The Times-News Online -- Twin Falls, Idaho

Margo Valentino/The=20 Times-News

Gary Motzner of Filer = displays=20 his GPS and a cache box in a local high = desert=20 = environment.

Geocaching,=20 an unfamiliar term to most folks, is fast becoming an = outdoor=20 craze. Geocaching is high tech treasure hunting, and = is touted=20 on its personal Web site (www.geocaching.com) as the = sport=20 where you are the search engine. The perfect marriage = of the=20 outdoors and technology, caches are set up worldwide, = and=20 enthusiasts on the hunt use Global Positioning Systems = (GPS)=20 units and location coordinates to find them. =

The name=20 geocaching is credited to Jeremy Irish, an early = player and=20 present webmaster, who came up with the term (geo for=20 geography; cache, as in cash a check, for a hiding = place for=20 concealing or preserving).

For geocachers, the = goal=20 becomes the location of the cache. Totally computer = driven, a=20 geocacher chooses a cache from the Web site in a = location he=20 wishes to explore, gets its coordinates, and relies = totally on=20 the GPS as a guide. A GPS unit is an electronic device = that=20 determines location coordinates given in longitude and = latitude. The geocacher sets his coordinates, = navigates from=20 one location to another, getting increasingly closer = to the=20 cache.=20

The game provides = new vistas for=20 those who love to spend their time outside. It=92s a = way to=20 share your favorite spots with people you don't even = know and=20 then enjoy their feedback when you read your log. At = latest=20 count, geocachers can find some 360 caches in Idaho. = The Web=20 site uses zip codes for organizing caches by locale. = In the=20 83301 zone, players can search for 75 caches within a = hundred=20 mile radius.

Gary Motzner, an avid geocacher = from=20 Filer, got hooked when a friend from Boise, who after = repeated=20 invitations, finally coerced him to go on a hunt. They = set off=20 in quest of a cache in the Parma area. Finding = themselves on=20 the wrong side of the river, Gary, user name Elvish = Archer,=20 said he discovered Idaho beauty he never would have = visited=20 had it not been for geocaching.

Players create = user=20 names to record their online record of caches they = have hidden=20 as well as how many they have found. The log is a way = for=20 players, who are responsible for the upkeep of their = caches,=20 to get feedback about it without having to make = frequent trips=20 to the location. Anyone interested in learning about = the game=20 in general or how to hide or seek a cache may visit = the Web=20 site at www.geocaching.com.

Players may also=20 communicate with each other online as to their = experiences,=20 and so friendships are established. It=92s not = surprising that=20 geocaching can become addictive as users share their=20 adventures online.

Motzner emphasizes that = regardless=20 of the contents of the cache, the thrill is in the = hunt and=20 the adventure. Caches can contain most anything that = can fit=20 into a container, which is never buried. There is no = digging=20 involved in exposing a cache, no disturbing the = landscape;=20 being kind to the environment is kin to religion for = cachers.=20

The Web site touts a Cache In, Trash Out = motto, and=20 cachers are encouraged to KP the cache area when they = leave.=20 Most caches are concealed on BLM or national forest = land in or=20 under rocks, in tall grass, maybe in a tree boll. = Cachers who=20 wish to conceal a container on park or private land = must ask=20 permission to do so.

Contents of the cache = often=20 reflect the personality of the cacher; sometimes a = theme is=20 reflected. Motzner, user name Elvish Archer, leaves = arrowheads=20 as a kind of trademark. Those who are successful in = their=20 quest are expected to take something from the cache = and leave=20 something in return. A Gerber Multi-tool was = Motzner=92s finest=20 treasure. Feeling like he hadn't returned in kind, = Gary went=20 back twice to the cache to add treasures: a computer = game, a=20 calculator, and a pocket knife among other items. =

He's=20 found CDs, foreign currency, toys for kids, and = sometimes=20 signature items. One cacher leaves small jeeps he = crafts with=20 his signature on them. Signing the cache logbook at = the cache=20 site is important hardcopy testament as to who has = visited.=20 Geocachers, upon returning home, should log in at the = Web site=20 too, leaving their user name, when they visited the = cache, and=20 a brief description of their adventure.

Being = an adept=20 GPS user isn't a guarantee of finding the cache. = Sometimes, as=20 Motzner puts it, you get skunked. He taught himself to = use the=20 GPS from the directions in the box, relied on trial = and error,=20 stayed close to home, and finally after three months = enrolled=20 in a course at CSI, which he now helps teach. =

He=20 explained that when your GPS unit reads zero, you = should be=20 within 6-20 feet of the cache. Treasure seekers may = then have=20 to resort to hands and knees and simply start looking. = Caches=20 are not necessarily secretive, but seekers should be = aware=20 that they are well hidden, as owners don't want them=20 inadvertently discovered, lest they be plundered or=20 vandalized.

Geocaching evolved when GPS signal = degradation, known as Select Availability (SA), was = disbanded=20 by the Clinton Administration on May 1, 2000. On May = 3, 2000,=20 someone hid a cache outside Portland, Ore., in = celebration of=20 the removal of SA, and the rest is pretty much = history. Mike=20 Teague, who logged the Portland cache on May 6, built = a Web=20 site to document his find and where he found it. By = September=20 2000, Jeremy Irish, the originator of the term = geocaching had=20 taken over the Web site. In two years the growth in = popularity=20 of the game has been amazing. According to the Web = site, there=20 are over 25,000 active caches in 142 countries with = new caches=20 logged daily.

Caches, like many other = adventure=20 sports, are rated as to difficulty. The Web site gives = caches=20 a difficulty rating using from one to five stars for=20 difficulty of terrain and a similar rating for how = difficult=20 it may be to find the cache with five stars signaling = most=20 difficult.

Motzner has a cache at Pillar Falls = that he=20 rated 3+ for terrain, as the steep, dusty road is = hardly a=20 comfortable stroll. The discovery rating is also a 3+, = since=20 the cache is well hidden in the rocks. With sport = popularity=20 increasing daily, it only figures that options would=20 increase.


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