment needed (such as SCUBA gear).
Most caches will have a logbook where you can enter your name and the date that you found it (then you carefully replace it for the next seeker to find). But many will contain a "treasure" as well. If you are a treasure hunter, then you will need to bring a replacement item for the cache (like jewelry, a toy, or something that would be unexpected). Food items do not make a good treasure, especially in Alaska. Despite my personal belief that no treasure is better than chocolate, you don't want a bear to discover the cache and rip it to shreds or swallow it whole.
Geocaching.com gives you the step-by-step details that you need to get started in this "sport." You can enter a city, state, country, etc. when looking for a specific geocaching site to go and find. When I looked up my zip code, there were over 700 cached items within 20 miles of my home here in Anchorage. I looked up Girdwood as well (about 35 miles South of Anchorage) and there were over 100 in that area.
So, if you are coming to Alaska and need a little extra motivation to get out to really experience the city and the wilderness surrounding it. I recommend that you get yourself a GPS unit and go on a treasure hunt here. Check out http://www.geocaching.com/ to find tips and decide how difficult (or easy) you want your adventure to be. Watch out for moose and bears if you head out into the wilds, even in town. It's a good idea to go with a buddy!
Geocaching in Alaska
The accessibility of GPS (Global Positioning System) units has increased in the past few years. As the cost has become extremely reasonable on some units, an activity known as Geocaching has become a popular pastime around the world.
The basic premise is that one person hides and item, notes its exact position (latitude and longitude) on a geocaching website, and other people then attempt to find it using their own handheld GPS devises. It might sound easy, however there are often twists thrown in, such as the inaccessibility of a location (it might be on a mountain top, or at the end of a 20-mile trail). There are many different types of adventures that you can go on involving geocaching. They range from very easy (kid-friendly) caches to special skill or equipment needed (such as SCUBA gear).
Most caches will have a logbook where you can enter your name and the date that you found it (then you carefully replace it for the next seeker to find). But many will contain a "treasure" as well. If you are a treasure hunter, then you will need to bring a replacement item for the cache (like jewelry, . Food items do not make a good treasure, especially in Alaska. Despite my personal belief that no treasure is better than chocolate, you don't want a bear to discover the cache and rip it to shreds or swallow it whole.
Geocaching.com gives you the step-by-step details that you need to get started in this "sport." Coordinates are listed on the website. You can enter a city, state, country, etc. when looking for a specific geocaching site to go and find. When I looked up my zip code, there were over 700 cached items within 20 miles of my home here in Anchorage. I looked up Girdwood as well (about 35 miles South of Anchorage) and there were over 100 in that area.
So, if you are coming to Alaska and need a little extra motivation to get out to really experience the city and the wilderness surrounding it. I recommend that you get yourself a GPS unit and go on a treasure hunt here. Check out http://www.geocaching.com/ to find tips and decide how difficult (or easy) you want your adventure to be. Watch out for moose and bears if you head out into the wilds, even in town. It's a good idea to go with a buddy!
