Hidden treasures worldwide

by | Apr 16, 2019 | Arts & Life, Uncategorized

By: Elijah O’Donnell
Photo By: Sydney Nimmons

As another Edmonton winter thaws, many gems hidden by the snow are uncovering themselves in the form of geocaches. For anyone who does not know, a geocache is just real life buried treasure. They are usually little boxes or tins hidden all around us.

To start cashing all you have to do is download the Geocaching app. This will give you a map of the general locations of caches and all you have to do is find them. They could be under park benches, tied to trees, camouflaged in fake rocks or hidden in plain sight. If the app is not for you, you could always go out walking one day and look around. Results are not guaranteed with this method, but at least it is good exercise.

A geocache could contain anything from little trinkets, useful items to trackables and will always have a log book. General caching etiquette says that when you visit a cache, you should sign their log book and if you take an item from the cache then leave one in return.

The logbooks found in every cache is a sheet of paper or small book that you can sign and date to let other players know you were there.

Trackables are interesting. Described as an in-game token, they can move from cache to cache. These can be tags, t-shirts and more. When you find a trackable, you can open your app and log it. This will update the location of the item. Anyone who found it or will find it can see where it has come from and where it goes. Just make sure not to hold on to them too long; they want to travel. Theses trackables and log books are ways that the community keeps track of other hunters.

One type of trackable is called a travel bug. It is a little tag attached to a trinket. One trackable started in New Zeland, visited Toronto, and eventually made its way to Edmonton. Each tag has its own journey that can be viewed in the Geocaching app.

If you are looking for a great way to get outside and explore places you may have already been, definitely give geocaching a try.

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