Geocachers Gather for Ochlocknee Searching Spree

On Saturday, July 19, over 60 cachers from across Florida gathered at Ochlocknee River State Park for a geocaching event to meet and greet fellow gamesters and share tall tales and tips about their caching escapades.

The Ochlocknee River Summer Cache Bash was organized by Angie Findley, member of Team PyroPeach and current president of the Tallahassee Area Geocachers (TAG) and Sandi Brooks, also known as Tallahassee Lassie, an established leader in the local caching community.

The event was sponsored by TAG and the Florida Geocaching Association. Findley said TAG is an informal group with about 53 members, with a goal to stimulate interest in caching and encourage new players to join the game.

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System receiver (GPSr) or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers called "geocaches" or "caches." A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 800,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to the pastime.

The Ochlocknee Cache Bash began with introductions followed by a round of Geo-Bingo, a game played on cards similar to bingo cards. Players circulate through the crowd asking other cachers to initial a square on the board that describes an experience they have had while caching. Items on the board included "Have you been questioned by the authorities while caching? Have you hiked more than five miles for a cache? Have you found a cache without using a GPSr? Do you own more than three GPSrs? Have you found more than 50 caches in a day? and Have you ever skipped work to find a cache?"

After the introductions and mingling, everyone sat down to a hearty potluck lunch with fried chicken provided by the TAG.

There were lessons on the latest geocaching equipment and technology. Experienced cachers provided newbies with guidance on equipment and the use of computer programs and websites related to caching.

One traditional activity at caching events is the exchange of travelers; "travel bugs" and "geocoins."

Travelers are items designated with a serial number and provided with their own web page that allows them to be tracked as they travel. A geocacher purchases a traveler and then releases it in a cache. Other cachers find it and move it from place to place, recording each move on the traveler's web page where the owner can watch its progress. Some travelers journey tens of thousands of mile, occasionally around the world. Travelers are usually small enough to be held in the palm of your hand but "Louie the Love Lobster," a travel bug exchanged at this event was three feet tall. Louie normally visits only cache events and would fit in very few caches. The plucky lobster is now on his way to Maine with pilot Bob Arnold of Team PC Flight Crew.

Attendees at the Bash also enjoyed many outdoor activities in addition to caching including a guided birding and nature hike, a talk by the local park ranger, and swimming, kayaking and canoeing. Many camped at the park.

Michele Walker of Live Oak drove up to attend and visit with friend Data Wrangler, aka Dean Modeling of Tallahassee. "We met at my first geocaching event," said Walker.

Team N8turelvr, Michele and Murray Winebrenner, brought kayaks up from Alachua to pursue a series of canoe caches hidden nearby after the event.

"I camped for two nights," said Phil Cunningham, of Panama City, aka pwcinpc. "It's a wonderful peaceful park. I wish I could have brought my boat."

While some cachers traveled from central Florida and even out of state to the event, many agreed that high gas prices have curtailed some of their caching activities.
"I used to do a day of caching with my wife Elke every Saturday and then take a short trip on my own on Sunday, but I've had to cut the second day out." Said August Ursin of Tallahassee.

After games and lunch came the highlight of the day. The event sponsors distributed cards bearing the encrypted coordinates for 10 brand new caches and the cachers scrambled to break the code and be the first to find the new hides.

Not all of the guests were totally enthusiastic about caching. Cynthia Smith of Tallahassee is a member of Team Coinseekers.

"You could say my husband is the cacher. We started caching four months ago and now we have over five hundred finds," she said. "My husband found out about it from a friend and just sort of lost his mind."