Jean Lee on How to Catch a Cache on Campus

BY JEAN LEE
SC Staff Writer

 
Hidden in front of Stroud Hall, in the center of four benches and beneath the statue known as Julia, a container of treasure sits.

The seekers call the treasure a geocache. Millions of caches are hidden around the world, concealed from the regular eye, waiting to be found by someone like you.

A chache is a small container, some the size of a penny or a shoe box. The container can be an old medicine bottle, glad-wear, or even be a specialized container made just for geocaching, the act of seeking a cache.

“I go Geocaching all the time, especially when it’s nice out. There’s a bunch of them on Main Street,” says freshman, Lauren Diffilipo.

Lauren has found all eight caches on Main Street in Stroudsburg, and logged her findings on the Geochaching website to comment and communicate with other seekers.

To find a cache, one must have a GPS, and enter the specific coordinates of the cache. Coordinates are found on the website.

Smartphones now have a Geocaching app available, which includes cordinates, maps, clues, and more features.

“Usually I find caches with small toys in them, and sometimes I only find a log. Inside the Julia cache I found a little green army man toy.” said Diffilipo.

A log is a small paper inside the cache container, so finders can record their name and date. Sometimes finders will leave behind an important trinket for others, such as a bracelet, key chain, small toy or even money.

Geocaching has always been free to the public. Seeking caches can turn into an adventure, with treasure you never knew existed before searching.

Many caches are within walking distance to campus and located on streets, in bushes, under logs, or magnetically stuck to something metal.

Tips for geocaching:

Dress for the weather- Geocaching is an outdoor activity, which can bring you to city streets, wooded areas, or even a community of houses.

Don’t always look for the container- Sometimes, a cache may even be disguised as a rock or plant, so finding them may be tricky. Look for something “out of place”.

Bring a friend- Some caches will take time to find, so the more eyes, the better.

Check the comments online- If recent seekers have reported on a missing chache, maybe it has been damaged or found by a muggle.

Hidden by an ESU professor, the cache named “Julia” was placed to honor veterans. The last logged finding was on February 23, and 144 seekers have found the cache since 2010. If you are the next to find, maybe you will catch something the last cacher has left behind.

Email Jean Lee at:
jll9696@live.esu.edu