Cache Action!
Location: Maine, United States
Capricious found BARTER'S OUTSMARTER (Traditional Cache) at 4/5/2009
Log Date: 4/5/2009
We searched for this cache with our friends Gr8Escapes on a sparkling early spring afternoon. The cache is located in the Boothbay Region Land Trust's Porter Preserve on Barters Island, and we greatly enjoyed the vistas across the Sheepscot to Sawyers Island, Isle of Springs, and Westport Island that are available every so often off the main trail. Nearly all the snow was gone, and there were only a few wet spots along the trail, and these should be drying up shortly. On finding the cache, we signed the log and added two small glass stars, in exchange for which we took a small wind-up whale. We will find a new cache for the whale shortly. This Preserve is worth a visit under any circumstances, and the cache adds a bit of spice to the experience. Many thanks to Pike Patrol and the Boothbay Region Land Trust.
The History of Geocaching
On May 2, 2000, at approximately midnight, eastern daylight savings time, the “great blue switch” controlling the selective availability of signals from navigation satellites was pressed. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and instantly the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world had an instant upgrade. Now anyone could precisely pinpoint their location almost anywhere on the surface of the earth.
On May 3rd a computer engineer, and outdoor enthusiast, placed a black bucket in the woods somewhere in Oregon and published its geographic location (longitude and latitude) online. In that bucket, along with a logbook and pencil, he left various prize items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. Within three days, two different readers read about it, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week others, excited by the prospect of hiding and finding stashes, began hiding their own containers and posting coordinates online.
It did not take long for the term Geocaching to be coined. The prefix geo, for Earth, was used to describe the global nature of the activity, and caching, from the French word cache, referred to a place used to store items. A new sport was born.
In the ensuing years the sport of geocaching has grown worldwide and the website www.geocaching.com is the main resource for enthusiasts. If you would like more information on the sport we suggest you take a look at the website. You will find general information under the Getting Started menu tab which appears on the upper left of the home page. |
