Geocaching requires a GPS and a zeal for adventure

Sunday, August 26, 2001

By Cassandra Vivian

"Jeremy's the man!" said John W. Motto of Greensburg, a k a Quest Master, when I asked him about the newest travel sensation called Geocache.

Jeremy is the genius who put this 21st-century treasure hunt up on the Internet for everyone to share. It was posted early this year. Everything you need to know about geocaching is on the Web site: the history, how to create and hide a Geocache, how to search for a Geocache, a discussion list and links to other sites. Folks from Western Pennsylvania discovered the Geocaching Web site this spring.

	Attention Western Pennsylvania: A GPS Challenge The 2001 World Almanac provides the following waypoint for Pittsburgh: N 40 26 26 W 79 59 46. Exactly where is that? When you have figured it out, e-mail your answer to travel@post-gazette.com. Entries must be received by Sept. 1. We will select two winners at random from the correct entries to receive a leather-bound Expedition Journal from the National Geographic Society. We also will publish the names of all correct entrants in a future issue of Sunday Travel.

Folks around the world are signing up, hiding caches and looking for others in amazing numbers. It is a whole new form of adventure travel, which can only be done with a GPS in hand.

It can be easy. It can be hard. Each person decides what type of adventure to try.

Each Geocache journey is given two numbers: one speaks to the difficulty of the quest, the other to the difficulty of the terrain.

If it is a 1/1, it is for Grandma, the handicapped (maybe), young Scout troops, families and beginners who are not quite sure this is for them. If it is a 3/3, that makes it a little harder. If it is 5/5, stay away unless you are ready to apply for "Survivor."

Part of geocaching can be done in a regular car, but more than likely it will end up as a hike. The higher the number, the more difficult the task.

"I hide a Geocache for the sole purpose that someone -- anyone -- can enjoy the hunt for it," says Motto. "It's not about the treasure. It's about the location. I try to place my caches somewhere that is interesting and/or scenic."

He should know. He has planted a number of Geocaches in our area, with such intriguing names as "Creek Falls" by Quest Master and "Dunbar Sand Quarries" by Quest Master. He is not the only person in our area into this adventure. Marshall is another. Marshall is the adventure name, so to speak. He is really a he and a she. Combined, they have left a number of caches, including "Gas Hills Cache" by Marshall and "South Hills Cache" by Marshall.

Hints and clues are posted on the Web site, along with maps, nearby place names and e-mail messages from people who have tried the trip. Here is the info on Creek Falls, which was created May 19. The waypoint of the cache is N 40 06 412 W 079 40 704.

Motto's clues for Creek Falls, a 3/3 difficulty, tell us, "The cache is in the vicinity of 'Creek Falls,' a waterfall and swimming hole located in an area the locals refer to as 'Crik Hills.'

"The easiest way to get to Creek Falls and the cache is to follow an unmarked gravel road along Jacobs Creek from the Chaintown bridge, which is about 4 miles west of Scottdale, Pennsylvania.

"I am unable to provide driving directions, as it the norm for me to get lost every time I go there. If you have your GPS and a map with sufficient detail to show Chaintown, you should be able to find your way there eventually.

"Currently, ordinary passenger cars can drive for about 0.7 miles on the aforementioned gravel road to a rifle range. You cannot park at the rifle range. Find a safe place to park somewhere along the road before you get this far. The road beyond this point is the domain of off-road vehicles and pedestrians with very muddy feet. Have Fun!

"Warning: Expect to get a little wet. It will be necessary to cross the creek at least once to get to the cache. Do not attempt if the water is high."

To add a bit of armchair adventure to his quest, John gives encrypted information, too.

You can decrypt the hint with the chart, or you can cheat:

Gur pnpur vf n unys-tnyyba vpr pernz pbagnvare. Ybbx sbe vg va gur erznvaf bs n zvyy whfg orybj gur snyyf ba gur fbhgu fvqr bs gur perrx. Vs abguvat ryfr, lbh fubhyq or noyr gb frr gur enpr (qvgpu) jurer gur jngre sybjrq gb cbjre gur zvyy."

Decryption Key:

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I |J |K|L|M

N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

John created the cache, filled it with a logbook and goodies and sat back and waited for people to try his adventure. Some people left happy feedback.

"Well, this is the first sad face I've had to log," said Cobra on July 15. "Got very close to it, but wasn't prepared to cross the creek with my bag of goodies in hand, thought it was too risky with my GPS and digital camera, but will be better prepared for the next time. As always, Quest, another excellent spot, my guess is that you have one of those cool 4x4, ATVs, there must have been 30 of 'em out there tearing up the place. Darn, gotta git me one of those, they look incredibly fun. Anyway, next round I will be in a swim suit, and on the other side of the creek. Hehehe."

On July 7, Marshall said, "Been four wheelin' through the hills here a couple times in the past. Today got directions from some locals for the trail to the Falls (not for the weak of heart). Found the cache safe and dry. Left some old European coins and another pocket knife, got a soft car for a cache in VA later this month. The swimmers were none the wiser of our true mission. Good & Safe Caching to all to follow."

And on May 26, Emily said, "Getting to this cache required driving through some quaint country areas (lots of cows), then hiking down a very muddy road that looked like it would be a blast to take a 4x4 down. Aaron and I got within about 150 feet of the cache, near the graffiti- scarred waterfall, and realized that the cache was on the OTHER side of the creek! Rather than risk our lives crossing the water, which was high and flowing quickly, we risked our lives walking along the railroad and across a railroad bridge. We found the cache without too much trouble and tried not to alert the folks partying down the way to our activity. Took the pocket knife and left stickers from the Pirates of the Ol' Canal cache near Columbus, OH, and a parachute jumper toy."

That was enough to inspire me to go geocaching. I logged on to www.geocaching.com, signed up as a member (free), entered my ZIP code in the search and looked for sites nearby. I may plant some caches of my own for those of us over 40 and too lazy or too handicapped to walk -- you know, drive up to the site, step out of the car, pick up the cache.

Nothing too hard. Nothing too exhausting. After all, there is room for all of us in the woods and along the trails, not to mention the canyons of the cities.

Happy GPSin'.