Pirates of the Caribbean use a paper map, beach bums use metal detectors and now the Boy Scouts are using GPS devices to find hidden treasure. Just in time for its 100th Anniversary, the Boy Scouts are rolling out a new badge for geocaching.
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt played by using the Internet and GPS devices. Players hide small containers (better known as geocaches) somewhere outdoors, and then share the coordinates of that "treasure" on the Web site geocaching.com. Geocaches can be hidden anywhere in the world, and there are more than a million registered online.
But GPS coordinates only get the treasure-hunter so far; they can't pinpoint the geocache's exact location. And that's where the lessons learned as a Boy Scout come in handy.
People can search for geocaches by zip code, city or state, depending on how far they want to travel to indulge the treasure seeker inside. For instance, there are more than 77,000 geocaches in the state of California, and 1,100 near Los Angeles City Hall.
No two geocaches look exactly alike, they only have to be containers in which a logbook is placed. That logbook is just there for the finders to write "I was here" to all future treasure hunters who stumble onto that spot. Geocaches are graded on how hard they are to find, and some of them are almost impossible to locate, like this one:
The Boy Scouts have embraced geocaching because the organization is looking for ways to breach the gap between technology and the great outdoors. Today's Boy Scouts have grown up with constant access to technologies like the Internet and video games, so the group has decided to embrace that, rather than fight a losing battle.
As for the treasure inside the geocache, well, let's just say most geocachers aren't in it for money. Usually it's just a small token like a rubber duck, but it can be almost anything. Geocaching relies on the honor system, so you are supposed to replace it when you find it.
Go forward, geocachers, and find your shiny treasure!
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