Outdoor Fun

Yesterday I attended a Geo-Lunch hosted by a gentleman who goes by the name of LeGodFather.  This might sound like something out of a spy movie but in fact it was a lunch-hour meeting of a group of folks who call themselves Geocachers.

Geocaching is an outdoor game in which you use a GPS to locate the coordinates of hidden containers known as caches.  Depending on where the cache is, it might require some stealth to retrieve it without attracting the attention of people who don't play the game.  Inside a typical cache is a notebook and a few small trinkets.  The main rule is that if you find it, sign the notebook and exchange a trinket, and then put it back the way you found it.

The web site http://www.geocaching.com is devoted to the game and its players, and everyone is encouraged to leave a note of their adventures on the cache pages.

Once in a while Geocachers get together to talk about their adventures, and exchange special items called Geocoins and Travel Bugs.  These items are intended to move from cache to cache and collect their own stories along the way.

Best of all, the game is (mostly) free.  All that's needed is a GPS unit or GPS-enabled mobile phone, and a membership to the Geocaching web site.  You can find as few or as many caches as you have time for, and take part in a close-knit community.

There are over 1600 Geocaches within 10 km of Montreal, just to start.