Boxes and portals: the new era of scavenger hunting

Originally called the “GPS Stash Hunt,” geocaching is a relatively new outdoor activity that began at the start of the 21st century, after Dave Ulmer placed the first container in the woods near Beaverneck, Ore. From there, the new game spread all around the world. There are even numerous hidden geocaching sites here in the Tri-state region.

The objective of geocaching is simple: Using coordinates, and maybe a hint that needs to be decrypted from the geocaching website or phone app, find the geocache with a GPS. 

There are a variety of containers that geocaches come in, including smaller “micro” or “nano” holders disguised as chewing gum, golf balls, bolts or rocks. Larger geocaches can be containers such as plastic food storage boxes. Hiders and seekers often leave trinkets and mementos in these larger caches (the rule is that if you take something out of one of the boxes, you have to leave something in its place).

Some geocaches may require you to solve a puzzle before you can open them. Sometimes you have to find other hidden geocaches that enclose coordinates that will eventually lead to the container.

Worldwide, there are more than 6 million geocachers and 2,676,480 active geocaches, including in Antarctica, according to the geocaching website at www.geocaching.com.

To try it out, go to the website and create an account (or log in using a Facebook account).

Then you enter your ZIP code to get a list of nearby caches. Plug the coordinates  into your GPS. In some cases, the GPS is equipped with a geocaching option that lets you download multiple sites. There is also a geocaching app available for smartphones.

When using the app on a smartphone, look for geocaching icons on the map on your screen. Click one, press “start” and follow the onscreen compass to the location; it will alert you with a sound when you are 30 feet from the hiding place.

Letitia Garcia-Tripp, science teacher and cross-country coach at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, said, “We love to geocache because it allows our family to combine the beauty of nature with the fun of a scavenger hunt. The kids really enjoy finding a cache and signing the log. It is one of the many great ways to keep our family active. It’s easy to do; whenever we hike we just use the app to find a nearby cache. Fun for all ages!”

A game similar to geocaching is letterboxing, which is believed to have caught on in the U.S. in the 1990s when Smithsonian magazine ran an article on letterboxing in Dartmoor National Park, England, where the game originated in 1854.  

Unlike geocaching, no GPS is needed to do a letterbox hunt.Hunters go to the letterboxing website at www.letterboxing.org and search for nearby hiding places. Clues are provided that are sometimes very simple and easy to follow and sometimes elusive.

The clues may include roads, landmarks, compass directions or paces to step off.

Once a letterbox is reached, the hunter uses a rubber stamp and inkpad to sign in to the logbook inside the letterbox (again, usually a plastic food container).

Each letterbox has its own rubber stamp and the hunter stamps his or her own logbook with that stamp.

Letterboxes will not be “micro” or “nano,” so there is no worry that you will have to overturn gum or search through bolts to find it.

There are about 50 letterboxes in the six-town Region One School District area; Sharon leads with 17. There are also letterboxes hidden in New York state. 

When asked why she enjoys letterboxing, Cynthia Hochswender, executive editor at The Lakeville Journal, said, “It reminds me of doing treasure hunts when I was a kid.” 

She also explained that since letterboxes can be found around the world, she can search for them on vacations, as a way to get away from the standard tourist sites.

Another scavenger game that is growing in popularity is called Ingress. It is played on mobile devices and it intertwines virtual gaming with landmarks or other culturally significant places known as portals, which are, again, found worldwide.

In Ingress, gamers are split into two teams, blue (representing the Resistance) and green (representing the Enlightened). The two teams wage a virtual war against each other to gain possession of portals such as the Lakeville Post Office.

Unlike many computer games, this one is not solely virtual: Gamers have to actually go to the portal in order to capture it. 

Darryl Gangloff, associate editor and special sections editor at The Lakeville Journal Co., wrote an article about Ingress in the June 11 Compass arts and entertainment supplement of The Lakeville Journal Co.

He has been playing the game with his wife and with co-workers James Clark and Derek Van Deusen.

Although diverse, these three games are alike in that they all offer full-time residents as well as holiday visitors a chance to find interesting hidden corners of the Tri-state region.