Traveling Treasure

Welcome to a new adventure. If you are a geocacher then you know how much fun it is to find a geocache. If you have not heard about geocaching, then let me explain. Geocaching is using a GPS unit with specific coordinates to find a cache. Normally a cache contains trinkets, money, and always a log book where you leave your signature. There are geocaches placed all around the world. See Geocaching.com for more information. You can search by zipcode to find caches in your area, chances are you have one down the street from you.

I only recently started this fun hobby. Once you find over 30 caches you begin to get pretty good at finding them. You can usually see where the cache is probably hidden from 20 feet away. It is still a ton of fun and a lot of people usually get very creative when hiding their caches. If you like the outdoors, hiking, and technology then this might be just the right hobby for you.

I have seen some concerns with caches that have been hidden for a long time. After many people have found a cache you sometimes see changes in the landscape. Not drastic changes, but often times I see a path that geocachers follow and it leads you right to the cache. This sometimes takes away the fun. Another problem is that if you happen to read other geocacher's logs you sometimes know right away where the cache is hidden.

This is why I want to start Traveling Treasure. This is something I thought about when I first started geocaching. The idea behind Traveling Treasure is you will hide an object somewhere in the world and then the people who find it will move it to another location. This is like a travel bug without using caches. The person who finds your treasure can move it to another location in the same park or move it to another area. Here is what you do:

and then...

This will be a fun new hobby if people follow the Guidelines. Each time you go out looking for a treasure you will be the First to Find the treasure. No more paths to the cache or changes in the landscape. In sensitive parks you can hide something natural like a rock. For instance, find a unique rock and engrave your name on it.

I hope you will hide your first treasure today and have fun doing it. This is not the game to play if you do it only for the number of finds. I have no tracking system for how many "found" or "hidden" you have. Traveling Treasure is for those people who geocache for the fun of the hunt, its for adventurers. Oh by the way, to encourage people to play, some of my first hidden treasures may include money for the First to Find.